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Today we’re going to discuss the Qualifying Medical Conditions that allow someone to be recommended for medical marijuana treatment in Louisiana.
What are the Qualifying Medical Conditions
- Cancer
- HIV/AIDS
- Cachexia/Wasting Syndrome
- Muscular Dystrophy/Spasticity
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Seizure Disorders/Epilepsy
- Crohn’s Disease
- Parkinson’s
- PTSD
- Intractable (chronic) pain – under certain conditions
- Glaucoma
- Severe muscle spasms
- Autism – under certain conditions
How does a medical condition get added to the list of qualifying medical conditions?
There are two ways for a medical condition to be added to the list of qualifying medical conditions.
One, the state medial board can add conditions to the list.
Two, the state legislature and governor can pass legislation adding additional conditions.
How do I get a recommendation for medical marijuana if I don’t have a qualifying medical condition?
In Louisiana, unfortunately you don’t. State law is very specific that you must have one of the qualifying medical conditions in order to receive a medical marijuana recommendation.
Does having a qualifying medical condition guarantee a medical marijuana recommendation?
No. There are many additional criteria that have to be met by the patient to receive a medical marijuana recommendation. The state medical board has published a 4 page guideline on situations where medical marijuana treatment may not be appropriate. For example, a patient may be denied a recommendation for the following reasons (non exclusive list):
- is not a Louisiana resident
- has not provided proper informed consent for medical marijuana treatment
- evidence of abuse, diversion, or doctor shopping
- previous mental health history or substance abuse history
- complications from previous marijuana use
- current liver problems, previous heart attack or stroke, blood pressure issues, pregnancy or possible pregnancy, or breastfeeding
- has not considered, attempted, undertaken, or declined conventional therapy
- has not attempted FDA step therapy with FDA approved medications
- medical marijuana could interfere with conventional treatment, lead to a worsening of the condition, or mask an acute or treatable condition.
I saw that Chronic (Intractable) Pain and Autism both have additional qualifying criteria. Is this correct?
It is true that chronic pain and autism have additional qualifying criteria.
In the case of chronic pain, the state medical board passed some guidelines known in the medical field as “pain rules” about 20 years ago. So treatment of chronic pain with medical marijuana would require a doctor to follow the medical marijuana guidelines as well as the “pain rules.”
With regards to autism, the state legislature added additional regulations regarding the types of autism that could be treated and the type of physician that could recommend medical marijuana.
I hope that this article provided additional information for you regarding the Qualifying Medical Conditions in Louisiana. Thanks for reading.
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