What is a Debilitating Medical Condition? — Medical Marijuana Clinic of Louisiana | Doctor Victor H Chou, M.D. | Baton Rouge, LA

3 min readSep 1, 2020

Introduction

As you might already know, on August 1, 2020, new legislation in Louisiana allowed patients with ANY Debilitating Medical Condition to be recommended medical marijuana.

As a patient, you might have a number of questions, such as “What is a Debilitating Medical Condition?” or more importantly, “Do I have a Debilitating Medical Condition?”

In today’s article, Dr. Chou discusses the definition of a Debilitating Medical Condition.

Listed Conditions

Some conditions are specifically listed in the law, and if you have one of these conditions, it automatically qualifies as a Debilitating Medical Condition.

The most common of these conditions include:

There are approximately 20 other conditions that are specifically listed under the law as Debilitating Medical Conditions.

Patients in Hospice or Palliative Care

Another situation where a patient automatically qualifies as having a Debilitating Medical Condition is a patient who is receiving Hospice or Palliative Care.

Any Debilitating Medical Condition

Finally, the law allows patients to qualify for Medical Marijuana if they have ANY Debilitating Medical Condition.

While the law does not specifically define Debilitating Medical Condition, in general, a Debilitating Medical Condition is a CHRONIC condition whose symptoms cause SIGNIFICANT problems with everyday functioning despite conventional medical treatment.

Other common conditions that can be a Debilitating Medical Condition include:

Our Medical Marijuana Information page has a list of additional conditions that may also be Debilitating Medical Conditions.

Patients who have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses or end stage diseases, are unable to work or attend school due to their medical condition, or receive assistance with daily tasks through home health or facility care, will likely also have an underlying Debilitating Medical Condition.

Not all Patients will Receive a Recommendation

One thing that patients may not realize is that just because you HAVE a Debilitating Medical Condition does not mean that you WILL be recommended Medical Marijuana.

For example, if the physician determines that something else in your medical profile could make Medical Marijuana unsafe, such as a particular medication that you take or another medical diagnosis that you have, the physician may not recommend medical marijuana in your particular situation.

Summary

Thank you for reading our latest article and watching our latest video on Debilitating Medical Conditions.

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