QUALIFYING PATIENTS IN MINNESOTA

The Minnesota Dept. of Health has developed a 5-step patient registration process.

1. Contact Health Care Practitioner

Start the process by contacting your health care practitioner who has responsibility for your care connected to your qualifying condition.

  • Qualifying Condition for Medical Cannabis
    You must have one of these conditions, and be a Minnesota resident, in order to be certified for medical cannabis.
  • Health Care Practitioners for Medical Cannabis
    Check to be sure that your health care practitioner is able to certify you for the program.
  • Give your practitioner an email address appropriate for medical cannabis communications. You may not want to choose an email that others can access or that belongs to your employer. Please fill, sign and bring the Patient E-mail and Acknowledgement Form (PDF) to your health care practitioner.
  • Request a Visit Summary, with all your current medications and medical conditions. This will be helpful for the pharmacist at the cannabis patient center.

2. Wait for Health Care Practitioner Certification

When your practitioner has certified that you have a qualifying condition, you will receive an email (using the address you gave your provider) from the Office of Medical Cannabis.

The email will contain the link you need in order to register online and an important information sheet you should review before completing registration.

3. Register Online

  • In order to register, you will need:
    • Link in the email from the Office of Medical Cannabis.
    • Your name, address and phone number.
    • Government-issued ID: state ID, driver's license, or passport (scan or photo from phone).
    • Government assistance plan ID: SSI, Social Security Disability, Medical Assistance, CHAMPVA or Medicaid ID (scan or photo from phone).
    • Credit card to pay Annual Registration Fee via USBank website.
  • You will receive an email when your account has been approved.
  • You will need to complete the patient self-evaluation report in your account in the registry.
  • Complete the patient self-evaluation report to expedite your visit to the cannabis patient center.

4. Visit Cannabis Patient Center

You, your parent, legal guardian or caregiver must visit the cannabis patient center, where a pharmacist will review your account, and recommend specific dosage and type. Payment will be made at that time, to the cannabis patient center.

5. Fill out Patient Self-evaluation Form

Before returning for more medical cannabis you must login to the registry and fill out the patient self-evaluation form. This must be done each time you need more medical cannabis.

Eligible conditions:

An individual with one of the following conditions is eligible for medical cannabis certification in the state of Minnesota.

  • cancer, if the underlying condition or treatment produces one or more of the following: (i) severe or chronic pain; (ii) nausea or severe vomiting; oo (iii) cachexia or severe wasting;
  • glaucoma;
  • human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome;
  • Tourette's syndrome;
  • amyotrophic lateral sclerosis;
  • seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy;
  • severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis;
  • Crohn's disease;
  • terminal illness, with a probable life expectancy of under one year, if the illness or its treatment produces one or more of the following:
    • severe or chronic pain;
    • nausea or severe vomiting;
    • cachexia or severe wasting;
  • PTSD;
  • intractable pain; or
  • any other medical condition or its treatment approved by the commissioner

Becoming a Patient as a Minor:

The application process for a minor is the same as that of an adult.

Benefits of Being a Patient:

No landlord may refuse to enroll or lease to and may not otherwise penalize a person solely for the person's status as a patient enrolled in the registry program unless failing to do so would violate federal law or regulations or cause the school or landlord to lose a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law or regulations. SF 2470 protects patients from employment discrimination. A patient cannot be terminated or penalized by their employer solely for their status as a registered patient, unless the employer would lose a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law or regulations.

Becoming a Caregiver:

Caregivers must be at least 21 years of age and may not have been convicted of a felony drug offense, unless DOH determines that the conviction would not have taken place if the caregiver was enrolled in the medical cannabis program. A caregiver's application will only be approved if DOH determines that the patient the caregiver is seeking to assist is "developmentally or physically disabled and therefore unable to self-administer medication or acquire medical cannabis...". The law only allows for designated caregivers to serve one patient, unless the patients reside in the same residence. See the DOH website for more information on caregivers in Minnesota.

Out of State Patients:

The state of Minnesota does not recognize out of state patients. For more information about traveling as a medical cannabis patient, check out our Travel Guide.

Home Cultivation:

Growing cannabis at home is not legal in the state of Minnesota.

 

Medical cannabis patients can find additional resources here

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