Tag: medical marijuana

Idaho Lawmakers Hold Hearing On Bill To Legalize Medical Marijuana

Jeremy Kitzhaber, a U.S. Air Force veteran, held up a blue lunch bag to a committee of Idaho lawmakers on Monday that he uses to store the drugs meant to soothe his pain, including hydrocodone, morphine and oxycodone.

Kitzhaber has a rare type of stage four cancer that he developed while transporting radioactive and hazardous materials in the military. He can take those strong opioids at any point in the day—in addition to the drugs he takes to keep his cancer from growing and manage his bowel movement and anxiety. However, the one drug he cannot legally take is marijuana.

Idaho has some of the strictest laws against any kind of marijuana usage, but an informational hearing held in the Idaho House Health and Welfare Committee opened the discussion for Kitzhaber to advocate for a bill to legalize medical marijuana for Idahoans living with chronic pain and answer lawmakers’ questions about what legalizing marijuana would look like in Idaho.

Kitzhaber has been working on legislation to legalize marijuana for six years, and this year, Reps. Ilana Rubel (D-Boise), and Jordan Redman (R-Coeur d’Alene), named House Bill 401, or the “Sgt. Kitzhaber Medical Cannabis Act,” after him. The sponsors introduced it as a personal bill, meaning it has no chance of advancing this session and is intended to send a message.

What would medical marijuana look like in Idaho?

Unlike most of its neighboring states, marijuana is recreationally and medically illegal in Idaho.

During the 2025 legislative session alone, lawmakers passed at least two pieces of legislation aimed to restrict marijuana usage in Idaho. This includes a bill signed by the governor and set to take effect July 1 to implement a $300 minimum fine for individuals found possessing less than three ounces marijuana.

Another piece of legislation passed in both chambers is a proposed amendment to the Idaho Constitution that, if approved by voters, would make it so that only the Idaho Legislature has the power to legalize marijuana and other narcotics.

House Bill 401 is modeled after Utah’s legislation, Rubel told the committee, who said Idaho lawmakers should at some point consider this type of legislation.

The bill would move marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II controlled substance. It would allow medical practitioners to give medical cannabis cards to patients who are at least 21 years old and diagnosed with qualifying conditions such as cancer, ALS, AIDS, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and other debilitating illnesses. The card would be valid for up to one year, and renewal must be sought after.

Under the bill, individuals with medical cannabis cards would not be subject to prosecution for certain amounts of marijuana possession.

“The bill does not legalize cannabis, it only decriminalizes it,” Kitzhaber said.

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Medical Marijuana Is ‘A Cost-Effective Adjunctive Therapy’ For PTSD, New Study Shows

A newly published study on cannabis as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) finds that medical marijuana—especially non-flower formulations—”represent a cost-effective adjunctive therapy for moderate PTSD under various reimbursement scenarios.”

The findings indicate that given certain assumptions about the efficacy and cost of medical cannabis for PTSD, it would be worthwhile for health insurance providers and other healthcare payors to include coverage of marijuana alongside other standard forms of treatment.

“This article suggests that, for the vast majority of types of products, there is pretty solid evidence that medical cannabis is cost-effective,” lead author Mitchell Doucette told Marijuana Moment, “meaning that…adding these items to [patients’] drug formulary would be advantageous for not only the patient—because of the lowering of the cost—but also advantageous for health insurance.”

The study, published in the journal Clinical Drug Investigation, says that products such as edibles, oral solutions and tablets “consistently demonstrated cost-effectiveness” under a standard model of insurers’ willingness to pay.

The five-person research team from Leafwell, a company that helps patients obtain medical cannabis cards, drew on efficacy findings from a 2022 study on the efficacy of marijuana for PTSD as well as prices from Curaleaf, one of the largest multi-state cannabis operators in the country.

“Our findings suggest that medical cannabis may be a cost-effective adjunct to standard care for patients with moderate PTSD,” authors wrote, “particularly when payor reimbursement partially or fully offsets treatment costs.”

