SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP/KSDK) — Doctors in Illinois can now prescribe marijuana as a painkiller thanks to a new law intended to counter a growing opioid abuse epidemic.
Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the bill into law Tuesday allowing physicians to temporarily prescribe cannabis for pain relief, effective immediately.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reports that 11,000 people have died from opioid overdoses since 2008. In 2016, opioid abuse killed nearly twice as many people as traffic accidents.
Rep. Kelly Cassidy was the House sponsor. The Chicago Democrat says the plan reforms pain treatment and provides more options to patients.
At HCI Alternatives, a medical marijuana dispensary in Collinsville, the owners are expecting business could triple with more access for patients with pain.
Chief operating officer Scott Abbott is a retired trooper with the Illinois State Police. He said the results he's seen in patients have changed his position on medical marijuana. He's also convinced using it as an alternative to opioid prescriptions can change the crisis associated with their abuse.
"There's no doubt in my mind lives will be saved as a result of this," said Abbott.
Eleven thousand people have died from opioid-related overdoses since 2008, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. In 2016, opioid deaths were nearly double the number of fatal car crashes.
But there are professionals close to the opioid crisis who question medical marijuana's effectiveness is fighting the crisis.
In a statement, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse for the St. Louis area said:
"NCADA recognizes that there is some evidence that shows chemical compounds found in marijuana can be effective in treating certain types of pain. However, portraying medical marijuana as the solution to the opioid epidemic is a simple answer to a complex problem. If it were truly that simple, 9 of the top 10 overdose death states wouldn't also have medical marijuana programs. We support comprehensive, evidence based efforts to address this crisis."
The new law creates a pilot program which includes safeguards against the abuse of medical marijuana.
