MDH Adds Alzheimer’s Disease as Eligible Condition for Medical Cannabis

Posted on December 5, 2018 by Kari Thurlow

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) announced that Alzheimer’s disease will become eligible for treatment with medical marijuana in Minnesota next year, making it the 14th health condition approved since the state’s cannabis program began in 2015. 

“Any policy decisions about cannabis are difficult due to the relative lack of published scientific evidence,” said MDH Commissioner Jan Malcolm. “However, there is some evidence for potential benefits of medical cannabis to improve the mood, sleep and behavior of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.” 

Timeline and Resources

Under current state rules, patients certified to have Alzheimer’s disease will become eligible to enroll in the program on July 1, 2019 and receive medical cannabis from the state’s two medical cannabis manufacturers beginning Aug. 1, 2019. As with the program’s other qualifying conditions, patients will need advance certification from a Minnesota health care provider. 

More details on the process are available on the Medical Cannabis website. The MDH Office of Medical Cannabis has also published two helpful policy briefs: one for federally certified facilities and one for non-certified health providers. 

Use of Cannabis Illegal at the Federal Level

While eligible Minnesota residents are permitted under state law to use medical cannabis, certified providers may be at risk of federal action, such as losing federal reimbursement for allowing residents to use medical cannabis. Providers may adopt reasonable restrictions on the use of medical cannabis by registered patients by electing policies that they will not store or maintain the patient's supply of medical cannabis, that they are not responsible for providing the medical cannabis to patients, and/or that medical cannabis be used only in a place specified by the provider. Until the conflict between state and federal law resolves, Minnesota providers, after consulting with their own attorney, will need to assess all risk factors and make the best decision for their clients and business. 

Dec. 12 Webinar Focuses on Operational Challenges

LeadingAge will offer a webinar on Dec. 12 regarding medical and recreational use of marijuana in senior living. The webinar will explore legal and operational challenges raised by recreational and medical marijuana use by residents and employees in our member communities. As the permissible uses of medical cannabis continue to grow in Minnesota, there are still significant issues raised in senior living settings. Senior living providers struggle to navigate the legal risks of recreational and medical marijuana laws. For example, despite legalization at the state level, use of marijuana remains illegal on the federal level.

The Dec. 12 webinar will:

• Consider legal and practical differences between the use of medical and recreational marijuana.
• Identify best practices for mitigating risk when permitting marijuana use by residents or staff.
• Explore the conflict between state and federal laws that impact how senior living providers address marijuana use by residents and staff, including use outside their communities.

Register Today!

List of All Qualifying Conditions

When the 2014 Minnesota Legislature authorized the creation of a medical cannabis program, the law included a set of nine conditions qualifying a person to receive medical cannabis. State rules direct the MDH Commissioner to consider each year whether to add other qualifying conditions and delivery methods. The current list of qualifying conditions includes:

Cancer associated with severe/chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, or cachexia or severe wasting

• Glaucoma
• HIV/AIDS
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy
• Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis
• Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease
• Terminal illness, with a probable life expectancy of less than one year
• Intractable pain
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Autism spectrum disorders
• Obstructive sleep apnea 

Malcolm declined to add six other conditions that had been submitted this summer to a state advisory panel: hepatitis C, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, opioid use disorders, panic disorder, psoriasis and traumatic brain injury.