Advocates launch campaign to protect medical cannabis program

Audio story here:

Emily Kaltenbach

Patients, physicians and advocates have launched a campaign to protect PTSD patient access to medical cannabis.

Today, more than 3,000 New Mexican residents with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD are actively enrolled in our state’s Medical Cannabis Program. Many of them are military veterans, patients living with disabilities, and victims of serious trauma and violent crime. 

This enrollment is being challenged by New Mexico Psychiatrist Dr. William Ulwelling who has filed a petition to the Department of Health requesting PTSD be removed from the list of eligible medical conditions for the enrollment in the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program.

Ulwelling cites lack of scientific evidence for his petition.

Ulwelling-  "I'm not even arguing that there might be some people currently in the program that are benefiting from it, I'm just saying there's no evidence at the current time to say, we could offer this to the people of New Mexico as an accepted treatment.”

The Campaign is standing up to protect the legal rights of patients to access safe medicine. State Director of the New Mexico Drug Policy Alliance, Emily Kaltenbach says since 2009 when it was approved, PTSD has become the disabling condition most frequently indicated by patients in the program.

Kaltenbach- “We’re really concerned because 40% of the patients in the program are qualified under PTSD, that’s the number one condition in the program. Now when we think about who are those patients with PTSD, many of those are veterans. And those veterans deserve to be taken care of when they get home and unfortunately their right is being threatened by this petition.”

On November 8^th, the Drug Policy Alliance is also re-launching an updated version of Healing a Broken System with current numbers and new material related to medical cannabis as a safe and effective treatment for veterans diagnosed with/suffering from symptoms of PTSD. This report examines the significant barriers that veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan face in obtaining effective treatment for mental health and substance abuse problems, and the consequences of leaving these wounds of war untreated.

Ulwelling’s petition will be heard by the program’s Medical Advisory Board at a public hearing, November 7^thfrom 1 – 5 pm at the Harold Runnels Building, 1190 St. Francis Drive in Santa Fe.  The Secretary of Health will have the final decision.

For Newsbreak New Mexico, I’m Vanessa Dabovich. 

Advocates launch campaign to protect medical cannabis program