TRUCE has consistently found the evidence for various strains of whole plant be much stronger for most proven applications for many reasons, e.g., a) the “entourage effect” in which the rich variety of natural cannabinoids work together, and b) the various strains breeders can produce to optimize the balance between, say, CBD and THC in a range that no pharmaceutical products can come close to matching, for example.
(There are fewer products to date that have jumped through the FDA and DEA’s hoops than the fingers on one hand.)
But here’s another very important factor Pennsylvania’s patients are finding out about the hard way: A huge difference in patient cost.
Pennsylvania has a “no smoke” law – which more importantly means no whole flower cannabis can be purchased or grown by patients, so costs are a multiple of the typical price of whole flower in other states.
The article also points out the law leaves patients open not only to the cost of making products out of plants which are perfectly fine medicines on their own, but also to price gouging as the extracted products are subject to exorbitant markups in many cases.
TRUCE has always felt that safe, legal, fair and AFFORDABLE access for all patients are core principles of any real medical cannabis program.
On the positive side locally, the Utah 2018 Medical Cannabis Initiative does allows whole flower product, but with the limitation that patients will have to vaporize rather than smoke it.
#MMJ #PApol #UTpol #WholePlant #SafeLegalAccess #TRUCE
http://ift.tt/2tveH2x
See full article – Pa.’s medical cannabis law legalized only the priciest treatments
