COLUMBUS, Ohio — More Ohioans now qualify to use medical marijuana.
The State Medical Board approved a committee recommendation Wednesday to add irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to the list of conditions that doctors in Ohio can recommend marijuana for as treatment.
IBS is a gastrointestinal disorder. According to the Cleveland Clinic, people with IBS get excessive gas, abdominal pain and cramps. Often people with IBS can have normal bowl movements some days, while having abnormal bowel movements on other days.
According to medical experts, patients can have three main types of IBS.
- IBS with constipation (IBS-C): Most of your stool is hard and lumpy.
- IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D): Most of your stool is loose and watery.
- IBS with mixed bowel habits (IBS-M): You have both hard and lumpy stool along with loose and watery stool on the same day.
IBS impacts around 5% to 10% of the worldwide population, according to the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders (IFFGD). Experts said the exact cause of IBS is unknown. Symptoms are usually a result of a disturbance in the way the gut, brain and nervous system interact. Patients can have everything form a minor inconvenience to severe debilitation.
The National Library of Medicine said medical marijuana can help patients better deal with some IBS symptoms by reducing inflammation and lowering overall sensitivity.
The list of 25 other conditions that can qualify for medical marijuana include things like epilepsy, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the Columbus dispatch, people with chronic IBS were previously eligible for a medical marijuana card due to their chronic pain.
Wednesday's decision is expected to allow many more IBS patients the option for medical marijuana treatment even if they do not suffer from chronic pain.
The board rejected petitions to add autism to the approved list of conditions. This is the fifth time that autism has been rejected.
Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) was also rejected by the board.
There is a push in Ohio legalize recreational marijuana. Last week, The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol dropped off more than 222,000 signatures to the Ohio Secretary of State's office. Advocates now have to wait until later this month to see if they make it on the November ballot.
Spokesperson Tom Haren wants voters to choose if Ohio should pass a new law regarding marijuana.
"We're very confident that we're going to pass the ballot in November," Haren said.
It would legalize and regulate recreational cannabis for adults 21 years of age and older. Individual Ohioans would also be able to grow up to six plants, but up to 12 per household.
This proposal would also impose a 10% tax at the point of sale for each transaction, which activists say would raise $350 to $400 million in new tax revenue annually.
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