Ask a Stoner: What Medical Conditions Qualify For MMJ in Colorado?

PTSD and stress disorders were just added to the list of conditions for which you can get MMJ in Colorado. And the others?

By Herbert Fuego

June 13, 2017

westword

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "12017618",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17242653",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261320",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18838239",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17261321",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Dear Stoner: I read that PTSD can now get you a medical marijuana card in Colorado. What other illnesses are accepted?
New Here

Dear New Here: On June 5, Governor John Hickenlooper signed a bill that added post-traumatic stress disorder to the state’s list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions — the first addition to the roster since medical marijuana was legalized in 2000. Including PTSD, there are now nine qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Colorado. That doesn’t seem like enough afflictions to account for the Marijuana Enforcement Division’s 94,577 active medical cards at the end of 2016, but some of them are broad. Cancer, HIV and AIDS, glaucoma, cachexia, seizures and persistent muscle spasms are pretty specific, but severe nausea and severe pain — two of the top three reported conditions, according to the MED — are not.
According to the MED’s latest report, more than 93 percent of patients reported severe pain as at least one of their qualifying conditions, citing anything from a broken bone in the past to chronic migraines.

You can petition the Department of Public Health and Environment on the registry’s web page to add another illness to the nine approved for MMJ, but judging from the state’s shot/save record, you’d have a better chance scoring a goal in the Stanley Cup right now.

Have a question for our Stoner? E-mail [email protected] or call the potline at 303-293-2222.

KEEP WESTWORD FREE... Since we started Westword, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Denver, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.