The primary reason some people have been reluctant to get a Minnesota Marijuana Card? It’s no secret: The cost of medical marijuana is too high here.
In fact, medical marijuana costs a lot everywhere, and for a lot of reasons. But prices here are high enough to repeatedly get attention from national news organizations, like NBC News, U.S. News and World Report, and the Associated Press.
Mark Your Calendars: Cannabis Costs Should Start Dropping in Minnesota Dispensaries on March 1, 2022
That’s the date by which the Department of Health has to have integrated marijuana in flower form into the state’s medical marijuana program. And the availability of cannabis flower should drive down the costs of all dispensary products.
But until then, here’s your quick guide to maximizing your money at Minnesota dispensaries.
Check Medical Marijuana Dispensaries For Sales and Special Offers
Most dispensaries are going to offer at least occasional sales and specials, and many also offer customer loyalty rewards programs.
One of Minnesota’s two Cannabis Patient Center chains, Green Goods, has a customer loyalty rewards program. You can learn the details here and you can sign up here.
The state’s other chain of dispensaries, LeafLine Labs, has a page on its website for promotions.
These things can change from time to time and from store to store, so to keep current you’ll want to keep an eye on the list of cannabis patient centers on the Department of Health’s website.
Get Your Medical Marijuana Dosing Right
Dr. Mark Moore is an anesthesiologist and the founder of MEDCAN, the first physician’s office in Florida dedicated entirely to medical marijuana patients.
Moore told the Orlando Sentinel that one way patients can stretch their marijuana dollars is by making sure they approach dosing the right way.
“Use less,” Moore said. “Don’t develop a tolerance where you’ll need more of the medicine.”
Moore suggests that patients start with tinctures and avoid topicals and pills. “Tinctures give you the clearest picture of your dose,” he said.
Patients often overmedicate, taking more marijuana than they need to take to alleviate their symptoms. By starting with small tincture doses, patients can build up their dosing as needed and get a better sense of how much THC or CBD, for example, they may need for their conditions.
Stretch Your Supply by Doing it Yourself
Unfortunately, this piece of advice doesn’t apply to Minnesota - yet. But once marijuana flower hits our dispensaries, not only should prices drop, but it will open up other DIY, money-saving options for you.
Once you’re able to buy medical marijuana in flower form, you’ll be able to try your hand at:
Making your own THC tinctures through decarboxylation using your oven or a slow cooker. You can also get fancy and make a one-time investment in a countertop at-home cannabis extraction machine.
Making your own edibles such as cannabutter and “magic brownies.”
Vaping flower. Vape cartridges are pricier than flower because of the added cost of production. But once you have access to flower, you can vape the flower itself and stretch the value of your medicine in the process.
According to Forbes, “Smoking cannabis, in a joint, pipe or other device incinerates the plant material, which inefficiently releases the activated cannabinoids, changes the structure of some components, and produces tars and other unwanted byproducts. … Vaping flower, on the other hand, involves heating the cannabis to a temperature where the active compounds in the flower boil and are converted into vapor, which is then inhaled [which] preserves more of the beneficial cannabinoids, so that a little flower goes a long way.” Unfortunately, you might occasionally still want to purchase vape cartridges, and most vapes cannot be used for both concentrates and flower. However, the Pax 3 has chambers for both, and it’s one of the most popular brands on the market. This is one of the most popular vape brands on the market today, and only one of many useful and diverse products available at Pax’s website.
Use the Buddy System
There has been a vicious cycle at work in Minnesota’s Medical Marijuana Market. High costs deter patients from participating in it, and that leads to higher costs as retailers try to make a profit from a smaller customer base.
In fact, one of the reasons flower marijuana is expected to drive down costs for all dispensary products is by bringing more customers through the door.
So no, you won’t see an immediate savings if you turn a friend on to the benefits of medical marijuana, but you’ll help your pal find the relief only cannabis can offer, and eventually, as more and more Minnesotans find relief, we’ll all start paying less and less.
As Dr. Kyle Kingsley, the CEO of Green Goods, told Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE, flower products will cost less, which should increase enrollment in Minnesota's medical cannabis program, which will drive down costs for all medical marijuana products.
"With flower you can generally get close to the same medicine, or even the same exact medication in some circumstances for around half the price," Kingsley told KARE. "Minnesota’s been very demand-limited, very few patients per capita, and that change is going to allow operators to scale up and drive down pricing."
In other words, more patients per capita means more savings per capita, so tell a friend about medical marijuana.
Do Your Part and Get a Minnesota Marijuana Card!
So find the relief you’ve been missing, help other Minnesotans by doing your part to drive down costs, and get a Minnesota Marijuana Card!
Reserve an evaluation today, and we’ll make an appointment for you with one of our knowledgeable and compassionate doctors just as soon as we’re cleared to see patients. You’ll not only be doing your part to make relief more affordable to all, but you’ll also save $25 off the cost of your appointment!
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