Michigan mmj panel to consider adding PTSD, autism, asthma, insomnia to law

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Michigan mmj panel to consider adding PTSD, autism, asthma, insomnia to law


LANSING, MI -- A reconstituted state panel on Tuesday is expected to consider petitions seeking to add autism, asthma, insomnia and post-traumatic stress disorder to a list of debilitating conditions suitable for treatment under Michigan's medical marijuana law.

Critics say chronic delays and mismanagement by the state has prevented earlier updates to the 2008 law -- changes they believe could have helped patients treat symptoms and ease pain.

The 15-member Michigan Medical Marihuana Act Review Panel, established under administrative rules in 2009, did not meet until 2012. Earlier this year, panel members voted to recommend adding Parkinson's disease and PTSD to a list of conditions that would allow an individual to qualify for a medical marijuana card.

But the panel was disbanded in late April -- and their recommendations denied -- because the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs determined it had not appointed members in accordance with the administrative rules.

LARA re-appointed the panel in June, but as The Lansing State Journal reported on Sunday, there is concern that the state agency may again have violated the administrative rules by failing to appoint seven members who also serve on the state's Advisory Committee on Pain and Symptom Management.

Jeannie Vogel, a spokesperson for LARA, told MLive that the recently-appointed panel meets all legal requirements. While there are only six committee members who currently serve on the panel, the governor is expected to appoint a new committee member who also will then serve on the panel.

The panel's previous recommendation to add PTSD as a debilitating condition under the medical marijuana law was denied, Vogel said, because a quorum -- or majority -- of members did not concur, as required by state rules. The new panel will revisit the topic on Tuesday.

"Generally, resubmissions of petitions that were previously denied at the department level are not allowed," Vogel said. "However, due to the procedural anomalies related to the original panel, LARA will accept new petitions from those individuals whose petitions were denied."

Martin Chilcutt of Kalamazoo, a navy veteran, sued the state last year for its failure to convene the panel in a timely fashion. The suit was dismissed after the panel began meeting later in the year.

Chilcutt, who says he uses marijuana to treat his own PTSD, attended a panel hearing last year but does not intend to do so this week because he no longer has faith in the state's willingness or ability to update the medical marijuana law.

"It's a mess up there," said Chilcutt. "These people don't know what they're doing. Either LARA is totally incompetent or this administration is doing this on purpose, because it's been four years since this law was passed that they were supposed to review."

Current law allows Michigan individuals to obtain medical marijuana cards if they have been diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV, hepatitis C, Chron's disease and more.

The Michigan Medical Marihuana Act Review Panel is expected to consider petitions for additional ailments during a Tuesday afternoon meeting at the Michigan Library and Historical Center in Lansing.

If the panel recommends adding ailments, LARA would be required to post recommendations online, hold a public hearing within 60 days and forward public comment back to the panel for further consideration. The department director must make a final determination within 180 days of the date a petition is filed.
 

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