MOORHEAD – The community got its say Tuesday when it comes to medical marijuana in Minnesota.
One of the state's eight dispensaries will be in Moorhead.
The focus from the public at the Minnesota Department of Health Office of Medical Cannabis meeting was on the Moorhead dispensary, as well as on opening up the program to more conditions.
Tracy Heng was there along with her 17-year-old daughter, Ashlin, who has Rett Syndrome and often has severe seizures.
"We feel that this medical cannabis could be our last hope," Tracy Heng said.
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It's why the Barnesville family has been driving to the medical cannabis dispensary in Minneapolis.
Tracy Heng said the medication is helping shorten the seizures but that, with the traveling, it ends up costing about $1,500 every month.
She was at the meeting asking about the Moorhead dispensary, once scheduled to be open this fall but delayed until next spring.
"I'm hoping that they can do some shipping but, as of so far, they will not ship," Tracy Heng said.
Time was given at the end of the meeting for people to give testimony for and against including intractable pain in the list of conditions that can be treated with medical cannabis.
Intractable pain is essentially pain whose cause cannot be removed and, despite standard treatments, can't be adequately managed.
That was why Michelle Peterson was there. She says her mother is in constant pain from a knee surgery.
Peterson believes medical marijuana would help her mother return to a normal life.
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"For the past over 6, 7 years, her life has continually gone downhill and she is unable to do any of the things she used to," Peterson said.
All dispensaries are required to be open by next July.
