By Steve Elliott Hemp News Medical marijuana patients, growers and dispensary operators are pushing for new laws that would expand the number of patients who are authorized to legally use cannabis. Between 13,000 and 15,000 Mainers are currently medical marijuana patients, reports Amy Sinclair at NECN. Ten thousand of those buy from the state's eight licensed dispensaries; the rest get their marijuana from private growers, known as "caregivers." Lawmakers on the Health and Human Services Committee are considering six bills that would allow for more dispensaries, expand the list of qualifying conditions, and increase the number of plants caregivers are allowed to grow. "I think the question is how can we get more medicine to patients from the dispensary system we currently have," said Tim Smale, executive director at the Remedy Compassion Center in Auburn, Maine. Atop the wish list is a new law that would expand the list of qualifying conditions for which doctors may authorized the medicinal use of cannabis. Advocates want to expand the list to include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), opiate addiction and other medical conditions as determined by doctors. "It puts the relationship back where it should be," said Becky DeKeuster, executive director at the Wellness Connection of Maine. "I don't go to my legislator to ask about chronic back pain. This bill would reinforce the primacy of the doctor-patient relationship."
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