By Monterey Bud

 

Potentially joining Arizona’s list of qualified medical conditions for the state’s MMJ program, a judge ruled Arizona’s DHS (Department Of Health Services) erroneously rebuffed a hearing which should have considered allowing those with Parkinson’s Disease access to the state’s medical marijuana program.

Per an intriguing post in Friday’s Phoenix New Times, administrative law judge Dorinda Lang, pursued with overwhelming zeal the broken rationale that led to last month’s rejection of Parkinson’s Disease by the Arizona Department of Health Services, responsible for overseeing the state’s medical marijuana program. Contending the Arizona Department of Health Services has held Arizona’s potential cannabis patients to a higher standard than required by law.

The wise and all-seeing judge concluded DHS should have allowed the hearing, pointing out the law clearly instructs that any evidence be submitted that cannabis can help a patient – as opposed to relying solely on “sufficient evidence of acceptable scientific quality,” the convoluted rationale provided for denying the Parkinson’s hearing.

Tick, tick, tick…

The clock is running. Currently, Arizona’s DHS has approximately 30 days to review the judge’s verdict and reconsider their last ill-fated decision. The state has two choices: hold a hearing or step up to the plate of responsibility and simply add Parkinson’s to the list of qualifying conditions.

Currently, the following conditions qualify  for Arizona’s medical marijuana program:

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease
• Cancer
• Crohn’s disease
• Glaucoma
• HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)
• AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
• Hepatitis C
• A chronic or debilitating disease, medical condition or the treatment that causes:
  1. Cachexia or wasting syndrome
  2. Severe and chronic pain
  3. Severe nausea; Seizures, epilepsy
  4. Severe or persistent muscle spasms, MS

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it. Thanks to Judge Lang’s Friday ruling, additional hearings to expand the qualifying conditions could soon be high on Arizona’s DHS “to-do” list.

During 2015, the Arizona Cannabis Nurses Association petitioned the Arizona Department Of Health And Human Services eight times – suggesting the addition of several qualifying conditions. In their infinite wisdom, the ADHS rejected each and every request. Last year’s rejected ailments included Huntington’s Disease, Autism, and TBI (traumatic brain injury).