As of Friday, July 29, nearly 500 more people are eligible to be part of Minnesota’s Medical cannabis program. The 481 people who qualify have chronic pain that can’t be controlled well with existing treatment methods.

Starting Monday, August 1, these intractable pain patients can start receiving medical cannabis at one of the state’s eight cannabis patient centers. The influx of intractable pain patients marks the program’s highest number of newly certified patients in any single month.

With the addition of these patients, the total number of approved patients for all conditions is 1,827. The number of health care practitioners who approve patients also increased from 605 to 625 in July.

“Many patients and providers are showing an interest in medical cannabis as a possible treatment for intractable pain,” said Michelle Larson, director of the MDH Office of Medical Cannabis. “We’ve increased the staffing at our call center and have been receiving hundreds of calls from Minnesotans who have questions about the program.”

The first step for a patient is to visit a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant. Once a provider certifies a patient has a qualifying condition, the patient can register on the MDH website to receive medical cannabis at one of the state’s eight locations.

The medical marijuana shop in Moorhead opened on June 18. It's located at 104 7th Street South.

The Office of Medical Cannabis relies on the professional judgment of the certifying health care practitioner to address the question of whether the full range of treatments for an individual patient has been sufficiently used to meet the program’s definition of intractable pain.

As part of Minnesota’s program, practitioners voluntarily choose whether to certify patients. Minnesota insurers do not cover medical cannabis, so patients need to consider potential out-of-pocket costs that can total hundreds of dollars a month.

Medical cannabis in Minnesota comes in pill or liquid forms, not as a plant for smoking or as an edible product.

For more information, click on the link attached to this story.

Links Minnesota Medical Cannabis information

