IL Judge Orders State to Reconsider MMJ for Migraines

In a move that could further boost patient numbers for Illinois’ medical cannabis industry, a judge has ordered that the state should reconsider adding migraine headaches to the list of qualifying conditions for MMJ.

The ruling, by Cook County Circuit Court Associate Judge Rita Novak, contravenes a decision by the Illinois Department of Public Health’s director to reject adding migraines to the list, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Novak ruled that the director must “reconsider evidence presented to the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board” after a lawsuit was filed by a man who had been using cannabis to treat his headaches, according to the Tribune.

The ruling does not require the state to add migraines to the list, but only reexamine the evidence. If migraines were to be added, however, it would “open up the patient population fairly sizably,” former Illinois MMJ program director Joe Wright told the paper.