These Medical Conditions Could Soon Be Treated With Marijuana In NJ

[Katelyn Baker]

Since including post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying condition for the use of medical marijuana in New Jersey four months ago, nearly 500 people with PTSD have enrolled in the state's program.

But, according to Ken Wolski, executive director of the New Jersey Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey, hundreds of thousands of New Jersey residents are still missing out on the therapeutic effects of medicinal weed.
That could change, however, depending on how the New Jersey Department of Health proceeds with dozens of petitions seeking to add several other medical conditions to the list of those that qualify.

The department has had since August, when the petitions were due, to review the submitted forms. Petitioners were asked to include, among other information, medical evidence that marijuana could alleviate suffering caused by the condition, and letters of support from physicians or other licensed health care professionals.
Of the 60-some submitted petitions, 45 were accepted and are set for review by the state.

"Many of these conditions deal with various aspects of chronic pain," Wolski told New Jersey 101.5.

According to Wolski, if chronic pain were added to the qualifying list, the door to medical marijuana would be opened for sufferers of many debilitating conditions, such as fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and migraines.

"Many patients are suffering and they're very looking forward to access to medical marijuana therapy, and they don't want any more delays in this than are necessary," he said.

According to a health department spokesperson, no meetings have yet been held by the Medical Marijuana Review Panel to discuss the petitions. It's likely more than one review meeting will need to be held, based on the number of petitions, but none have been scheduled. The meetings will be held in Trenton and will be advertised well in advance, the department said.

As of Monday afternoon, New Jersey had 10,962 people registered for the medicinal marijuana program. Of that total, 498 signed up due to PTSD, the first mental condition to be included in the program.
PTSD sufferers only qualify for the program if "conventional medical therapy" has proven ineffective.

News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: These Medical Conditions Could Soon Be Treated With Marijuana In NJ
Author: Dino Flammia
Contact: 800-388-6397
Photo Credit: David McNew
Website: New Jersey 101.5

 

[the_alchemist]

This not only pertains to NJ, but I have a case in point in NJ to use. I have been a patient in CA, CT, and NJ. I do not understand why in all three States the doctors will not accept insurance to give certifications. In both CA and CT, the fee is roughly $150/year for the Doctors' Certification. NJ, in particular, has this caveat to their law for certifications requiring certifying doctors to have a history with the patient. If they do not, the certifying doctor has to see you three times in any span of time along with documentation from your personal NJ doctor's records that specifically document the qualifying condition.

For the County I am in, I called about 13 doctors who are listed as certifying doctors by county on a dispensary website - the information for which came from NJ State. Only one of those doctors actually gave certificates. The rest had no idea what I was talking about. The neurology practice which specialization specifically applies to the reason for my certification would not take insurance for the three requisite visits, nor would they see me in office. They had someone call me back to explain he does all the leg work for certifications and must come to my home. The total cost for each visit was $400.00. That is a total of $1,200. The state takes an additional $200/year for your certificate/card which makes the total cost $1,600. That is obscene. Although the State does discount its fee to $20 for patients on welfare of any kind. Where do these entitlement program recipients get the $1,200 for the first year and only $400 for each following year? It is priced out of the league for disabled patients who could benefit or need medical marijuana. So, out of three states from West to East, the doctors do not certify under insurance. This is the scam cog in the wheel that is medical marijuana. It disgusts me. A legitimate medical problem where you must see a special physician to get the proper prescription from.must be paid for handsomely by patients, not their valid insurers. Not cool!