Vermont Business Magazine - With overdose deaths from prescription opioids skyrocketing across America, Governor Peter Shumlin on Monday signed a law to expand Vermont's successful medical marijuana system and give doctors an alternative to highly addictive opiates when treating some conditions such as chronic pain. Under the legislation, S14, new groups of Vermonters will now have access to medical marijuana, including those with glaucoma, chronic pain, and patients under hospice care. This adds to conditions that already have access to medical marijuana, which include cachexia or wasting syndrome, cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, seizures, severe pain, and severe nausea.
“At a time when opiate addiction is ravaging our state and drug companies continue to urge our doctors to pass out painkillers like candy, we need to find a more practical solution to pain management. This bill ensures that Vermonters who are suffering will have access to medicine that is high quality, laboratory tested, and most importantly non-addictive,” Shumlin said.
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