Minnesota: Chronic pain now qualifies for medical cannabis

Starting today — August 1, 2020 — Minnesotans with chronic pain qualify for medical cannabis!

Qualifying patients whose healthcare providers are willing to certify them for the medical cannabis program can enroll through the Department of Health.

Until today, pain only qualified if it was “intractable,” meaning its “cause cannot be removed” and “the full range of [appropriate] pain management modalities … has been used without adequate result or with intolerable side effects.” Expanding the program to include “chronic pain” allows tens of thousands of additional pain patients to qualify and avoids steering them to more dangerous treatments.

Our allies at Sensible Minnesota petitioned the Department of Health to add chronic pain last year, and it recommended doing so. However, new conditions aren’t added to the program until the following summer to give the legislature a chance to reject them.

While the addition of “chronic pain” is welcome news, voters want the legislature to go further. According to Civiqs research, 67% of Minnesotans support allowing adults to use cannabis. Legalizing and regulating cannabis can grow the economy at a time when jobs and revenue are desperately needed. And, it is an essential piece of the needed policing and racial justice overhaul. Cannabis legalization removes the number one pretext for unnecessary civilian-police interactions — the supposed smell of cannabis.

Let your lawmakers know it’s past time to legalize marijuana. And stay tuned for a voter guide — so you can help elect a more supportive legislature.