ROCHESTER, Minn. -
The Minnesota House of Representatives is holding a hearing to discuss legislation that would add dry flower to Minnesota's medical program since people can only consume medical cannabis through pills or oils and not by smoking or vaporizing the bud.
Adding flower could cut the costs of medical cannabis by a third.
"Every other state that allows THC allows some form of flower at the least, it allows most flower generally, we have experience in many of these states, and we've seen dramatic change, the dramatic shift that happens as far as price point and patient accessibility," Dr. Kyle Kingsley, the CEO of Vireo Health & Minnesota Medical Solutions said.
Kingsley is determined to clear up any misconceptions people have about the bud.
"One other misconception is you have to smoke flower, that's not true, you can actually vaporize it, and vaporization warms you up to the point where active ingredients evaporate, you don't burn the flower, that's actually desirable," Kingsley said.
Now - it's up to legislators to decide what comes next in the marijuana debate.
"To me, this is common sense sort of thing, we don't have the downsides, there's a more affordable option, I've changed my tune over the last 5 years as I've seen the difference on what flower or bud makes for people," Kingsley said.
Minnesota Medical Solutions just launched a digital advocacy campaign to gain support for expanding the medical cannabis program. The decision to expand the medical cannabis program to include bud should be made sometime this legislative session.