A proposal in West Virginia would allow healthcare providers to recommend patients for the state’s medical cannabis program based on their clinical judgment, not a fixed list of qualifying conditions.
West Virginia Bill Would Allow Doctors to Use ‘Professional Judgement’ for Medical Cannabis Program Access
Woman patient having consultation with doctor (gynecologist or psychiatrist) and examining health in medical gynecological clinic or hospital mental health service center
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A bill introduced last week in West Virginia would expand the state’s medical cannabis program by allowing healthcare providers to recommend patients for the program based on clinical judgment rather than a fixed list of qualifying conditions, WVNews reports. Under current state law, patients can only be accepted to the program if they have one of 15 specific medical conditions.
According to the bill text, the bill would “grant authority to attending physicians to use his or her professional judgement to certify that a patient’s serious medical condition would benefit from the use of medical cannabis.”
Under current state law, patients can only access medical cannabis if they are diagnosed with:
- Cancer
- HIV or AIDS
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
- Spinal cord damage with neurological spasticity
- Epilepsy
- Neuropathies
- Huntington’s Disease
- Crohn’s Disease
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Intractable seizures
- Sickle Cell Anemia
- Severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin
- Terminal illness with a life expectancy of one year or less
The proposal is currently being considered by the Committee on Health and Human Resources and, if approved, would still need to advance through the Judiciary Committee before moving to the House floor for a vote by the full chamber.
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