More than 100 medical practitioners reached out to the state last week to help their patients sign up for medical marijuana.
Enrollment opened last week for physicians and patients interested in participating in the program, which will allow patients with certain conditions to buy the medication starting July 1. As of Friday, 104 health care practitioners had applied to the state's Office of Medical Cannabis and 54 can now certify their patients to buy medical marijuana as soon as it's legal.
Just eight patients have fully enrolled in the program so far, although 27 patients have been certified to participate by a doctor, nurse or other health care worker.
"We're pleased a significant number of practitioners have been able to use the system as it was designed," Assistant Health Commissioner Manny Munson-Regala said in a statement. "For those practitioners who still have questions, we encourage them to call the MDH medical cannabis call center to get answers."
Minnesota places tight limits on medical cannabis. The program is restricted to patients with nine qualifying conditions — including certain cancers and terminal illnesses, epilepsy and glaucoma. The state's entire marijuana crop will be grown by two authorized companies — Minnesota Medical Solutions and LeafLine Labs — and it will be sold only in pill or liquid form at eight clinics scattered around the state.
The Health Department is currently debating whether to expand the program to include patients suffering from intractable pain.
To participate in the program, a health care worker must certify that a patient has one of the qualifying conditions. Participation is voluntary, and a recent survey by the Minnesota Medical Association found that two-thirds of the 457 doctors who responded were reluctant to get involved with the program. Patients can seek a second opinion if their primary care provider declines to participate.
Patients pay a $200 annual registration fee — or $50, for low-income patients — to enroll in the program. Since health insurance does not cover medical cannabis, they also face hundreds of dollars in out of pocket costs for the drug.
