Last January we accepted petitions from the public to add PTSD 1; PTSD 2; Depression; Migraines; and Generalized Anxiety Disorder to the list of conditions that qualify patients to receive a Medical Marijuana Registration Card. Because my guiding principle for making the decision was to use science and research to make the decision, we contracted with the U of A College of Public Health to do an evidence review of published scientific studies to help us to make a more informed decision. You can see the UA’s analyses for Depression; Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Migraine Headaches; and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on our petition website. Our literature review found limited scientific evidence to document whether Cannabis is helpful or not for the petitioned conditions or that support permanently adding the petitioned conditions to the statutory list of qualifying debilitating conditions identified in the Act. In short- I didn’t approve the petitions last year because of the lack of published data regarding the risks and benefits of using Cannabis to treat or provide relief for the petitioned conditions.
The AZ Medical Marijuana Act requires us to periodically accept petitions to add new medical conditions- and we are once again accepting petitions to add new debilitating medical conditions this week (January 25 – 31) on our petition website. Our medical team will meet after January 31st and will be providing me with an initial analysis regarding whether any petitions we receive meet the screening criteria… and we’ll be using the UA College of Public Health to review the scientific literature for any that pass the screening test. Assuming we receive qualified petitions, I’ll need to make a final decision by July 2013. Our website shows folks how, what, where, and when to submit petitions.
