What happens to Minnesota's medical cannabis program when marijuana becomes legal for recreational use?
RAMSEY, Minn. -- One week from Tuesday, recreational marijuana for Minnesotans 21 and older will be legal. But for years, patients enrolled in the medical cannabis program have had access -- and that will continue under the new law.
The 300-page bill that authorizes marijuana use for adults made some changes, though, to the program, like eliminating the $200 annual enrollment fee and allowing patient certification by a doctor through a telehealth appointment.
State data show there are nearly 40,000 registered and that has mostly increased since the first year in 2015.
But will that decrease with full legalization?
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Chris Tholkes, director of the Office of Medical Cannabis at the Minnesota Department of Health, thinks so.
She sits on a panel of national cannabis regulators and said that in other states that started with medical programs and then added adult use markets have typically seen about 30% to 40% decrease in patients on the medical side.
That largely depends on what "barriers" have been removed from the medical programs, she added, and noted Minnesota's moves this legislative session to further eliminate hurdles.
"I do think it will be sustainable," Tholkes said in an interview with WCCO. "We'll likely see a reduction in the number of patients, but I do think that there will be enough demand from folks who are interested in maintaining that relationship with a pharmacist as well as, you know, just access to certain products."
Tholkes also said that medical cannabis will likely be cheaper than products one day available for purchase at retail dispensaries. (It will take at least a year for them to be operational under new regulations.)
Adult-use marijuana will face state and local sales taxes plus a gross receipts tax of 10%. Cannabis as treatment for qualifying conditions like chronic pain, cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder is tax-free.
"The normal marketplace supply and demand will definitely be in play here. And as we see more production, the cost should start to come down," she said of two markets existing at once.
Joan Barron, a medical patient from Ramsey, said medical cannabis changed her life, but noted access for many Minnesotans it has been cost-prohibitive. She pays $200 per month -- and up until now, a $200 annual fee -- to get what she needs for her rare condition.
Eliminating that yearly cost to the state is "huge," she said, and she praised the changes made by the legislature this year to lower barriers to entry. No fee began July 1.
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Starting in 2025, patients will need to be recertified every three years by a physician -- not every year.
"I'm glad that the med program is getting fixed in the way that it should've been fixed to begin with," Barron said.
She intends to remain enrolled but will also purchase recreational cannabis and may try home growing, which is legal starting next week for up to eight plants at a single residence.
"We'll have a lot of different options and I'm grateful now that Minnesota is fully legalized, people can use alternative medications to prescription drugs," she said.
Other changes to the medical program under the new law include allowing patients in programs in other states to buy products in Minnesota under a "visiting patient option" beginning in two years. And the age threshold for registered caregivers to purchase cannabis flower is lowered from 21 to 18.