Illinois Governor approves medical marijuana pilot program

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on July 05, 2016.

Illinois' experiment with marijuana received a great deal of encouragement after the Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill on Thursday, extending the state pilot program for 2 ½ years and including two more medical conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder  (PTSD) and terminal illness.

The measure extends the pilot program through July 2020. It also streamlines how doctors approve patients and gives the governor the ability to reappoint members of the Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board.

The measure would provide guaranteed confidence to patients for using medical marijuana and those selling and cultivating the drug in the state, viewed the advocates and experts of medical marijuana.

In his view, the President of the Illinois Cannabis Bar Association Bob Morgan says that medical marijuana, as per the new law, will be available across Illinois and people need not to purchase marijuana illegally or travel other states that already have medical marijuana program.

State Representative Lou Lang, the Democrat who has sponsored medical marijuana proposals, says the extension and technical damages are crucial to gauging the program’s success.

The pilot program of medical marijuana in Illinois began under former Governor. Pat Quinn and continued under Rauner, who for more than a year resisted expanding the program beyond the original 39 conditions and diseases listed in the law.

Notably, the law of Illinois allows people to petition the state in order to add health conditions to the eligible list, but Rauner's administration has rejected all new conditions despite the advice of an expert panel that reviewed available medical evidence.

comments powered by Disqus