Not long ago, a middle-aged friend who's a double amputee living with intractable pain explained how his condition had been treated for years with addictive opioid painkillers, though he'd recently made the decision to quit using the prescription medications.
Now his hope is that those in his situation soon will be included in the state's medical cannabis program.
He and other Minnesotans will have a chance to weigh in on this option in a series of meetings the Minnesota Department of Health's Office of Medical Cannabis is holding around the state.
From the news release, MDH Office of Medical Cannabis to hold community sessions around state:
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Office of Medical Cannabis will hold a series of community sessions around the state this fall offering members of the public the opportunity to learn more about the state’s medical cannabis program. Participants also will have the opportunity to provide input on the question of adding intractable pain to the list of medical conditions that qualify people to participate in the program. . . .
Minnesota’s 2014 medical cannabis statute requires the health commissioner to make a determination on whether intractable pain should be added to the list of qualifying conditions before giving consideration to the addition of any other condition. Legislation passed in 2015 requires this determination be made by January 1, 2016.
The Office of Medical Cannabis is responsible for organizing opportunities for public input on this question and has established an advisory panel to make a recommendation to the commissioner. Intractable pain is defined in statute as “a pain state in which the cause of the pain cannot be removed or otherwise treated with the consent of the patient and in which, in the generally accepted course of medical practice, no relief or cure of the cause of the pain is possible, or none has been found after reasonable efforts.”
Here's a list of the meetings; we're happy to see one in Willmar, which will be a 25-minute drive for our friend.
| Dates (2015) | Time | City/County | Event Location |
| Wednesday, August 26 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Rochester | Rochester Public Library 101 2nd St. SE Rochester, MN 55904 |
| Thursday, August 27 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Willmar | Kandiyohi Health and Human Services 2200 23rd St. NE #0030 Willmar, MN 56201 |
| Monday, September 14 | TBD | Hennepin County | TBD |
| Tuesday, September 15 | 5-7 p.m. | Moorhead | Minnesota State Community and Technical College (M State) 1109 28th Ave. S. Moorhead, MN 56563 |
| Monday, September 21 | 5-7 p.m. | Mankato | Blue Earth County Library 100 E. Main St. Mankato, MN 56001 |
| Tuesday, September 22 | TBD | Grand Rapids | TBD |
| Wednesday, September 23 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Hibbing | City Services - Memorial Building Arena 400 East 23rd Street Hibbing, MN 55746 |
| Tuesday, September 29 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Woodbury | Globe University 8147 Globe Dr. Woodbury, MN 55125 |
| Wednesday, September 30 | TBD | St. Paul | Wilder Center 451 Lexington Parkway North St. Paul 55104 |
| Tuesday, October 20 | TBD | Bemidji | TBD |
| Tuesday, October 27 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | St. Cloud | St. Cloud Public Library 1300 W. St. Germain St. St. Cloud, MN 56301 |
Photo: A medical cannabis product.
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