It turns out the 2021 legislative session was good for marijuana after all. Sure, a bill for full legalization made it only through the House and was never taken up in the Senate. But with little fanfare on the last day of the session Minnesota lawmakers voted to expand the state’s medical cannabis program to allow patients to smoke the dried plant.
Minnesota has had a medical cannabis law on the books since 2014. But it’s one of the nation’s most restrictive because it only allows for the delivery of cannabis in liquid, oil and pill forms. If Gov. Tim Walz signs the bill as expected, the law will soon allow for the combustion of dried raw cannabis.
“This is by far the most important change since we originally got this law passed,” said Patrick McClellan, a medical cannabis activist and patient from Bloomington. He uses cannabis to treat a rare form of muscular dystrophy, but the cost of liquid cannabis has been a barrier, McClellan said.
“What we ended up with is basically a designer drug for the rich. This was only for people that could afford it,” he said. “Most people like me, who are on disability, were forced then to purchase some from the manufacturers and then products that have been smuggled in from other states that we purchase on the street.” [Read More @ MPR News]
The post Major change to Minnesota medical cannabis law approved appeared first on Cannabis Business Executive – Cannabis and Marijuana industry news.
