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Illinois Medical Marijuana Card Qualifying Conditions
Illinois citizens who have a diagnosis accepted by the state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program can use medical marijuana to manage their debilitating medical conditions. Tens of thousands of Illinois adults now use Illinois medical cannabis to improve their quality of life and daily functioning.
If you or a loved one is experiencing limitations as a result of a chronic condition, cannabis could change your life. Although cannabis is not curative, trained medical marijuana doctors can explain its benefits and advise you on its potential involvement in your care.
The following are the most prevalent conditions diagnosed among qualified patients in the state of Illinois.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain impacts you both physically and emotionally, and it can interfere with everything from your job to your leisure activity. Unfortunately, conventional medicines can have unpleasant side effects that might reduce your quality of life even further.
The THC and CBD in medicinal marijuana bind to and block CB1 and CB2 receptors in the endocannabinoid system of the body. Once there, they change pain pathways by altering dopamine and serotonin transmission, which control the nervous system’s reward pathways. This is why medical cannabis can be an effective alternative to standard pain medications.
Cancer
Cancer and its treatments reduce appetite, increase anxiety, and produce nausea. Medical marijuana can help you function on a daily basis by counteracting the adverse effects of cancer treatment.
Weed effectively stimulates appetite, which can help you consume more nutrients. Furthermore, cannabis alleviates neuropathic pain, nausea, and anxiety symptoms.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD is incapacitating and unpredictable, making it particularly challenging to treat with traditional therapies. Depression, anxiety, and social seclusion are frequently associated with it.
Current research connects PTSD symptoms to CB1 receptor overactivity, which affects the amygdala and sends the brain’s stress response into overdrive. Medical marijuana suppresses these overstimulated CB1 receptors that are thought to increase one’s stress response.
Migraines
Migraines create excruciating headaches that can persist for days. While research is currently limited, surveys of migraine sufferers show that cannabis relieves the symptoms of migraines and may decrease their frequency.
Researchers are still investigating how and why migraines occur, but THC and CBD can help migraine sufferers manage nausea and pain that can make work and school challenging.
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism is distinguished by symptoms such as withdrawal, aggressiveness, and anxiety. Medical marijuana’s soothing effects can help regulate one’s mood, relieve tension, and minimize instances of aggression and compulsion.
THC and CBD, according to researchers, operate together. Medical cannabis promotes psychological stability by engaging and inhibiting hyperactive and miscommunicating CB receptors at the same time.
Full List of Illinois Medical Marijuana Card Qualifying Conditions
- Autism
- Alzheimer’s disease
- HIV/AIDS
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Anorexia nervosa
- Arnold-Chiari malformation
- Cancer
- Cachexia/wasting syndrome
- Causalgia
- Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
- Chronic pain
- Crohn’s disease
- CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome Type II)
- Dystonia
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
- Fibrous Dysplasia
- Glaucoma
- Hepatitis C
- Hydrocephalus
- Hydromyelia
- Interstitial cystitis
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Lupus
- Migraines
- Multiple sclerosis
- Muscular dystrophy
- Myasthenia gravis
- Myoclonus
- Nail-patella syndrome
- Neuro-Behcet’s autoimmune disease
- Neurofibromatosis
- Neuropathy
- Osteoarthritis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Polycystic kidney disease (PKD)
- Post-concussion syndrome
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Residual limb pain
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Seizures (including those characteristic of epilepsy)
- Severe fibromyalgia
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Spinal cord disease (including but not limited to arachnoiditis)
- Tourette syndrome
- Traumatic brain injury
- Ulcerative colitis
- Spinal cord injury causing damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity
- Spinocerebellar ataxia
- Superior canal dehiscence syndrome
- Syringomyelia
- Tarlov cysts
- Terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months or less
- Tourette syndrome
- Traumatic brain injury
- Ulcerative coliti
- Hydromyelia
- Interstitial cystitis
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Lupus
- Migraines
- Multiple sclerosis
- Muscular dystrophy
- Myasthenia gravis
- Myoclonus
- Nail-patella syndrome
- Neuro-Behcet’s autoimmune disease
- Neurofibromatosis
- Neuropathy
- Osteoarthritis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Polycystic kidney disease (PKD)
- Post-concussion syndrome
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Residual limb pain
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Seizures (including those characteristic of epilepsy)
- Severe fibromyalgia
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Spinal cord disease (including but not limited to arachnoiditis)
- Spinal cord injury causing damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity
- Spinocerebellar ataxia
- Superior canal dehiscence syndrome
- Syringomyelia
- Tarlov cysts
- Terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months or less
Don’t Have a Qualifying Condition on This List?
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) does not offer waivers for medical cannabis cards for ailments not included in the state’s Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act. They do, however, accept applications to add conditions from December 1 to December 31 each year.
Furthermore, under Illinois’ Opioid Alternative Pilot Program, patients who could or have received opioids may be eligible for medicinal marijuana.
Even if your medical condition is not on the state’s list of qualifying conditions, you can still contact the Sanctuary to learn more about medical marijuana and the Illinois application process. We can put you in touch with an Illinois medical marijuana healthcare practitioner so you can get your diagnosis, fill out your application, become a medical cannabis patient, and start visiting dispensaries as soon as possible.