State House passes changes to medical marijuana pilot program

Medical marijuana advocates in Illinois won a big victory in the waning hours of the legislature's spring session.

The Illinois House passed a measure on Monday that would change the program's expiration date to 2020, expand the number of qualifying conditions and make it easier for patients to access medical marijuana.

In a rare display of bipartisanship, Republicans Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Minority Leader Jim Durkin reached an agreement with Democratic state Rep. Lou Lang to extend the medical marijuana pilot program.

“This is a good, well-thought-out piece of legislation,” Lang, from Skokie, said. “I need to again thank the governor for coming to the table and Leader Durkin for working so hard on this.”

The measure adds post-traumatic stress syndrome and terminal illness, with a diagnosis of six months or fewer, to the list of conditions for which a patient can get a medical marijuana card. The card would be valid for three years, instead of one under the original program.

For minors, the measure would also allow two parents' names on their card, instead of one.

Veterans' organizations pushed for the addition of PTSD, citing staggering statistics on veteran suicides that they say would be helped with the use of marijuana.

Under the measure, doctors would only have to certify that a person has a qualifying condition, instead of having to recommend that they use marijuana.

While lawmakers on both side of the aisle voted in favor of the bill, some expressed concerns over the changes.

“We need to let this pilot program work its way out the way a pilot program is supposed to, under the original conditions,” said state Rep. Jeanne Ives, a Wheaton Republican. “Then collect all the data and all the information and decide what changes need to be made.”

The Illinois Senate will likely take it up before the session expires on Tuesday.