Minnesota PTSD Patients Can Now Purchase Medical Marijuana

Minnesota residents suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder can start buying medical marijuana.

This week brought the latest expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program that launched in July 2015. Patients suffering chronic pain that couldn’t be treated with other means were allowed to use the drug starting last summer, a move that added thousands of customers to the state’s pool.

But manufacturers aren’t expecting the same rush of new patients to help offset their heavy financial losses in the first years of legal sales. State data shows just 105 patients with PTSD had started or completed the registration process in the month leading up to legal sales.

Meanwhile, patient advocates are pushing to add even more conditions like autism, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.