PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Senate Health and Human Services Committee is mulling legislation that would allow post-traumatic stress disorder to be treated with medical marijuana.

Democratic Sen. Stephen Archambault, of Smithfield, introduced the legislation.

The bill would add PTSD to the list of debilitating medical conditions that qualify for medical marijuana treatment. It would also accelerate the issuance of an approved medical marijuana use application if the patient is eligible for hospice care.

Archambault says PTSD is especially prevalent among military veterans and lawmakers have a responsibility to provide them with treatment options.

Canada is in the midst of drawing up guidelines for end-of-life care, but some doctors believe that the medical system isn't doing enough to offer high-quality pain relief to patients, including the option to use medical marijuana.

Though researchers are learning that cannabis can offer many benefits in pain relief, less than 10 per cent of palliative care patients are able to access the drug, in part because of outdated restrictions that make it hard to access, some doctors say.

Fulvia Mrusek is one patient who is able to use medical marijuana. The 66-year-old Woodbridge, Ont., resident recently learned she has Stage 4 lung cancer that has spread to her bones, despite the fact that she never smoked.

Frequent cannabis use can have serious consequences for youth

Some Nova Scotia doctors are concerned young people are receiving prescriptions to smoke medical marijuana, despite the effects marijuana has on the developing brain.

Currently, there are no laws in Canada regarding the age at which people can receive prescriptions for marijuana and different organizations have different recommendations.

The legalization of medical marijuana in 23 states (and counting) has given patients suffering from seizure disorders, nerve damage, glaucoma and cancer treatment a much-needed weapon in the war against pain. It has also left doctors uneasy, to say the least, about their role as gatekeepers of a federally controlled substance for which clinical research is limited. Some worry about legal liability. Others fear for their license, even in states where cannabis is approved for medicinal use. Their concern is not without merit.

A 50-year-old man from Illinois who was diagnosed with “incurable inoperable” lung and pericardial heart sac cancer, was told by his doctors he had about a year to live with the aid of chemotherapy.

Darren Miller began looking desperately for a cure beyond chemotherapy, which left him with “blisters on his mouth, blood hands and feet” according to his Facebook page. Then he found and decided to supplement the treatments with cannabis oil.

Activist post reports:

After years of denial, the National Institute of Drug Abuse has finally admitted that marijuana does kill certain cancer cells – including those cells in brain tumors. Marijuana has also been found to reduce the size of other tumors, which is not completely possible with cancer chemotherapy/radiation therapies.

Notably, there are moderate advantages to be garnered from medicinal cannabis. Unfortunately, it also possess some disadvantages which should be considered. Marijuana can reverse cognitive decline…as long as it’s not laced with toxic pesticides. One of the most surprising and recent revelations about cannabinoids are their capability to perform as antioxidants in the brain. German experts have found that the brain’s cannabinoid system has the capability of restoring impaired brain cells, while developing new ones. Cannabinoids may curb the effects of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease and possibly more.

Medical marijuana is legal in New York, but veterans’ doctors are still forbidden from recommending it.

It’s a painful irony for those like retired Cpl. Matthew Welch, whose wartime injuries 11 years ago left him with severe nerve damage and phantom pains in his left leg.

“To me, we’re the people who fought for freedom. We should not be restricted the way it seems like we’re being restricted,” said Welch, who lives in Corinth with his wife and three children.

“It seems a lot harder for a veteran to get medical marijuana than a civilian,” he said.

Acquittal On Wednesday 10th February 2016, the Amsterdam court acquitted Dutch medicinal cannabis grower Rudolf Hillebrand of the charge of illegally growing cannabis.  The court agreed with the defence that Hillebrand cultivated cannabis as an essential supplement to his HIV medication and definitely not for financial gain. A historic verdict!