Connecticut Moves to Add Chronic Pain to Cannabis Program

The Connecticut Board of Physicians has approved chronic pain and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome as qualifying conditions for the state’s medical cannabis program, according to a WFSB report. Ehlers-Danlos syndrome affects connective tissues, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

The board also considered adding night terrors/parasomnia but it was ultimately not recommended for the program.

Final approval for the conditions are still required by the Regulations Review Committee of the state General Assembly. In June, the state Department of Consumer Protection approved interstitial cystitis, a chronic bladder pain syndrome; intractable neuropathic pain that is unresponsive to traditional medical treatments; medial arcuate ligament syndrome, which causes severe abdominal pain; Tourette syndrome; and vulvodynia and vulvar burning, which causes pain in female genitalia.

If the two conditions are approved by the General Assembly, the total number of qualifying conditions will be 38.  

As of September 29, there are 36,653 medical cannabis patients in the state with just four producers, 14 dispensaries, and 1,117 recommending physicians. 

Lawmakers in the state are considering recreational cannabis legalization. Last week Gov. Ned Lamont and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo met to discuss legalization as the Democrats are pushing for a uniform regional approach to the reforms, the Hartford Courant reports. The states are bordered by Massachusetts which legalized cannabis sales for adults last year.