Pubdate: Fri, 27 Dec 2013 Source: Boston Globe (MA) Copyright: 2013 Globe Newspaper Company Contact: http://services.bostonglobe.com/news/opeds/letter.aspx?id=6340 Website: http://bostonglobe.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/52 TOURETTE PATIENT DENIED MARIJUANA Maine public health officials have denied an Ellsworth man's request to use marijuana legally to treat Tourette syndrome. The Maine Department of Health and Human Services this week denied a request by the man's doctor, Dustin Sulak, to add Tourette syndrome to the list of medical conditions that qualify for treatment with marijuana. Sulak said a denial letter signed by agency Commissioner Mary Mayhew arrived on Christmas Eve without any explanation for the decision. Sulak and his patient, Peter Hasty, had testified in November that marijuana helped Hasty's muscular tics caused by Tourette. Hasty said marijuana allows him to function in society. Studies looking at the effectiveness of marijuana to treat Tourette are inconclusive. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom