North Dakota Medical Marijuana: Tentative Timeline Set

BISMARCK, ND — North Dakota health officials set a tentative timeline for establishing a medical marijuana industry in the state and hope patients will have access to the drug beginning next spring.

Those interested in manufacturing or distributing medical marijuana are asked to notify the Health Department by July 28. The letters of intent should give officials an idea of the amount of interest. They aren't binding.

"We want to know how many are really serious about getting into this, either from a grower standpoint or a distribution standpoint," said Kenan Bullinger, director of the department's medical marijuana division. (For more Across America news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Department of Health Requests Letters of Intent for Proposed Medical Marijuana Compassion Centers https://t.co/usEBrUC3BX #MedicalMarijuana
— N.D. Dept. of Health (@NDDOH) July 7, 2017

North Dakota voters in November passed medical marijuana. Gov. Doug Burgum in April approved regulations crafted by the Legislature. The North Dakota Compassionate Care Act allows the use of medical marijuana for 17 medical conditions, along with terminal illnesses.

Patients must register with the state and they won't be able to grow their own. The Health Department will register two "compassion centers" to make the drug and eight more to dispense it. The agency can also add dispensaries in parts of the state that don't have one.

The department studied other states, including Minnesota, that have established medical pot systems to get a feel for how long it takes. The letter-of-intent process will give officials an even better idea of the number of applications that might come in, and how long it might take the state to weed through them, Bullinger said.

"We want real, complete and thorough applications," he said. "We want to give as much time as possible."

The Health Department tentatively plans to open the application process in early August and close it at the end of September. The agency would review the applications and make selections in early November. Officials estimate it will take manufacturers about six months to set up facilities and grow the first crop of medical marijuana. If the timeline plays out, the drug would be available to patients in April, May or June of next year. That falls within the department's earlier estimates.

"I think we're still on track to deliver 12-18 months after the signing of the bill," Bullinger said.

There's no cost for potential growers or distributors to submit a letter of intent. There will be a non-refundable $5,000 application fee for proposals. Manufacturing operations will also have to pay $110,000 and dispensaries will be charged $90,000 for a two-year certificate.

By Blake Nicholson, Associated Press

Image via Shutterstock