Iowans seeking to treat their ailment with medical marijuana will finally get their chance, but they will have to wait until December.
The Iowa Department of Public Health revealed Tuesday the five cities where patients can go to get cannabis oil: Council Bluffs, Davenport, Sioux City, Waterloo and Windsor Heights.
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Patients will be able to purchase cannabis oil (such as a cream, gel capsule or oil) with a state permit; smoking marijuana remains prohibited. The qualifying conditions for patients include:
- Cancer (with severe or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, cachexia or severe wasting).
- Multiple sclerosis with severe and persistent muscle spasms.
- Seizures.
- AIDS or HIV (as defined in Iowa Code, section 141A.1).
- Crohn’s disease.
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
- Any terminal illness, with a probable life expectancy of under one year (if the illness or its treatment produces one or more of the following: severe or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting; cachexia or severe wasting).
- Parkinson’s disease.
- Untreatable pain.
According to a report in the Des Moines Register:
The stores are planned by MedPharm Iowa in Windsor Heights and Sioux City; Have a Heart Compassion Care in Council Bluffs and Davenport; and Iowa Cannabis Company in Waterloo. MedPharm is based in Des Moines. The other two companies are based in Washington state, which has allowed medical uses of marijuana since 1998.
The dispensaries are to be set up under Iowa’s new medical marijuana law, which will allow sales of some types of marijuana-derived medications to people suffering from maladies such as epilepsy, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease or intractable pain.
Cedar Rapids, the state’s second-largest city, was denied a dispensary. Nearby Iowa City — home of the University of Iowa, the state’s largest college, was also shut out. The entire Southern Iowa region was also denied participation in the program.
The Iowa Department of Public Health announced that cannabis oil sales would be permitted in Council Bluffs, Sioux City, Davenport, Waterloo and the Des Moines suburb of Windsor Heights.
Permits will be required to purchase medical marijuana, with sales to begin by Dec. 1. Qualifying medical conditions could include cancer, multiple sclerosis, seizures, Parkinson’s disease, untreatable pain and painful terminal illnesses. Permits will be issued to adult patients living in Iowa and primary caregivers of patients living in Iowa.
