WARWICK — B&B Medical Marijuana Evaluation Center/B&B Consulting has petitioned the R.I. Department of Health to add opioid addiction to the list of conditions that can be treated by medical marijuana, with a public hearing on the request set for Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. in the Department of Health’s auditorium.
According to Joseph Wendelken, spokesman for RIDOH, there are two ways a condition can be added to the list of conditions allowed to be treated with medical marijuana in Rhode Island – either the General Assembly can add a condition, or a person (or group) can petition the Rhode Island Department of Health to have a condition added.
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Currently, state law allows medical marijuana to treat conditions/diseases including cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDs, Hepatitis C, post-traumatic stress disorder, or chronic/debilitating conditions that cause wasting syndrome; severe, debilitating, chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures or muscle spasms, including multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease.
B&B Medical, launched in 2012, is the only licensed medical-marijuana evaluation center in the state, holding credentials from the R.I. Department of Health as an ambulatory clinic.
RIDOH will review the public comments received during the hearing and in writing, review medical literature on the issue, and seek input from clinicians and researchers. Ultimately, Dr. Alexander-Scott, director of the RIDOH, will issue a decision on the petition. The decision is required 180 days after the department’s receipt of the petition. Since the application was received Oct. 24, the decision is expected sometime before mid-April, Wendelken said.
So far, only Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois have allowed medical marijuana as a treatment for opioid dependency.
Written comments may be mailed to Paula Pullano, Rhode Island Department of Health, 3 Capitol Hill, Providence, RI, 02908, or by e-mail to paula.pullano@health.ri.gov either before or on the day of the hearing. Written comments received after 5 p.m. on Feb. 6 will not be accepted.
People planning to comment during the hearing at Rhode Island Department of Health Auditorium, Lower Level, 3 Capitol Hill, Providence, RI, 02908 at 10 a.m. are asked to bring the comments in writing so they can be included in the record of public comments.
Rob Borkowski is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Borkowski@PBN.com.