As nearly all patients in the U.S. have discovered, health plans don’t always cover full medical costs. Medical marijuana patients currently pay for cannabis themselves, without reimbursement or cost-sharing from medical plans. The study says that given the apparent utility of the substance as a PTSD treatment, medical marijuana is a worthwhile investment for health insurers even if they cover costs in full.

Notably, that finding applies only to non-flower medical cannabis formulations. Because cured flower was more expensive than edibles, tinctures or tablets, the analysis only found it to be a cost-effective treatment when payors covered it at lower amounts—50 percent to 75 percent, depending on the type of flower.

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Pennsylvania Lawmaker Files Bill To Protect Medical Marijuana Patients From DUI Charges

A Pennsylvania lawmaker has reintroduced a bill meant to protect medical marijuana patients from facing DUI charges when there is no proof they are actually impaired behind the wheel.

Rep. Chris Rabb (D) filed the legislation and circulated a cosponsorship memo this week, urging his colleagues to join him in this latest effort to enact the reform.

The memo says that, since the state legalized medical marijuana, many patients have “shared their horror stories about being arrested and convicted of driving under the influence of cannabis without any proof of impairment.”

“That is why this legislation…is being introduced yet again, as the current law must be amended to allow responsible drivers who are also medical cannabis patients to operate a motor vehicle legally,” Raab wrote, emphasizing that the legislation “does not extend to any illegal cannabis use–nor does it protect impaired drivers.”

The bill would amend the current state statute to make it so the presence of cannabis metabolites in a drug test alone could not be used as evidence of impaired driving if the person is a registered medical marijuana patient.

However, that protection would not extend to those who hold a commercial driver’s license.

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There’s Plenty Of Evidence Medical Marijuana Can Treat Female Orgasm Difficulty, So Why Are Some States Saying No?

While numerous studies have consistently shown that cannabis can treat female orgasm difficulty/disorder, also known as FOD, so far only a few states have recognized it as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. Others appear to be holding it to a higher standard than other conditions, revealing a potential bias against women.

This bias may be the result of misinformation or lack of education about FOD, a serious public health condition that affects the health of up to 41 percent of women worldwide. The bias may also reflect an unwillingness to acknowledge FOD, despite testimony from women who successfully treated the condition with cannabis, letters of support from doctors who recommend cannabis for it, evidence of its serious health impacts and scientific studies showing cannabis can treat it.

In 2024, advocates—myself included—petitioned 11 U.S. states to add FOD as a qualifying condition. While some petitions are still pending, so far two states have officially approved the requests: Connecticut and Illinois.

Illinois Director of Public Health Dr. Sameer Vodra stated the following in his order approving FOD as a qualifying condition:

“After fully considering the matters raised in the petition, as well as reviewing research pertinent to the condition termed Female Orgasmic Disorder, a condition where a (natal) female has difficulty reaching orgasm. There are multiple types and causes,) there is sufficient evidence to confidently evaluate the effect of cannabis as a treatment for Female Orgasmic Disorder. Literature review and survey data support that cannabis can offer benefits to women who have “female orgasm difficulties or dysfunction.”

In New Mexico, the state’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Board approved adding FOD as a qualifying condition last fall, with the reform set to take effect upon official approval from the secretary of health.

The states of Colorado, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, meanwhile, have acknowledged receipt of the petitions to add FOD as a qualifying condition, and public hearing dates are now pending.

Yet despite scientific evidence and approvals in some jurisdictions, five states denied adding FOD as a qualifying condition with medical cannabis: Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Ohio and Oregon.

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New Mexico House And Senate Lawmakers Approve Bills To Strengthen Employment Protections For Medical Marijuana Patients

Another New Mexico House committee has passed a bill that would further protect medical marijuana patients in the state from being penalized at work for off-duty use of cannabis. And a Senate companion version of the legislation also moved through a panel in that chamber.

On Friday, the House Judiciary Committee approved the proposal from House Majority Floor Leader Reena Szczepanski (D) in a 7-3 vote. This comes almost a month after an earlier committee advanced the proposal.

Meanwhile, the Senate companion bill—sponsored by Sens. Linda López (D) and Shannon Pinto (D)—separately passed the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee by a tally of 6-3.

