New Mexico’s Health Secretary Lynn Gallagher has rejected state Medical Cannabis Advisory Board recommendations on Wednesday that could have added Alzheimer’s disease and opiate dependence to the list of conditions that allow patients to buy medical marijuana legally.
It was last November that the board had overwhelmingly voted 5-1 to recommend adding opiate use disorder to the list of medical conditions in New Mexico’s medical cannabis program.
Gallagher rejected the recommendation on the reason that there was not enough scientific research to support the argument that marijuana could offer relief from pain or any person suffering from an opiate addiction.
She explained on Wednesday, “While I share the Advisory Board’s concern about opioid use and its costs, I cannot say with confidence that the use of cannabis for treatment of opioid dependence and its symptoms would be either safe or effective.”
She added: “Also, I am concerned that utilizing one addictive substance to treat dependence on another without reliable medical evidence and human research studies is problematic at best considering our current opiate epidemic.”
