Minnesota Denies Petitions to Add Medical Cannabis Delivery Methods to Program

Minnesota medical cannabis regulators will not add any new medicine delivery methods to the state medical cannabis program next year. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) indicated that it had denied petitions to add powders containing any cannabinoids, infused flower, or concentrates.

In a press release, Charlene Briner, interim director of the Office of Cannabis Management, said that during the 10 years of the program, OCM “has prioritized its responsibility to balance our patient’s need for relief from acute diagnosed medical conditions with the responsibility to ensure products available to them are safe and beneficial.”

“That balance is the lens we used to make determinations on the three petitions that were considered this year.” — Briner in a statement

OCM indicated that dry powder inhalers containing cannabinoids are similar to those used for asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medication and are being used to treat some chronic diseases, but that federal limitations on cannabis research means there are limited peer-reviewed studies to show the method would benefit or be safe for medical cannabis patients. The agency said that the delivery method could be reconsidered if more research becomes available.  

OCM noted that concentrates, with their higher levels of THC, are beneficial to some patients, the products “have also been shown to increase the risk of adverse health events and cannabis use disorder.” 

“The Office of Cannabis Management is in the process of enacting new rules that will guide the medical cannabis program into the future,” the agency said in the press release. “Approving new delivery methods that are impacted by rulemaking now would be premature while that process is underway.”