Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Less than a year ago, Kim Falk's 6-year-old son, Danny, suffered from frequent, debilitating seizures - up to 24 in one day. And the combination of six medications he took left him unable to sit up on his own or even interact with his family.
"He was like a zombie," she said.
Now, he has reduced the number of medications and hasn't had a seizure for six months, said Falk, thanks to his medical cannabis prescription.
On Thursday morning, Falk was one of about a dozen people who picked up prescriptions from Minnesota Medical Solutions' Rochester location for the first time on the dispensary's first official day open.
"He is up and walking; he's babbling," Falk told reporters as she held a paper bag filled with the vial of cannabis oil her son was prescribed."He is getting into trouble and loving life again."
Falk said the process is very secure - she had to show ID, and then she was able to consult with the pharmacist and doctors before she picked up a month's supply of her son's prescription, which cost her a couple hundred dollars out of pocket.
The state's second location, and the first location in Greater Minnesota, will provide patients with three forms of smokeless marijuana, which became legal about three weeks ago.
Falk and her family, originally from Wisconsin, moved to Colorado for six months so Danny could be treated with medical cannabis. Recently, they just moved to Rochester to be near the dispensary and family in Wisconsin. And although she was skeptical at first, she said it has changed her son's life.
"It's very much misunderstood, and honestly, two years ago, I would not have advocated for any kind of medical marijuana," Falk said. "But then I educated myself about what it can do for people and how life changing it has been for my son and our family altogether."
'Maybe there's something to this cannabis thing'
Falk's son was prescribed an oil form of medical cannabis, which is administered three times a day by syringe through a tube connected to his stomach. Danny has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a form of intractable epilepsy that can impair development because of the frequency of seizures, said Dr. Kyle Kingsley, CEO of Minnesota Medical Solutions.
Danny's condition is one of nine qualifying conditions that makes him eligible for a prescription in the state. Others include HIV/AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
The State Legislature voted to legalize medical cannabis more than a year ago, but Minnesota's law is stricter than other states, and not everyone qualifies, said Kingsley. That's part of what drew him to the opportunity.
"If it was anything like Colorado or California, I wouldn't be here," he said. "This is really medical cannabis, with specific standards and dosing - it's not just plant material to smoke."
Medical cannabis comes in a spectrum of differently formulated medications, Kingsley said, which are prescribed depending patient's conditions. They range in THC, the chemical that produces a mental effect, or "high," and CBD, a compound that produces a medicinal effect, without psychoactivity. Danny's medicine falls on the CBD dominant end of the spectrum and has a very low level of THC.
Kingsley co-founded Minnesota Medical Solutions with Dr. Laura Bultman. The two met during their residency, where they worked together in an emergency room. The pair decided to research medical marijuana after observing patients, and they were surprised with what they found.
"We decided maybe there's something to this cannabis thing," Kingsley said, but he was less impressed with the industry implementation in other states.
"I checked out the industry, and I was completely mortified because it didn't have anything to do with medicine," he said. "There were people doing good things, but it was very different than what I would be comfortable with as a (doctor)."
Kinsley retired from emergency medicine about two months ago and now works full time as the founder/CEO of Minnesota Medical Solutions, which has four employees, said Joe Loveland, spokesperson for company.
As of Friday, 298 health-care practitioners had registered in order to certify patients from the program, according to the Minnesota Department of Health's Office of Medical Cannabis. So far, 183 patients statewide have completed the registration process and are able to buy medical marijuana.
Falk said it was initially difficult being involved with something so controversial, but after witnessing her son's transformation, it doesn't bother her if people disagree with her choice.
"I just hope to educate more people to let them know marijuana is not just a drug, it is a mediation that can help many different people," she said. "So that's OK if people don't agree, but I hope to open some more minds."
Kingsley said the relief he has seen in patients has validated the work he and Bultman are doing, but he understands physicians who are still skeptical.
"I was exactly like them 18 months ago... I thought it was justifying recreational use," he said. "It's been very validating for the team to see people getting relief. It's amazing; there's no denying [the results]. Kids can't fake seizures."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: First day of marijuana sales - PostBulletin.com: Local
Author: Taylor Nachtigal
Contact: tnachtigal@postbulletin.com
Photo Credit: Scott Jacobson
Website: PostBulletin.com: Rochester, MN's leading news source.
