Individuals suffering from chronic pancreatitis may soon be able to access Connecticut’s medical marijuana program.
The program’s board of physicians, which is charged with advising the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) on potential additions of debilitating conditions, last week in a virtual meeting recommended that chronic pancreatitis be added to the program for adults, and for patients under 18 “whose pain is recalcitrant to standard medical management.”
DCP Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull on Thursday accepted the condition recommendation, which is subject to approval by the legislature’s Regulations Review Committee.
According to the National Pancreas Foundation, the disease causes inflammation of the pancreas that does not heal or improve. The condition only gets worse over time and causes permanent damage, and impairs a patient’s ability to digest food and make pancreatic hormones. Roughly 50 of 100,000 people suffer from the disease, which typically develops in patients between ages 30 and 40, and is more common in men than women.
Also last week, the board voted against adding acute pancreatitis as a condition in the program. The common cause of acute pancreatitis is having gallstones, and the symptoms are less severe for patients compared to those suffering from chronic pancreatitis, the foundation says.
The board recommendations come months after the Regulations Review Committee voted to allow those suffering from chronic pain and an inherited disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue to access the medical marijuana program.
Treating patients suffering from chronic pain is expected to nearly double the number of registered patients in the program in the coming years, the DCP has said.
Connecticut Pharmaceutical Solutions Inc. (CTPharma), one of the state’s four licensed medical marijuana growers, in recent months told HBJ it’s planning to meet that need by dramatically increasing its footprint in a 216,500-square-foot warehouse/distribution center in Rocky Hill recently vacated by pharmaceutical giant McKesson Corp. CTPharma, which will soon vacate its 15,000-square-foot headquarters in Portland, began operating its Rocky Hill facility in July.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the tightly regulated program to ease some restrictions, which some say could change the way the industry operates long term.
Board members last week said there are currently more than 44,500 patients in the medical marijuana program, over 1,300 certifying physicians and APRNs, 18 dispensary facilities and four producers in Connecticut.
Here’s a list of more than 40 qualified medical conditions under the state’s medical marijuana program for adults and patients under 18.
