The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) is adding a new qualifying condition to its medical cannabis program for the first time since June 2019–bringing the total to 29.

The NMDOH announced at the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board meeting Dec. 6 that it is adding anxiety disorder to the list of qualifying conditions for enrollment starting Jan. 1, 2023.

A petition requesting for anxiety disorder to be added as a qualifying condition was submitted to the board in March for consideration and was approved in November by David R. Scrase, Ph.D., Acting Cabinet Secretary for the DOH, according to a press release from the NMDOH.

Scrase wrote in his decision that anxiety disorder is a debilitating condition and that “even though patients may access cannabis without a medical cannabis card through the adult use program, by including anxiety disorder in the list of qualifying conditions, patients would have increased opportunity to discuss with their medical provider how cannabis can be used to alleviate the symptoms of their anxiety disorder.”

A full list of the state’s qualifying conditions can be viewed here.

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