“There’s hope. This is hope.”

And now, the hope is on Gov. Bruce Rauner’s desk.

It’s a bill that adds PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana, but it’s also a bill that is near and dear to Thomas Wolfe’s heart.

“I have PTSD. I’m not afraid to admit it. No one should be afraid to admit it. It’s an illness,” he said.

Wolfe, a Marine Corps veteran, spent two tours in Afghanistan, and he said it was tough coming back home. “It was something you can’t explain. You have to experience it yourself. You felt alienated in a way.”

He said he just wasn’t himself especially after having to take different prescription pills. We first talked to Wolfe back in January, as he and other medical marijuana advocates pushed the state to include the disorder.

It failed in its first attempt.

“We kept hooking and jabbing. We did it, and we couldn’t thank Governor Rauner enough,” Wolfe said.

“We were told by everybody that there was no chance that this happening because of the budget impasse, but when something is that important to that many people, things get done,” McGraw added.

The bill will also include those with terminal illnesses and expand the program through 2020.

Gov. Rauner has already thrown his support behind these changes.

“I don’t think the program is perfect yet, obviously, but I think that it shows the Illinoisans and the industry and patients that their voices are being heard,” McGraw said.

