New Mexico's Medical Cannabis Advisory Board Receives Petition To Include Dogs With Epilepsy

New Mexico will have to examine propositions for extending its medical cannabis program to help dogs who suffer from epilepsy and people with attention deficit disorder, reports the Associated Press.

There were five new petitions submitted to the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board, which will meet in December, according to the news agency.

Since launching in 2017, New Mexico’s medical cannabis program has helped almost 80,000 patients with various illnesses, from cancer to HIV, with the majority suffering from PTSD or severe chronic pain.

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Among petitions submitted, one calls upon new studies in veterinary medicine to advocate cannabis use for animals that have seizures, another asks for marijuana use to treat anxiety, deficit hyperactivity, and Tourette’s syndrome.

"The petitioner in New Mexico says that authorizing cannabis for animals would minimize the danger of animal abuse by regulating the use of medical marijuana with pets and provide new treatment tools to veterinarians," according to the AP.

New York and California have recently considered allowing veterinarians to recommend medical cannabis for pets, Carly Wolf, a policy coordinator with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said to the Associated Press. No state has approved that so far.