Marijuana prescriptions permitted for many conditions

While the state of Illinois has a long list of medical conditions which are eligible for treatment with legal marijuana, a local physician feels that he would be comfortable prescribing for only a few of them.

The official list from the state includes such conditions as cancer, lupus, Crohn's Disease, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, HIV and AIDS. Doctor Larry Jones of Primary Care Group of Harrisburg has a short list of conditions he feels comfortable prescribing medical marijuana for.

"Many of these conditions on the state list have not been shown to benefit from such treatment," Jones said. "There have not been studies done on that type of treatment."

Jones states that several conditions respond or benefit from medical marijuana, either in tablet form of inhaled.

"In the case of advanced cancer, it is a useful adjunct to treating pain. As an appetite stimulant in AIDS patients and as an anti-emetic or nausea and vomiting inhibitor, these are conditions where I would feel comfortable about prescribing it," Jones stated.

Jones went on to say that while he had not personally prescribed medical marijuana, several doctors in the Harrisburg area have prescribed the form of marijuana known as Dronabinol as a treatment for nausea and a preventative for vomiting.

"I think it is a very generous list," Jones said, referring to the official Illinois list of conditions eligible for medical marijuana. "There are a lot of conditions where I don't think adequate studies have been done to show the effectiveness of such treatment."