The Minnesota Office of Medical Cannabis Advisory Panel on Intractable Pain will meet on Thursday to decide if intractable pain should be added to the list of qualifying medical conditions under the state’s medical marijuana law. While the public is welcome to attend the meeting, please note that public comment will not be taken on Thursday. WHAT: Advisory Panel on Intractable Pain meeting WHEN: Thursday, October 29, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. CT WHERE: Amherst H. Wilder Center — Auditorium A, St. Paul For…

A new proposal has been put forth in the Minnesota House of Representatives to gut the existing medical marijuana bill and replace it with language that would only allow for clinical trials for medical marijuana. While it’s heartening to know lawmakers are working on the issue, this proposal would not provide any patients with the medicine they need. Among its other flaws, federal law would preempt it by requiring the health department to contract with a marijuana manufacturer. If you are a Minnesota…

[caption id="attachment_6381" align="alignright" width="188"] Joni Whiting[/caption] At a press conference held by Minnesotans for Compassionate Care last week to announce the introduction of a medical marijuana bill, several patients shared their heart-wrenching stories with reporters and assembled lawmakers. Once of those people was Joni Whiting, whose daughter found relief from cancer pain with medical marijuana. Her testimony is available at the Star Tribune.

Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak has recently taken to Minnesota’s airwaves in a misguided attempt to blame violence at the hands of criminal gangs on consumers of marijuana. “When you pay for marijuana, you are paying for the bullet that goes into the head of someone on the streets,” he told the Star Tribune, in one instance. Today, MPP called upon Mayor Rybak to get honest about what actually fuels violence in the marijuana trade: prohibition. Here’s the statement by MPP’s Steve Fox: “Like alcohol…