Monday marks a critical juncture in Minnesota’s year-old medical marijuana program: Patients suffering from constant pain can finally buy the medicine.
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Monday begins a new chapter for Minnesota’s medical marijuana program with patients with serious pain now being able to use it too.
The move is expected to bring relief to thousands in the state, while enrolling new customers into a program that has seen low numbers and high prices.
The publication notes Minnesota’s program may not grow to be as big as it is in other states due to its tight restrictions on qualifying conditions, how much it costs patients, and how reluctant doctors are to prescribe it. In its first year of operation, the program was not allowed by law to serve people with pain, but did help more than 1,800 people with other ailments, such as seizures. Marijuana is still banned on a federal level and as a result, has not been thoroughly examined medically in the United States.
Allina, for example, allows it physicians to certify patients.
“Many patients and providers are showing an interest in medical cannabis as a possible treatment for intractable pain”, Director Michelle Larson of the state Health Department’s Office of Medical Cannabis said.
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Arkansas voters narrowly rejected legalizing medical marijuana in 2012.
