The North Dakota Department of Health has announced it will begin accepting medical cannabis patient and caregiver registrations on October 29.
NDDoH’s Division of Medical Marijuana says ID cards will initially be valid for a year and registration will cost USD $50. It expects the cards will be printed and mailed out in December.
“The Division is excited to announce the application date for patients and caregivers as it brings us one step closer to patients being able to purchase and use products under the Medical Marijuana Program,” stated Jason Wahl, the Division’s direcor.
Among the conditions qualifying for the program are cancer, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and epilepsy. A full list of conditions can be viewed here. Prospective patients must be certified by a health care provider with whom the patient has a bona fide relationship.
Under the program, dried leaves and flowers, concentrates, tinctures, capsules, topicals and transdermal patches will be available. To use leaves and flowers, patients must have a special authorization from his/her health care provider. Usable marijuana must be transported in the original container with the labels attached at all times and the maximum amount of dried leaves and flowers that can be purchased in a month is 2.5 ounces (total); or 2,000mg of other products.
Unlike some U.S. states, patients and their caregivers are not permitted to home-grow.
Further information on North Dakota’s program can be viewed here.
North Dakota was one of four states to vote yes on medical marijuana back in 2016. In July last year, the NDDoH requested letters of intent from parties interested in establishing a “compassion center”. A compassion center is either a manufacturing facility (grower/producer) or dispensary (retail store).
The Department has established eight regions for the locations of dispensaries and only one dispensary will be permitted to operate in each region. As for manufacturing facilities, there will only be two to begin. However, the Department may allow for register additional compassion centers if necessary, to increase access to patients.
On top of a nonrefundable application fee of $5,000 to apply to operate either, there’s a $110,000 certification fee for a manufacturing facility registration every two years and a $90,000 certification fee for a dispensary registration every two years.
