New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation this weekend that adds post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the list of conditions for which medical marijuana can legally be prescribed. The law goes into effect immediately.
Cuomo said the 19,000 New Yorkers with PTSD who could potentially be helped by medical marijuana include veterans, fire fighters and police officers as well as survivors of domestic violence, crime and accidents.
“If there are veterans that are suffering and we can make a treatment available, we want to,” Cuomo said. “It’s something that we’ve been talking about for a long time and I’m glad we’re taking action today. Our veterans risked their lives in order to defend the ideals and principles that this nation was founded upon and it is our duty to do everything we can to support them when they return home,” he added.
New York has become the 28th state to allow its citizens with PTSD to access medical marijuana as a treatment.
Medical marijuana has already been available in Israel as a medical treatment for at least two years. However, cannabis remains a highly controlled substance and doctors are required to complete a state-certified training program before they are licensed to prescribe it. Israeli scientists have been studying the use of medical cannabis for decades.