Patients with PTSD in Minnesota Can Now Buy Medical Cannabis
Beginning yesterday, on August 1, patients in Minnesota with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) will be permitted to purchase medical cannabis with a valid doctor’s recommendation. Although Minnesota doesn’t allow smokable preparations of cannabis such as flowers, patients with PTSD will be able to find relief with oils, capsules and topicals.
Minnesota’s Department of Health announced the expansion to include PTSD patients last December. Under Minnesota law, qualifying patients can possess a 30-day supply of oil capsules or non-smokable forms of cannabis. August 1 also marks the first day that the state began allowing topical cannabis products including balms and ointments.
Minnesota’s medical cannabis program has taken off to a relatively slow start. As of July 28, only 8,109 patients were enrolled in the Minnesota’s medical cannabis registry.
Minnesota Medical Solutions is one of the state’s two licensed medical cannabis manufacturers in the state. “I think it’s going to be a pretty modest increase in patient numbers,” Dr. Kyle Kingsley, CEO of Minnesota Medical Solutions admitted to the Post-Bulletin. “But the many thousands of folks in Minnesota that suffer from PTSD now have access, and that’s a really important step—even if only a few are taking the first steps forward here early in the process,” he said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hasn’t budged on allowing its physicians to prescribe medical cannabis due to the plant’s federal legal status. Skepticism has arisen surrounding the application of medical cannabis for mental health issues such as PTSD. The Minnesota Medical Association, for instance, is concerned about addiction issues that are common in PTSD patients.
Scores upon scores of PTSD patients across America however, have testified that medical cannabis has relieved the haunting symptoms of PTSD. So far, only 105 patients with PTSD have enrolled in the program, but that number is expected to rise. Advocates in Minnesota are now working on adding autism, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease to the state’s list of qualifying conditions.
