Maine Wants to Make Medical Marijuana Available for Opioid Addiction Treatment

Impact

On Tuesday, more than two dozen medical marijuana advocates attended a public hearing in Augusta, Maine, to make the case that medical marijuana can help ease the negative symptoms associated with pain-relieving opioid medications and illegal drugs, according to CBS News

This could be the beginning of good news for supporters of medical marijuana in Maine — no other state in the country acknowledges the addiction to drugs and prescription medications as a requirement to qualify for medical marijuana. According to the Maine Medical Association, Maine could potentially be the first to add the specific condition, CBS News reported. 

number of states, along with the District of Columbia, have already legalized marijuana in a medicinal form. Although the Drug Enforcement Administration currently labels medical marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance "with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse," advocates contend that there are plenty of positive aspects of using the drug for medicinal purposes

"Marijuana saved my life for sure," 23-year-old Britney Lashier, who suffered from a heroin addiction during college and used marijuana to help abandon it, told CBS News

Read more: There's a Big, Surprising Benefit to Eating Weed Rather Than Smoking It
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