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08/18/2017

CONSUMER PROTECTION COMMISSIONER ACCEPTS BOARD OF PHYSICIANS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NEW MEDICAL MARIJUANA CONDITIONS

Friday, August 18th, 2017 – Today, the Board of Physicians met to discuss adding conditions to the Medical Marijuana Program. The Board previously met in June, and recommended that we add three (3) conditions. Today, the Board recommended to the Commissioner that we replace two (2) previously recommended conditions with conditions that will allow physicians to treat medical marijuana patients more effectively, and avoid redundancy in the program’s conditions.

“The Board of Physicians’ public hearings are an incredibly important part of this process,” said Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull, “I want to thank the members of the public for their brave testimony, and the Board for their thoughtful discussion of these new conditions.”
Commissioner Seagull has accepted the Board’s recommendations, and will begin the process of updating the state’s medical marijuana regulations.

The Board’s recommendations are:
  • Remove “Intractable Migraines” and add “Intractable Headache Syndromes”
  • Remove “Trigeminal Neuralgia” and add “Neuropathic Facial Pain”
Both of these conditions are being added only for patients over the age of 18.
After DCP drafts a regulation to add the conditions, there will be an additional public hearing and comment period. The regulation then will be reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General, and ultimately require the approval of the Regulation Review Committee of the General Assembly.

Those who wish to petition the Board of Physicians may visit DCP’s website here for the process, and any questions can be directed via email to dcp.mmp@ct.gov.

There are currently 19,124 medical marijuana patients, and 724 certifying physicians registered with the state’s program. Today, there are 22 conditions that qualify adult patients for medical marijuana, and 6 conditions that qualify patients under 18. The Board of Physicians consists of 9 members found here.

As a result of Board of Physicians public hearings this year, DCP will be adding 7 new conditions to the state’s medical marijuana regulations. If those conditions are all approved through the regulatory process, there will be 29 conditions that qualify adults, and 7 that qualify patients under 18. 

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Media Contact:
Lora Rae Anderson
lorarae.anderson@ct.gov 
(860) 713-6019 (o)
(860) 247-8711 (c)
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