"He was like a zombie," she said.
Now, he has reduced the number of medications and hasn't had a seizure for six months, said Falk, thanks to his medical cannabis prescription.
On Thursday morning, Falk was one of about a dozen people who picked up prescriptions from Minnesota Medical Solutions' Rochester location for the first time on the dispensary's first official day open.
"He is up and walking; he's babbling," Falk told reporters as she held a paper bag filled with the vial of cannabis oil her son was prescribed."He is getting into trouble and loving life again."
Falk said the process is very secure - she had to show ID, and then she was able to consult with the pharmacist and doctors before she picked up a month's supply of her son's prescription, which cost her a couple hundred dollars out of pocket.
The state's second location, and the first location in Greater Minnesota, will provide patients with three forms of smokeless marijuana, which became legal about three weeks ago.
Falk and her family, originally from Wisconsin, moved to Colorado for six months so Danny could be treated with medical cannabis. Recently, they just moved to Rochester to be near the dispensary and family in Wisconsin. And although she was skeptical at first, she said it has changed her son's life.
"It's very much misunderstood, and honestly, two years ago, I would not have advocated for any kind of medical marijuana," Falk said. "But then I educated myself about what it can do for people and how life changing it has been for my son and our family altogether."
'Maybe there's something to this cannabis thing'
Falk's son was prescribed an oil form of medical cannabis, which is administered three times a day by syringe through a tube connected to his stomach. Danny has Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a form of intractable epilepsy that can impair development because of the frequency of seizures, said Dr. Kyle Kingsley, CEO of Minnesota Medical Solutions.
Danny's condition is one of nine qualifying conditions that makes him eligible for a prescription in the state. Others include HIV/AIDS, cancer and multiple sclerosis, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
The State Legislature voted to legalize medical cannabis more than a year ago, but Minnesota's law is stricter than other states, and not everyone qualifies, said Kingsley. That's part of what drew him to the opportunity.
"If it was anything like Colorado or California, I wouldn't be here," he said. "This is really medical cannabis, with specific standards and dosing - it's not just plant material to smoke."
Medical cannabis comes in a spectrum of differently formulated medications, Kingsley said, which are prescribed depending patient's conditions. They range in THC, the chemical that produces a mental effect, or "high," and CBD, a compound that produces a medicinal effect, without psychoactivity. Danny's medicine falls on the CBD dominant end of the spectrum and has a very low level of THC.
Kingsley co-founded Minnesota Medical Solutions with Dr. Laura Bultman. The two met during their residency, where they worked together in an emergency room. The pair decided to research medical marijuana after observing patients, and they were surprised with what they found.
"We decided maybe there's something to this cannabis thing," Kingsley said, but he was less impressed with the industry implementation in other states.
"I checked out the industry, and I was completely mortified because it didn't have anything to do with medicine," he said. "There were people doing good things, but it was very different than what I would be comfortable with as a (doctor)."
Kinsley retired from emergency medicine about two months ago and now works full time as the founder/CEO of Minnesota Medical Solutions, which has four employees, said Joe Loveland, spokesperson for company.
As of Friday, 298 health-care practitioners had registered in order to certify patients from the program, according to the Minnesota Department of Health's Office of Medical Cannabis. So far, 183 patients statewide have completed the registration process and are able to buy medical marijuana.
Falk said it was initially difficult being involved with something so controversial, but after witnessing her son's transformation, it doesn't bother her if people disagree with her choice.
"I just hope to educate more people to let them know marijuana is not just a drug, it is a mediation that can help many different people," she said. "So that's OK if people don't agree, but I hope to open some more minds."
Kingsley said the relief he has seen in patients has validated the work he and Bultman are doing, but he understands physicians who are still skeptical.
"I was exactly like them 18 months ago... I thought it was justifying recreational use," he said. "It's been very validating for the team to see people getting relief. It's amazing; there's no denying [the results]. Kids can't fake seizures."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: First day of marijuana sales - PostBulletin.com: Local
Author: Taylor Nachtigal
Contact: tnachtigal@postbulletin.com
Photo Credit: Scott Jacobson
Website: PostBulletin.com: Rochester, MN's leading news source.