Under the legislation, employees could not be considered “impaired” by cannabis if a test is based solely on the presence of THC metabolites.

The measures would further prohibit random drug testing for marijuana, though patients could be screened if there’s reasonable suspicion that cannabis was used on the clock resulting in “significant damage to property.”

At the prior House committee meeting, members adopted a minor amendment that replaces a line in the bill that had said a “drug test for cannabis shall be reviewed by a medical review officer who shall determine if the reason for a positive test has a legitimate medical explanation.”

Under the new language, the bill now says that an employer “shall follow the cannabis impairment guidelines when testing for cannabis impairment.”

The legislation was further amended in the House Judiciary Committee to prevent the use of a positive cannabis test as evidence in civil cases “exposing the employer to liability arising out of the employee’s on-duty conduct.”

The measures also stipulate that the state Department of Health must “assist the workforce solutions department in developing cannabis impairment guidelines that are based on the most reliable research- or evidence-based cannabis impairment indicators, including the evaluation of physical symptoms and psychomotor and cognitive performance.”

“The workforce solutions department shall inform private employers of this section and provide information related to the most recent advances in testing protocols for determining cannabis impairment,” they say. “The department of finance and administration shall disseminate the cannabis impairment guidelines to state agencies and political subdivisions of the state.”

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Marijuana Offers Hope For Treating Chronic Pain And Reducing Use Of Other Medications, New Study Shows

Marijuana and its cannabinoid components may be useful treatments for various types of chronic pain, in some cases helping to reduce the use of other medications, according to a newly published scientific review. The paper also says select mixtures of cannabinoids could help minimize undesirable effects of cannabis, such as the psychoactivity of THC.

Published last month in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids and authored by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine, the paper reviews “the most recent evidence supporting the use of cannabis in the treatment of chronic pain disorders including chronic neuropathic pain, cancer-induced neuropathic pain, chronic musculoskeletal pain, and chronic headaches and migraines.”

The report concludes that a selection of cannabis compounds, with various effects on chemical receptors in the body, can have a pain-relieving effect. It also recommends further research into the possible analgesic properties of less-common cannabinoids such as cannabichromene (CBC) and cannabigerol (CBG).

All told, more than 180 different cannabinoids have now been isolated from the cannabis plant, the report notes, often interacting with different parts of the body. CBD and THC, for example, “have a wide potential for therapeutic effects based on their multiple molecular targets including ion channels, receptors, transporters and enzymes.”

“The two most abundant and studied cannabinoids, THC and CBD, along with an understudied cannabinoid, cannabigerol (CBG), have been shown, in our laboratories, to reduce neuropathic pain in animal models,” authors wrote, recommending that further study “into cannabinoids like THC, CBD and CBG should focus on the optimal therapeutic doses and the effects these cannabinoids can have on the management of chronic neuropathic pain in humans.”

Chronic pain affects more than 100 million Americans, the review says, and is one of the most common reasons adults seek medical care.

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Georgia Senate Passes Bills To Expand Medical Marijuana Access And Limit THC In Hemp Beverages

Three bills changing the way Georgia regulates hemp and medical cannabis have cleared the Senate ahead of Thursday’s Crossover Day deadline. The votes on the bills are some of the only ones this session that didn’t fall cleanly along party lines, with Senate Republicans divided over expanding medical access to cannabis and members of both parties split over new regulations on recreational hemp products.

Medical cannabis

Senate Bill 220, also known as the “Putting Georgia’s Patients First Act,” passed in a contentious 39–17 vote after more than an hour of debate in the Senate. Like its counterpart in the other chamber, House Bill 227, the bill replaces the term “low-THC oil” with “medical cannabis” in Georgia code, removes requirements that certain medical diagnoses like cancer or Parkinson’s disease be “severe or end stage” and adds lupus to the list of qualifying health conditions.

Unlike the House version, SB 220 removes an existing prohibition against vaping cannabis oil and raises the percentage of THC that medical cannabis products may contain from 5 percent to 50 percent.

