May 04--Migraines and irritable bowel syndrome have been recommended as additions to the list of conditions eligible for medical marijuana in Illinois.
But diabetes and anxiety did not receive endorsements by a state panel in Chicago Monday morning.
The Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board voted 8-2 against recommending to the Illinois Department of Public Health anxiety as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana.
Critics of adding both anxiety and migraines to the list said they represented categories that were too broad, though the panel did ultimately recommend by an 8-2 vote that migraines be added to the list of qualifying conditions.
The panel voted unanimously to recommend cannabis for irritable bowel syndrome, stating that it is a more specific condition without many treatment options.
Diabetes was rejected on the basis that there is no evidence that marijuana has anti-glycemic properties and could raise blood sugar, panel members said.
The recommending board also voted against marijuana to treat the blood disorder essential thrombocythemia, which commonly causes headaches in sufferers. The panel said those who have the disorder would be better served under the migraine category.
The committee is due to vote later Monday on several other conditions that the public had sought to add to that list, including anorexia and post-traumatic stress disorder.
There are currently about three dozen conditions that allow qualifying patients to use medical marijuana. But after a series of delays in licensing cultivation centers and dispensaries, patients are still waiting to get the drug.
mmrodriguez@tribpub.com
