Minnesota Marijuana Doctors in Minneapolis, Edina, St. Louis Park and all surrounding suburbs

We provide Medical Cannabis evaluations and certifications in Minnesota

While medical cannabis has not yet become mainstream treatment, and while it is still not legalized on the federal level, we are now able to use it in treatment of some conditions in Minnesota.  Many people have had good results.  Dr. Mirman of Life Medical realized its benefit and has been on the fore front of legislative effort to legalize medical marijuana in Minnesota from the beginning.  Read Dr. Mirman's article in support of medical marijuana in April 2014 edition of Minnesota Medicine Magazine, a publication of Minnesota Medical Association. Listen to an interview about medical marijuana with Dr. Mirman and Tom Barnard on 92 KQRS in the morning. Additional discussions on medical cannabis and hypnotherapy between KQRS noon show (12/06/18) and medical marijuana Q&A on The KQRS Morning Show (01/09/19) - can be heard here.

Dr. Mirman and Dr. Bacaner at Life Medical offer evaluations and certifications for patients who may be eligible for the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program in Minnesota. If you are looking for a marijuana doctor, we welcome you to contact us. Patients from Duluth to Minneapolis who have searched for a doctor that can prescribe cannabis for treatment, have used our services for qualification and certification in the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program. We can help certify patients for the medical cannabis program in Minnesota and provide ongoing follow-up care. Please take a moment to help us determine eligibility and your qualifying conditions for use of medical marijuana by answering 8 short questions.

This service is a cash only option (meaning your health care plan will not pay for it, but you can pay with cash or credit card). We feel HSA accounts should cover this service, but you should check for yourself (we would be happy to provide you with a statement that the service is medically necessary in our opinion).  The fee to be certified is $250. For patients we originally certified, re-certification (annual) will cost $200. This fee is for the certification process only, not regular medical care or any testing necessary for the certification process, which may be covered by your health care plan.  We may also bill your health care plan for the visit, but you will not be responsible for any co-pays or deductibles, as we will apply the certification fee to cover these. Please note that Minnesota Department of Health Office of Medical Cannabis will charge its own processing fees.

US veterans get 10% discount. Veteran status documentation is needed at the time of the appointment.

Dr. Mirman can see you at home for the purpose of certification if necessary.The fee for this service is in addition to the above certification fee. House calls within 10 mile radius of the clinic are $200, and any additional distance is $10 per mile.

Our licensed medical doctors perform evaluations, determine eligibility and certify the patient for the qualifying medical conditions set by the State of Minnesota.The providers at Life Medical do not prescribe, dispense, grow, store or sell medical marijuana. Once the patient has been certified by our doctors, the Minnesota Department of Health Office of Medical Cannabis will do an investigation and approve the patient in accordance with Minnesota law.

Once a patient is approved by the state, they can go to one of the cannabis dispensaries and work with a pharmacist there.  The pharmacist will help them figure out the right products and doses.

We offer continued comprehensive care for all patient's conditions, including those qualified for the Medical Cannabis Program. Ongoing follow-up and care for the qualified conditions is required under Minnesota law. This care may be covered by your health care plan. We will need to carry out at least one follow-up several months after the certification visit in order to be able to report your progress to the Minnesota Department of Health Office of Medical Cannabis as required. This visit may be billed to your health care plan. All non-covered co-pays and deductibles incurred for this required follow-up will be covered by the certification fee paid initially. Please call our office at 952-933-8900 if you have any questions about our program before you come for your appointment. If you can't reach our main number, please call directly our cannabis coordinator: 952-994-9052

 

The Minnesota medical marijuana program is limited to patients with the following conditions:

• Cancer associated with severe/chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, or cachexia or severe wasting.
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Glaucoma.
• HIV/AIDS.
• Tourette Syndrome.
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
• Seizures, including those characteristic of Epilepsy.
• Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of Multiple Sclerosis.
• Chronic or Intractable Pain
• Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease.
• Terminal illness, with a probable life expectancy of less than one year*
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD.
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Sleep Apnea: sleep study required
• Chronic motor or vocal tic disorder
• Sickle cell disease

*To qualify for the program under terminal illness diagnosis, you must suffer from cancer or a terminal illness with a probable life expectancy of under one year, if your illness or its treatment produces one or more of the following: severe or chronic pain; nausea or severe vomiting; or Cachexia or severe wasting.

For more information on Medical Cannabis from the Minnesota Department of Health, including dispensary information, click on the link below:
https://www.health.state.mn.us/people/cannabis/

Dr. Mirman's opinion: According to emerging research medical cannabis should be considered as first line pain medication. It appears to be safer than all other pain medications available by prescription or over the counter. It does not cause severe side effects and overdose deaths like opioids, GI bleeding (including fatal) and kidney failure like NSAIDS (ibuprofen and others), liver and kidney failure like acetaminophen (Tylenol) in some cases. It's side effect profile is much more favorable than most pain drugs. And it appears to be more effective than most. Using cannabis in patients already on opioids for pain tends to decrease their opioid doses and in many cases make them unnecessary. There is no medical or legal reason to refuse prescribing opioids to patients certified for medical cannabis. Unfortunately, some pain clinics have a policy against combining opioids and cannabis and cut people off their needed opioid prescription for a urine test positive for THC (resulting from taking medical cannabis). The following review article provides good information and references indicating that such policies may be short-sighted. If your pain doctor is not amenable to managing your opioids as appropriate while you are on medical cannabis, contact Dr. Mirman for a referral to a more reasonable pain doctor.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6135562/

Cannabis has primary benefits and many secondary benefits as well

Dr. Mirman sees many cannabis patients each week who have seen significant improvements in their health as it relates to the qualifying conditions of medical marijuana. An added bonus of treating patients with cannabis is that often they experience some excellent “side benefits” as part of their treatments.

Note: we received a memo from the Office of Medical Cannabis informing us that the approval process may take up to a month.  The office is asking patients not to call them about the delays.  Please see the memo here.