Four months ago, Minnesota allowed those on the medical marijuana program to purchase and use dried raw cannabis. In a month, it will allow those same patients to purchase and use edibles made with marijuana.
Both changes were meant to make the program more affordable and to respond to how patients use medical marijuana to treat any of the conditions covered by the program. They are also expected to increase the numbers of people using the program, some shifting from the illegal black or gray market – marijuana that is tested and approved by a state government.
Chris Tholkes
Has any of that happened? Sorta yes and sorta no, say program managers and advocates for medical marijuana in Minnesota.
Prior to March 1 when dried plant was allowed to be sold, the eight-year-old program had 26,000 people registered. As of July 7, there were just over 37,000 using the program. And the number of new or returning registrants is growing from 700 per week to 1,000 a week since March 1, said Chris Tholkes, director of the state Office of Medical Cannabis. That pace has not slowed, she said.
“At first we were telling our call center agents that maybe this will slow down after the initial interest and it just hasn’t,” Tholkes said.
Another measurement is the number of visits to the dispensaries allowed by the state. Those visits and purchases are up significantly and Tholkes said it is being driven by dried raw cannabis purchases,…
