No pot for PTSD patients in Colorado

Colorado officials on Wednesday rejected placing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the list of conditions that qualify for medical marijuana.

The Colorado Board of Health voted 6-2 against a proposal to include PTSD patients. Qualified ailments for pot prescriptions include cancer, glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, persistent muscle spasms, seizures, and severe nausea or pain. The list has not changed since Colorado legalized medical marijuana in 2001.

The board noted there is no medical research to prove PTSD sufferers are valid recipients for medical pot. Its members could not justify marijuana use for PTSD, despite hearing approving testimony from physicians.

“People are going to use it anyway,” Dr. Sue Sisley told the board Wednesday. She said putting PTSD on the registry will make it safer for people seeking treatment. Those using marijuana to treat their symptoms ask dispensary employees for recommendations instead of trained physicians. If put on the list, Sisley said doctors could recommend marijuana strains that provide relief without the drug’s psychoactive properties.

According to a 2012 Department of Veterans Affairs report, 20 percent of soldiers returning from the Middle East deal with PTSD. The most common symptoms include anxiety, depression, and flashbacks. There is also a link between PTSD and veterans committing suicide.

Sisley said most PTSD sufferers will be able to get medical marijuana claiming they have “severe pain,” but having PTSD on the registry would promote transparency and accurate treatment.

“We don’t want people to suffer as a result of not being able to access [the registry] honestly,” said Colorado’s chief medical officer, Dr. Larry Wolk.

Many of the physicians on the board said they could not approve treatment without clear evidence from federal research showing marijuana will help people with PTSD. Dr. Tony Cappello, the board’s chairman, called PTSD a terrible condition without a clear method of treatment.

Sisley blamed the lack of evidence on a federal stranglehold on cannabis research. The University of Mississippi, overseen by the Institute of Drug Abuse, has the only federally legal marijuana garden in the country. It is the only source of sanctioned studies on cannabis.

Sanctioned research done in Colorado could cut down the wait time for research-grade cannabis to several months, Sisley said. In its current state, doctors likely will wait years for federally provided marijuana to prove positive effects on patients, she said.

Nine out of the 23 states allowing medical marijuana list PTSD as a qualifying condition. This is the third time Colorado's health board rejected the request.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.