Patients expected to have access by July 2015
Patients and advocates praise Minnesota Department of Health for selecting the two manufacturers in accordance with the legislative timeline
The Minnesota Department of Health on Monday announced that they have selected two entities to operate as medical cannabis manufacturers under the provisions of the medical cannabis law enacted in May 2014. The successful applicants were chosen among 12 competing proposals.
This announcement is on schedule with the legislatively-enacted timeline, which aims to have distribution sites open and dispensing medical cannabis products to registered patients and their caregivers by July 1, 2015.
Minnesota’s implementation was among the most rapid of any medical marijuana program that includes regulated dispensing. Each manufacturer will be allowed to have up to four distribution points across the state to serve the estimated 5,000 seriously ill Minnesotans who will qualify under the law.
“Selection of the medical cannabis manufacturers is a big step forward toward safe and legal access to the medicine my son needs,” said Jessica Hauser, whose son Wyatt suffers from a condition that can cause hundreds of seizures a day. “After traveling to Oregon, my family knows that Wyatt will benefit from using medical cannabis products.
"We are excited for the day where we can get in our car, instead of on a plane, to obtain medicine that we know improves his quality of life,” Hauser said.
