Minnesota adds 2 more qualifying conditions for medical marijuana

The Minnesota Department of Health has announced that three more conditions now qualify for access to the state’s medical cannabis program.

The department said sickle cell disease and chronic vocal/or motor tic disorder will be added to its list of qualifying conditions, which will take effect in August 2021.

It comes after MDH sought public submissions for potential qualifying conditions during the summer, which went to a public comment period and before a review panel.

Sickle cell disease, a group of hereditary red blood cell disorders, predominantly affects people who are Black or African American, and per MDH can trigger severe pain when sickle cells “get stuck in small blood vessels and block the flow of blood and oxygen to organs in the body.”

Health commissioner Jan Malcolm said allowing marijuana to treat sickle cell will give patients “a non-opioid option to manage their pain.”

The addition of vocal or motor tic disorders comes after MDH already added Tourette’s syndrome to its qualifying list of medical conditions. People with Tourette’s syndrome experience both motor and vocal tics, but the new change will someone with one of the tics – but not both – get medical marijuana. [Read more at Bring Me The News]