As if Minnesota’s fledgling medical marijuana industry doesn’t have enough to worry about – given the low initial patient count and resistance by doctors to recommend MMJ – the state this week reportedly suspended the ability of a clinic to certify patients for cannabis.
The Minnesota Certification Clinic emailed patients on Tuesday to notify them that it is canceling all appointments because of the suspension. The clinic is part of a network of physicians “spearheaded by a New York-based firm called MarijuanaDoctors.com to help patients find doctors who will approve their registration,” the AP reported.
Dispensaries in Minnesota are scheduled to begin opening July 1, but the rollout may be slow, since obstacles keep cropping up. The state has estimated that around 5,000 patients could sign up for MMJ in the first year of the program. Just a handful of patients have been approved, however, since the registry opened at the beginning of this month.
Despite the hurdles, Minnesota Medical Solutions – one of two companies licensed to cultivate and sell marijuana – said Thursday it’s already grown 1,400 pounds of MMJ to produce pills and oils. It also has plans to expand its cultivation capacity eightfold.
The other licensed company, Leafline Labs, is also on track to start selling cannabis in July.