The bill was amended on the floor to include a provision allowing caregivers to pick up medical cannabis from pharmacies. Three other amendments aimed at reducing the amount of THC allowed in medical cannabis, removing the provision that allows for vaping, and removing PTSD and intractable pain from the list of approved diagnoses failed during a series of floor votes.

Hemp bills

Two bills aimed at strengthening hemp regulations in Georgia passed the Senate in decisive votes on Crossover Day, seeking to limit recreational use of marijuana as the chamber simultaneously eased restrictions for medical use.

Marietta Republican Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick’s SB 33 subjects chemical compounds like delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) and other cannabinoids to testing and labeling regulations that were added last year under SB 494. It passed in a 50–6 vote.

In her speech from the well, Kirkpatrick said her bill is aimed at cutting down on unregulated hemp products from China and other countries.

“This bill is not a ban,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s a consumer protection bill that is not intended to impact processors that are already testing and labeling their products appropriately. It’s intended to make sure that consumers buying these products are clear on what they’re buying.”

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Medical Marijuana Provides ‘Significant Improvements’ In Cancer Symptoms, Study Shows

A new study of medical marijuana patients in Minnesota finds that people with cancer who used cannabis “report significant improvements in cancer-related symptoms.” Nevertheless, it notes that the high cost of marijuana can be burdensome to less financially stable patients and raise “questions about affordability of and access to this therapy.”

The report, published late last month in the journal Cannabis, looked at 220 responses to a survey of patients with cancer enrolled in the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program.

In addition to asking questions about patients’ cancer histories, cannabis use and symptom changes, the survey also included sociodemographic questions.

Results showed that while “the overwhelming majority” of patients reported symptom improvement associated with medical marijuana use, “individuals not living comfortably on their present income had higher monthly out-of-pocket costs for cannabis and were more likely to stop using cannabis or use it less than they would like; and this group more often cited cost as a reason for cannabis use disruptions.”

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California Proposal Would Prevent Coverage Of Medical Marijuana In Workers’ Compensation Cases

California officials are accepting public comment through mid-March on a plan that would remove medical marijuana as an accepted treatment for injured employees in workers’ compensation cases. The change would effectively prevent doctors in such cases from recommending marijuana and end any compensation to pay for cannabis medications.

The change being considered by the California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) is based on recently updated guidelines from the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) that say cannabinoids are “not recommended” for treatment of chronic, acute or postoperative pain and separately advising against cannabinoid use by safety-critical workers.

ACOEM in an update earlier this year listed various health risks associated with marijuana use—including cannabis use disorder, motor vehicle crashes, schizophrenia and others—and further said that evidence shows that cannabis is ineffective or only minimally effective at treating various types of pain.

As a result of the ACOEM update, the worker’s compensation division is weighing a change that would remove marijuana and related treatments from California’s medical treatment utilization schedule (MTUS) in workers’ comp cases.

Cannabis reform advocates and workers’ rights groups are pushing back against the proposal, saying it conflicts with numerous other studies indicating that marijuana can be effective for treating pain, and are urging supporters to file written comments with DWC ahead of a planned hearing on March 14.

“The recommendation flies in the face of scores of scientific studies,” Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML, said in an email, “including reports by the National Academy of Sciences and California’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, plus the experience of countless California patients and doctors who have found medical cannabis valuable for treating intractable chronic pain.”

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Medical Marijuana Is A ‘Safe And Effective Treatment’ For Pain And Sleep Issues In Older People, Study Shows

A new study on the use of medical marijuana by older patients—age 50 and above—concludes that “cannabis seemed to be a safe and effective treatment” for pain and other conditions.

“Most patients experienced clinically significant improvements in pain, sleep, and quality of life and reductions in co-medication,” the paper says.

Published late last month in the journal Cannabis, the study evaluated 229 participants in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada, with an average age of 66.7 years. The bulk of participants—around 90 percent—used medical marijuana to treat pain-related conditions, including chronic pain and arthritis. About two thirds (66.2 percent) were female.

Nearly all patients used products consumed orally, such as edibles and extracts, as opposed to smoked or vaporized cannabis, and most preferred products high in CBD and relatively low in THC.

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