Iowa board rejects two medical marijuana conditions

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In a setback for Iowa’s small and limited medical cannabis program, state regulators rejected recommendations to add two more qualifying conditions for those who could be treated with MMJ.

The Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Board turned down recommendations to change the state’s medical marijuana laws to allow treatment for panic disorders and attention deficit disorders, according to Des Moines TV station KCCI.

Last November, the board approved post-traumatic stress disorder and intellectual disability with aggression as conditions allowed to be treated by MMJ.

However, at the same time, it turned down the use of MMJ to treat opioid dependency and Alzheimer’s.

MedPharm Iowa, which runs dispensaries in the state, asked the board to raise to 17 grams the amount of medical marijuana that could be sold over a 90-days period, but the board stood by its previous recommendation of a purchase limit of 4.5 grams over 90 days.

In 2019, Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds vetoed a bill to raise the medical marijuana sales cap to 25 grams over 90 days.

Meanwhile, legislators are looking at various bills to expand the MMJ market in Iowa.