FROM THE GLOUCESTER DAILY TIMES

BOSTON — Iraq War veteran Steve Mandile was injured during a deployment and has struggled with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.

He uses marijuana to treat his symptoms, unlike many vets with similar problems who struggle, he said, because the state doesn’t recognize PTSD and other chronic illnesses as medical conditions that qualify them to get a state-issued medical cannabis card.

That would change under a proposal heard Tuesday by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy, which would add PTSD, cancer, opioid use disorder and other illnesses to the list of qualifying conditions.