The state Health Department has denied a petition to include post-traumatic stress disorder on the list of conditions eligible for treatment with medical marijuana.
Brian Vicente, the executive director of the group Sensible Colorado and an attorney for the petitioner, said Tuesday the department’s denial shows “politics have trumped compassion.”
Proponents had contended that marijuana could ease the anxiety of post-traumatic stress disorder and said the prevalence of PTSD in war veterans gave the petition urgency.
Health Department officials said they looked for examples of controlled clinical trials of the drug and evidence that marijuana wouldn’t cause more harm than good in considering whether to present the petition to the state Board of Health for its final approval.
The Board of Health has never approved a new condition to add to the medical-marijuana list that voters OK’d in 2000.
John Ingold, The Denver Post
