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Washington adds chron's disease to medical marijuana law Posted: 02-02-08 01:52am
November 10, 1999 - Seattle, WA, USA
Washington's Medical Quality Assurance
Commission has approved a petition to add
Crohn's Disease to the list of qualifying
illnesses legally treatable by using
marijuana.
Crohn's Disease is an inflammatory bowel
disease, characterized by severe abdominal
pain, nausea, and weight loss. The state
law, adopted by a state-wide voter
initiative in 1998, previously allowed
marijuana use for patients suffering from
AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma
and intractable pain.
Dr. Rob Killian, the primary sponsor of
Washington's initiative in 1998, supported
the petition to add Crohn's Disease to the
list of diseases treatable with
marijuana.
"Crohn's Disease is a particularly
debilitating illness, and patients have
long espoused the use of marijuana to ease
some of its more severe symptoms," said
Killian. "By adding this illness to the
list, we are further safeguarding a group
of patients who need protection from
criminal prosecution for using a medicine
that works."
"When we drafted this initiative, we knew
that there needed to be a mechanism to
allow for the addition of medical
conditions if information became available
to show that its symptoms can be relieved
by marijuana," said Killian. "We are happy
to see that the system worked."
