On Monday, a changed state law made it possible for patients to obtain access to medicinal cannabis solely on the recommendation of their doctors, rendering the list of qualifying conditions for the substance virtually moot.
Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, whose legislation this session prompted the expansion, said that granting doctors broad discretion to recommend medical cannabis makes sense because patients will simply turn to Minnesota’s recreational marketplace if they can’t get what they want from the state’s medical program.
Her statement was, “It just doesn’t fit anymore” to have one of the strictest qualification requirements in the country. “We want to ensure that their doctor can assist them in locating the appropriate strain of cannabis if they have a condition for which it may be helpful. There is no reason to restrict what physicians can prescribe when the legal market is open because people will be able to purchase anything.”