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A new state panel heard pleas from the public Thursday to add insomnia and post traumatic stress disorder as qualifying conditions for medical marijuana use in Michigan.
Twenty people took turns touting medical marijuana as an effective, less harmful treatment for the disorders than pharmaceutical medications at a hearing held by the Michigan Medical Marihuana Review Panelin downtown Lansing.
"For us, it's not about getting high. It's about getting well," said Joe Brown of the Grand Rapids-based Michigan Hemp Co., which sells hemp-related products. "We have enough science here to prove this works for (PTSD)."
The 10-member panel convened only to hear public comments about the merits for adding the two qualifying conditions. It will decide the issue at a meeting that has not yet been scheduled.
The panel is the only process by which eligible conditions for medical marijuana use can be added. Under a 2008 state law, residents can use medical marijuana, with a doctor's approval, only for specific ailments, including cancer, glaucoma, AIDS and Crohn's disease.
The panel met for the first time in August, three months after the state disbanded an earlier incarnation because the state Licensing and Regulatory Authority didn't follow state rules in forming the group.
In August, critics still questioned whether the panel could function because it lacked a 10th final member, but the state has since appointed a 10th person to the group.
Melody Karr of Mesick, said marijuana has helped her deal with seeing her first husband commit suicide in front of her. Because that memory haunts her, she said, she has suffered insomnia, panic attacks, depression and anxiety — symptoms of PTSD.
Marijuana, she said, is one thing that helps her. "I can use cannibas ... and I can forget all that messed-up stuff for awhile," Karr said. "It's empowering to know I can grow my own medicine."
Steve Green, a Lansing resident affiliated with The Human Solution, a national organization that supports the decriminalization of marijuana use, told the panel that it was vital for it to clearly endorse PTSD as a qualifying condition, since judges often question a patient's diagnose after an arrest for marijuana possession.
Green, who is being prosecuted in Oakland County for marijuana possession, said a judge questioned his diagnosis for severe epilepsy even though he has been through many traditional treatments for it.
Epilepsy is now a qualifying condition for medical marijuana, and Green has a state card to use the substance.
"Please consider the veterans," Green said. "They fought for all of our freedoms."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: lansingstatejournal.com
Author: Scott Davis
Twenty people took turns touting medical marijuana as an effective, less harmful treatment for the disorders than pharmaceutical medications at a hearing held by the Michigan Medical Marihuana Review Panelin downtown Lansing.
"For us, it's not about getting high. It's about getting well," said Joe Brown of the Grand Rapids-based Michigan Hemp Co., which sells hemp-related products. "We have enough science here to prove this works for (PTSD)."
The 10-member panel convened only to hear public comments about the merits for adding the two qualifying conditions. It will decide the issue at a meeting that has not yet been scheduled.
The panel is the only process by which eligible conditions for medical marijuana use can be added. Under a 2008 state law, residents can use medical marijuana, with a doctor's approval, only for specific ailments, including cancer, glaucoma, AIDS and Crohn's disease.
The panel met for the first time in August, three months after the state disbanded an earlier incarnation because the state Licensing and Regulatory Authority didn't follow state rules in forming the group.
In August, critics still questioned whether the panel could function because it lacked a 10th final member, but the state has since appointed a 10th person to the group.
Melody Karr of Mesick, said marijuana has helped her deal with seeing her first husband commit suicide in front of her. Because that memory haunts her, she said, she has suffered insomnia, panic attacks, depression and anxiety — symptoms of PTSD.
Marijuana, she said, is one thing that helps her. "I can use cannibas ... and I can forget all that messed-up stuff for awhile," Karr said. "It's empowering to know I can grow my own medicine."
Steve Green, a Lansing resident affiliated with The Human Solution, a national organization that supports the decriminalization of marijuana use, told the panel that it was vital for it to clearly endorse PTSD as a qualifying condition, since judges often question a patient's diagnose after an arrest for marijuana possession.
Green, who is being prosecuted in Oakland County for marijuana possession, said a judge questioned his diagnosis for severe epilepsy even though he has been through many traditional treatments for it.
Epilepsy is now a qualifying condition for medical marijuana, and Green has a state card to use the substance.
"Please consider the veterans," Green said. "They fought for all of our freedoms."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: lansingstatejournal.com
Author: Scott Davis
