Amends - LeadingAge Minnesota



Medical CannabisChapter 179, Sections 11, 27Amends Minne. Stat. §§144A.4791; 152.29, subd. 14H.F. 3142, Zerwas—RS.F. 2475, Sheran—DFLEffective: August 1, 2016BackgroundLegislation passed during the 2014 Minnesota legislative session created a new process allowing seriously ill Minnesotans to use medical cannabis to treat certain qualifying conditions. This bill includes several updates to Minnesota’s medical cannabis law. SummaryTwo provisions of the bill directly affect older adult services providers:The bill amends the home care licensing law to make clear that home care providers are covered by Minnesota Statutes section 152.34, which allows healthcare providers to impose reasonable restrictions on a patient’s use of medical cannabis, and provides protections to employees that play a role in a person’s use of cannabis. The Minnesota Department of Health had already interpreted section 152.34 as if it did apply to home care, but this formal clarification provides greater comfort to providers.Effective August 1, 2016, the list of qualifying conditions will expand to include any inflammatory bowel disease (previously limited to Chrohn’s disease).It is also important to remind members that intractable pain will also be a qualifying condition as of August 1, as a result of a decision earlier this year by Department of Health Commissioner, Dr. Edward Ehlinger. Intractable pain means a state “in which the cause of the pain cannot be removed or otherwise treated with the consent of the patient and in which … no relief or cure of the cause of the pain is possible, or none has been found after reasonable efforts.” The bill makes other changes to the cannabis law that do not directly impact older adult service providers, including that the consultation that must occur between a patient and the pharmacist on staff at the cannabis dispensary may occur by video conference if certain conditions are met.ImplicationsThe provision relating to home care brings certainty that those providers may exercise the authority granted under, and are subject to the protections in, section 152.34. The broadening of the bowel disease category of qualifying condition, and the inclusion of intractable pain, may significantly increase the number of people using medical cannabis in Minnesota.Staff ContactJonathan Lips jlips@ ................
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