Rauner Approves Medical Marijuana As 'Weapon' In Opioid Epidemic

ACROSS ILLINOIS — Governor Bruce Rauner signed a measure Tuesday aimed at strengthening the state's fight in the ongoing opioid crisis, allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana instead of opioids to help patients with chronic pain. Rauner's move allows adult patients who currently have or would need a prescription for opioids to qualify for the medical marijuana. The Governor signed the bill into law at the Chicago Recovery Alliance, announcing on social media the approved measure will also ease the cannabis card application process by including a temporary card to decrease the amount of time it takes for a patient to receive their prescription.

The new law is a what Rauner calls a "new weapon" against opioid abuse and the overdose epidemic across the state and country, as 1,946 Illinois residents lost their lives to opioid overdose in 2016, according to the Department of Public Health. That's an 82% increase from the 1072 opioid overdose deaths reported in 2013.

"We are the first state to give medical prescribers a way to help adult patients manage their pain without compromising their safety or Illinois’ marijuana program standards," Rauner said in a Tuesday tweet, also noting that cannabis produces "clinically significant reductions in pain symptoms."

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• Rauner Mulls Medical Marijuana For Opioid Patients
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Patch reported in June the measure, sponsored by Oak Park legislator Sen. Don Harmon (D), would waive the medical marijuana program's criminal and background checks for "an individual diagnosed with and undergoing treatment for a medical condition for which an opioid has been or could be prescribed may receive medical cannabis under specified conditions."

The alternative program would be effective for patients over 21 through 2020.

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