Editor's note: Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner recently asked for changes lowering allowed possession limits and and increasing fines in a marijuana decriminalization bill. We also reported when he also rejected a "broad rejection of expanding the list of diseases" treatable with medical marijuana, including PTSD.
COUNTRYSIDE, Ill. (AP) — An advisory board voted Wednesday to add chronic pain syndrome and three other pain conditions to the list of illnesses that can be treated by marijuana in Illinois.
The state’s Medical Cannabis Advisory Board had expressed frustration last month when Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration rejected its first 11 suggestions for expanding the list of medical conditions.
Board chair Dr. Leslie Mendoza Temple said Wednesday that she hopes the Rauner administration will have a different response to the latest round of suggestions after dispensaries start selling the drug, which will be later this month or in early November.
Until the budget impasse in Springfield is resolved, board member Dr. Eric Christoff said, “we’re in a holding pattern, and we will carry on with our work.” But he believes the Rauner administration and lawmakers will see when sales begin that marijuana is a revenue stream. The Illinois law established a 7 percent tax on marijuana sales.
