Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experts: DEA Out Of Step With Scientific Understanding Of Medical Marijuana
The Washington Post: 25 States Now Call Marijuana 'Medicine.' Why Doesn’t The DEA?
John Kasich signed Ohio's medical marijuana bill into law yesterday, making it the 25th state (26 counting Washington, D.C.) to allow some form of medical marijuana use. Ohio's measure is more restrictive than medical marijuana bills in many other states. It does not allow patients to smoke marijuana -- they must ingest it orally via edible products, or use a vaporizer. It doesn't allow patients to grow their own marijuana, and only a handful of conditions, including epilepsy, chronic pain and cancer, qualify for a medical marijuana recommendation. (Ingraham, 6/9)
Meanwhile, smoking marijuana doesn't necessarily mean consumers can't get the better nonsmokers rates from life insurers —
Kaiser Health News: Customers’ Pot Smoking May Not Be A Deal Breaker For Life Insurers
If you smoke marijuana and you’re shopping for life insurance, chances are you can find a company that won’t penalize you for your habit, but you may have to weed out several insurers to find the best policy. Eighty percent of the 148 underwriters who were surveyed by reinsurer Munich Re at the Association of Home Office Underwriters annual conference last year said their company factors marijuana use into its decisions on how to price policies and whether to offer coverage. Yet, of those, 29 percent classify marijuana users as nonsmokers, potentially allowing them to qualify for the best nonsmoker rates. (Andrews, 6/10)
