I always say that a state’s medical marijuana program is only as good as the list of qualifying conditions it has for its medical marijuana program. Case in point – Minnesota. Minnesota has one of, if not the most restrictive medical marijuana program in the country. Patients cannot grow their own medical marijuana in Minnesota, and in fact, they are not even allowed to smoke medical marijuana. Medical marijuana in Minnesota has to be vaporized, or consumed in a smokeless form.
The list of qualifying conditions in Minnesota is very short compared to most other states with older medical marijuana programs. This has resulted in Minnesota having one of the lowest patient counts in America. That may change soon however, as Minnesota is considering adding intractable pain to the list of qualifying conditions. Per Marijuana Business Daily:
Some good news might be on the horizon for Minnesota’s two medical cannabis producers.
The state Department of Health is considering adding intractable pain to the relatively small list of qualifying conditions for MMJ.
That could mean a huge boost in the potential customer base for the two firms, as the number of registered patients right now stands at just 361, according to a Minneapolis TV station. Allowing individuals to get MMJ cards for intractable pain would likely boost patient numbers by thousands, or perhaps even tens of thousands.
Sadly, I would assume that a big reason why this is being considered is because the two companies that grow all of the medical marijuana in Minnesota are losing money due to the high cost of getting a license, the high cost of operating expenses, and such low customer counts. I like to hope this is being done because it’s compassionate, and it’s the right thing to do, but I’m a realist. Minnesota deserves a better medical marijuana program, and adding intractable pain to the list of qualifying conditions would be a step in that direction.
