Rhode Island resident Ellen Lenox Smith lives with two rare, painful, incurable conditions: Ehler-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which affects her body’s connective tissue (joints, skin and blood vessel walls), and sarcoidosis, an inflammatory chest disease.Smith has had 24 surgeries; she’ll likely need number 25 soon. What’s more, her body can’t metabolize Tylenol, aspirin, opioids or other common pain medications.Some time ago, Smith’s primary care doctor referred her to a pain clinic specialist, who suggested she try black market cannabis.“It turned my life around,” Smith says. “It gave me a life back.”On Sept. 27, the Medical Marijuana Program Board of Physicians voted to add chronic pain to the list of qualifying symptoms in Connecticut, along with Ehler-Danlos Syndrome. The board voted not to add night terrors, a common symptom of PTSD, which itself is an approved condition.Smith, who volunteers for the non-profit U.S. Pain Foundation in Middletown, Conn., traces her path to medical cannabis on the latest podcast, and Courant reporter Amanda Blanco takes us through the approval process for qualifying conditions.