By Christopher Snowbeck

Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

ST. PAUL — Negotiations are continuing in private about legislation to legalize medical marijuana in Minnesota.

Sticking points include the number of patients who would have access to medical cannabis, as well as the number of sites that would dispense marijuana.

Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL- Minneapolis, said he did not expect to call a formal meeting Wednesday of a conference committee that was charged this week with negotiating a compromise between House and Senate bills.

Dibble said he was optimistic about reaching an agreement before the Legislature adjourns.

“We’re still being more informal about our conversations,” Dibble said in an interview.

Rep. Carly Melin, DFL- Hibbing, said: “We’re just going to continue private talks.”

Dibble’s bill in the Senate would make medical marijuana available to certain patients through a network of 55 dispensaries.

Dibble offered to take that number down to 24 dispensaries, but that’s still far beyond the one marijuana manufacturer and three pick-up centers allowed by Melin’s bill in the House.

The House measure might be willing to move up a bit, Melin said, but wouldn’t go to 24.

Under the Senate bill, patients would need a physician’s recommendation and an ID card issued by the Minnesota Health Department to obtain cannabis.

Under the House bill, a smaller number of patients could participate in the medical-marijuana program and would be enrolled in a research registry maintained by the Health Department.

The House bill would provide medical cannabis to patients with seizure disorders and seven other diagnoses.

The Senate bill essentially covers the same eight conditions but also would help patients with intractable pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe nausea and wasting syndrome.

Melin said she did not expect the House would give any ground on conditions.

To add patients who suffer from intractable pain would add significant costs to the bill, she said, because thousands of patients with the diagnosis likely would seek treatment.

She noted that the House bill would let the state Health Commissioner consider whether to add conditions in the future.

Fiscal notes for the bills estimate that about 5,000 people per year would seek medical marijuana under Melin’s bill. Under the Senate, the number would be 35,000, although Dibble questions whether the number would be that high.

Neither bill allows patients to smoke marijuana.

Both bills let patients use cannabis in the form of liquids and pills.

The bills differ when it comes to vaporization of marijuana — only the Senate bill would let patients vaporize marijuana plant materials, whereas the House would let patients vaporize only liquids and pills.

Each chamber passed its own version of medical cannabis legislation last week with large majorities. Lawmakers must adjourn by Monday, which means the clock is ticking.

Gov. Mark Dayton said this week that he prefers the House bill in part because it would not let patients use marijuana in whole plant form. That’s a concern shared by law enforcement groups, Melin said.

Dibble has argued that vaporizing plant materials provides patients with a more effective treatment at a lower cost.

Dayton said he also prefers the House bill’s more limited approach to marijuana distribution because the supply could be better controlled and directed to those for whom it’s intended.

Dibble contends that the House bill would force patients to drive hours for treatment and would create a monopoly manufacturer.

Dayton questioned whether state government would have to subsidize the cost of dispensaries in rural areas, created under the Senate bill. Dibble said the House bill costs $5 million and would require general fund subsidies “in perpetuity.”

—Despite the differences, Distributed by MCT Information Services