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Autism, 10 other conditions now qualify patients for medical marijuana

The list now features 22 ailments that will allow a doctor to recommend a medical marijuana card for a patient.

LANSING, Mich. - The state on Monday added 11 medical conditions, including autism, chronic pain, Parkinson's disease and Tourette's syndrome, to the list of ailments that could qualify a person for a medical marijuana card.

The list, approved by LARA director Shelly Edgerton, now features 22 ailments that will allow a doctor to recommend a medical marijuana card for a patient. A doctor must approve a person for a card. The state charges a patient $150 for the medical marijuana card.

But she also rejected requests for 11 other medical conditions, including anxiety, asthma, depression, schizophrenia and panic attacks.

“With the changes in state law to include marijuana-infused products, and the advancement of marijuana research, and upon the recommendation of the panel members, I’ve added these eleven conditions to the approved list,” Edgerton said in a statement released Monday.

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Her decision came after several hearings this spring that included testimony from people who were looking to get the list of medical conditions expanded.

Included in the list of approved medical conditions: arthritis, autism, chronic pain, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, obsessive compulsive disorder, Parkinson's, Rheumatoid arthritis, spinal cord injury, Tourette's syndrome and ulcerative colitis.

The ailments will be added to the existing list, which includes: post traumatic stress disorder, cancer, glaucoma, HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis C, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Chron's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and nail patella, as well as a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition that produces wasting syndrome, severe and chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures including epilepsy, severe muscle spasms including multiple sclerosis

Conditions that were denied by Edgerton: anxiety, asthma, brain injury, depression, diabetes, gastric ulcer, non-severe and non-chronic pain, organ transplant, panic attacks, schizophrenia, social anxiety disorder.

In Michigan, there are 269,533 medical marijuana card holders. In November, Michigan voters will consider a ballot proposal that would legalize marijuana for adult recreational use.

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal

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