{"id":48924,"date":"2019-12-04T19:41:29","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T19:41:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/chronic-pain-patients-in-minnesota-can-now-qualify-for-medical-marijuana\/"},"modified":"2019-12-04T19:41:29","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T19:41:29","slug":"chronic-pain-patients-in-minnesota-can-now-qualify-for-medical-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merryjane.com\/news\/chronic-pain-patients-in-minnesota-can-now-qualify-for-medical-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"Chronic Pain Patients in Minnesota Can Now Qualify for Medical Marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"

Next summer, Minnesota will join a growing number<\/u><\/a> of states that allow chronic pain<\/u><\/a> patients to use medical marijuana<\/u><\/a> to ease their symptoms.<\/p>\n

This Monday, Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm announced a number of new expansions<\/u><\/a> to the state’s medical marijuana program. Malcolm agreed to approve both chronic pain and age-related macular degeneration \u2014 a condition that causes vision to deteriorate over time \u2014 as qualifying conditions for medical cannabis. These two new disorders increase the state\u2019s total number of approved health ailments from 14 to 16.<\/p>\n

Intractable pain is already a qualifying condition in Minnesota, and about two-thirds of the state’s 18,000 registered medical cannabis users are legally using pot to treat this condition. Malcolm explained that \u201cthe generally positive experience patients have had using medical cannabis to treat intractable pain prompted us to add chronic pain as a qualifying condition,\u201d RTTNews<\/em><\/u> reports<\/u><\/a>. \u201cMeanwhile, the decision to add age-related macular degeneration was due to a lack of good treatment options for managing symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

The MDH also received petitions to add anxiety, insomnia, psoriasis, and traumatic brain injury to the list, but they were all rejected. Malcolm explained that all four of these conditions had previously been proposed and rejected, and this year’s petitions did not include any additional research proving that cannabis could effectively treat these issues.<\/p>\n

In addition to expanding the list of qualifying conditions, the state also added two new approved methods of consumption. Minnesota currently allows patients to use cannabis oils, pills, vape cartridges, and oils, but prohibits smokable and edible weed. The MDH has now decided to add water-soluble cannabinoid granules, powders, or sprinkles, along with orally-soluble products like lozenges, gums, and mints, to that list. <\/p>\n