Albuquerque, NM–(ENEWSPF)–March 6, 2014. Representatives of the New Mexico Department of Health have announced their intentions to expand the state’s medical cannabis program.
State Health Secretary Retta Ward accepted an advisory board’s recommendation to expand the state’s existing list of qualifying conditions for which cannabis may be recommended to include Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
The Department is also seeking to increase the number of plants that licensed producers may legally produce at one time from 150 total cannabis plants and seedlings to 150 mature plants and 300 seedlings.
Under present regulations, 23 individuals are licensed to produce medical cannabis. The Department is anticipated to seek applications from as many as 12 additional producers, the Associated Press reports.
The agency’s plans to increase the state’s supply of medical cannabis comes after the release of a 2013 Department of Health report finding that existing supply is falling well short of patients’ demands.
In 2009, New Mexico became the first state to license producers of medicinal cannabis.
Source: http://norml.org
