MINNEAPOLIS - There won’t be thousands gathered on the steps of the state capitol with signs and banners, nor will there be a plume of pungent, intoxicating smoke hanging in the air.
But that doesn’t mean July 1st is not a big day for marijuana in Minnesota.
The state’s medical marijuana law goes into effect Wednesday, giving hope to many families in Minnesota who have had loved ones who suffer from conditions that have not responded to traditional medicine.
“This is a great day for suffering patients who have been waiting a long time to have access to this medicine,” said Patrick McClellan of Minnesotans for Compassionate Care. “We are grateful that the Department of Health stepped up and implemented this law promptly. Patients in some states have had to wait years between their laws passing and medical marijuana finally becoming accessible.”
McClellan is one of two patients to be the first to receive medical marijuana in the state. The Bloomington resident has a rare form of muscular dystrophy, which falls under one of nine types of illnesses a patient must have to qualify for medical marijuana use.
Rep. Carly Melin, DFL-Hibbing, introduced the medical marijuana in the House of Representatives in 2013, and said she anticipated Wednesday with mixed emotions.
“It’s hard to use the word ‘excitement,’ as so many people are suffering,” she said Tuesday. “I’m lucky, knock on wood, that I haven’t had anybody very close to me suffer from an illness that would benefit from using marijuana, but there were so many families that have touched me during this whole process.
“It’s such a good thing for families who have been waiting a long time for this, who see it as a way to ease their suffering. They are anxious for tomorrow to be here.”
Robert Capecchi, a Mendota Heights native who works with the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, said the law is a good start, but there is a lot of work that could be done.
“What this law will probably do is help dispel some of the misconceptions about medical marijuana … and marijuana in general,” he said. “Hopefully, it will show that the state can be successful at regulating and taxing marijuana.”
He said some conditions excluded from the law - including post-traumatic stress disorder - can also benefit from medicinal marijuana.
“The law does not cover thousands of Minnesotans who are suffering from debilitating conditions that could be treated with medical marijuana,” Capecchi said. “Research and patient experience show that medical marijuana is often highly effective in treating severe, intractable pain. In some cases, people find it is the only thing that works for them.”
Dr. Kyle Kingsley, CEO of Minnesota Medical Solutions - one of two companies distributing medical marijuana in Minnesota - said both his company’s grow facility in Otsego and its downtown Minneapolis dispensary is ready to meet the demands of new clients.
“Everybody is very excited,” he said. “I talked to people at our factory in Otsego, and people at the dispensary. We’re all ready to get started, the mood is very electric.”
Kingsley said quantity of medicine will not be an issue, as MMS has harvested nearly 1 ton of marijuana ahead of Wednesday’s dispensary opening.
“There’s not a lot of last-minute preparations that we have to get done. We’ve been ready for a bit,” he said. “We have plenty of our medications ready to go.”
Beyond its Minneapolis facility, Minnesota Medical Solutions will distribute its marijuana in Maple Grove, Rochester and Moorhead starting later this summer. LeafLine Labs will distribute its Cottage Grove-grown product from facilities in Eagan (now open) and St. Paul, St. Cloud and Hibbing (open later this summer).
Unique law
Marijuana is still not legal under federal law, making medicinal cannabis an interesting endeavor. Drug store chains have shied away from carrying the drug, and doctors cannot legally prescribe it.
Instead, there are two manufacturers - Minnesota Medical Solutions and LeafLine Labs - with marijuana growing operations in the state, and the two companies will distribute their product in eight dispensaries across Minnesota.
To be eligible for medicinal marijuana in Minnesota, a patient must register with the state health department, and have a doctor’s certification of having one of nine approved ailments.
“Technically, nobody prescribes medical marijuana,” said Scott Smith, a health department spokesman. “The patient registers online with the Department of Health with a certification of an illness by a health care provider, then they take their registration form to a pharmacist at one of the dispensaries.”
It is there that the patient and pharmacist determine the dosage for the patient, Smith said. This makes medical marijuana unique in that dosage is determined by a pharmacist and not a doctor, he said.
One of the biggest differences in Minnesota’s law compared to medical marijuana policies in other states, Capecchi said, is marijuana cannot be consumed in its natural form. Rather, all marijuana will be distributed in concentrate form.
He also said there were numerous hurdles and restrictions placed by the law on the Department of Health, such as a limitation of two production factories and eight total dispensaries in the state.
“I grew up there, and I know how large that state is,” Capecchi said. “It could be prohibitive to have that few places for people to access medical marijuana. It could mean there are people out there that continue to suffer because it is difficult to get to a facility.”
Despite that, he said working with the state’s regulating entity in forming the law was a good experience.
“The health department was wonderful to work with in implementing this law,” Capecchi said. “They were given a very restrictive law, and they have done a good job implementing it in a patient-first way.”
Recreational use
Capecchi said while the implementation of a medical marijuana program in Minnesota could buoy those hoping for legalization of recreational use of the drug, he said it would be a long ways off.
“Right now, our focus is on helping refine the medical marijuana law in Minnesota,” the Marijuana Policy Project staffer said. “It’s not like advocates of recreational use are pushing medical along as part of some sort of nefarious plan. There are really sick people that can really benefit from marijuana.”
Melin said Tuesday she did not introduce the medical marijuana bill as a stepping stone towards legalizing recreational pot use.
“I’ve always been opposed to recreational use,” the legislator said. “This medical approach is very clinical in nature; I would say it’s one of the most conservative in the country. And I have not heard anybody in the Legislature express interest in introducing a recreational marijuana bill.
“I don’t think we’ll see that anytime soon in Minnesota.”
