North Dakota Medical Marijuana Edibles Law Set To Take Effect

*“Having something simple, straightforward, accurate and safe that we can
provide to patients as a non-inhalation method of administration is going
to, in my opinion, completely revolutionize the program here in North
Dakota.”*

*By Michael Achterling, North Dakota Monitor*

Changes to North Dakota’s medical marijuana program aimed at expanding
program access and product options for patients are set to go into effect
August 1.

The North Dakota Legislature passed a series of bills during the 2025
legislative session that changed the state’s medical marijuana laws. The
new changes will allow for low-dose THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) edibles to
be sold at medical dispensaries. The application process will change to
allow patients easier access to the program for a longer time before
needing to renew their medical cannabis cards.

House Bill 1203 will allow THC edible products to be included in the
state’s medical marijuana program. The products must be hard or soft
lozenges in a square shape that contain no more than 5 milligrams of THC
per serving and no more than 50 milligrams in a package. Other food and
beverages that contain THC will still not be allowed under the new law.

Jake Mittelsteadt, director of retail operations for Pure Dakota Health, a
medical marijuana dispensary in Bismarck, said the new law allowing edible
products to be sold to patients could be a gamechanger.

“Since day one of this program, the amount of people that joined the
program, that come to the state, everybody, especially in the older
demographics, their priorities have always been gummies and edibles,”
Mittelsteadt said.

Medical dispensaries have been able to carry other oral products, such as
tinctures or capsules, but edibles are what patients prefer, he said.

“Having something simple, straightforward, accurate and safe that we can
provide to patients as a non-inhalation method of administration is going
to, in my opinion, completely revolutionize the program here in North
Dakota,” Mittelsteadt said.

Like all of the state’s medical marijuana products, the edibles will be
manufactured and processed in North Dakota. Production can’t begin until
August 1, so he said the new edibles should be on dispensary shelves by the
end of August or early September.

There was some opposition to the changes.

Stephanie Engebretson submitted testimony in opposition to the edibles bill
on behalf of the Chiefs of Police Association of North Dakota. In her
testimony, she said edibles are the THC product that children are most
likely to consume and the edibles take longer to feel the product’s effect,
which could cause some customers to take more doses and compound the
effects.

She said the organization suggested the bill be amended to require edible
products to be stored in a locked location when children are present and
remove the flavoring of the edible product to ensure children do not find a
flavor they enjoy, if they do encounter it.

None of the suggestions were included in the final version of the
legislation.

Rep. Steve Vetter, R-Grand Forks, chief sponsor of the bill allowing
edibles, said he was voted into the Legislature in 2016, the same election
as the medical marijuana program ballot measure, which was approved with 64
percent of the statewide vote. During that campaign, he said he heard from
multiple North Dakotans about their desire for edible products.

“This is a bigger deal, generally, for the elderly population,” Vetter
said. He added the effects of edible products react differently in the body
compared to other methods of delivery and can be beneficial for some
ailments, like chronic pain.

Another change as a result of the bill will allow tele-health care
providers to be used during an initial meeting to qualify a patient’s
illness for a medical marijuana card. More than two dozen debilitating
illnesses qualify for the medical cannabis program under state law.

Mittelsteadt said he believes removing the in-person visit hurdles will
allow more potential patients into the medical marijuana program.
Previously, tele-health appointments could only be used to renew a
patient’s medical marijuana card.

He said the tele-health option is also important because some North Dakota
health care providers have refused to issue chronic condition documentation
for patients to obtain their cards. Mittelsteadt added there is no health
care provider in Williston willing to meet with patients to obtain a
medical marijuana card. The closest health care provider willing to work
with potential medical marijuana patients in northwest North Dakota is in
Watford City, he said.

“That certainly has gotten better over the years as people have become more
comfortable with it [the program],” Mittelsteadt said. “But it has also
been a gigantic pain point for us and for patients here in North Dakota.”

Jason Wahl, director of the medical marijuana program for the Department of
Health and Human Services, said the state cannot force health care
providers to participate in the medical marijuana application process.

“It is completely up to that health care provider. The department has no
say in regards to that, nor should the department have a say in regards to
what a health care provider is going to do with their patient,” Wahl said.

Another new law, Senate Bill 2294, will change the expiration dates of
medical marijuana cards from one-year to two-year terms.

Vetter said the competition from recreational cannabis markets in
neighboring Montana and Minnesota will be something lawmakers will need to
continue to monitor to keep North Dakota’s medical marijuana program stable.

“That was a driving force this last time, essentially, if we don’t keep
these places open, then what we have is a bunch of people breaking the
law,” he said.

Mittelsteadt said Pure Dakota Health has retail locations in Williston,
Bismarck and Fargo, but the Williston location has not seen as much of an
increase in foot traffic over the last year.

“Our Williston location is so close to the [Montana] border that we have
some competition there,” he said. “But looking here in Bismarck, we’ve
definitely seen a marketable growth in patient count over the last year. ”

According to the 2024 North Dakota medical marijuana annual report, more
than 10,000 medical marijuana patient cards were issued by the state last
year, including dozens of caregivers who are able to purchase medical
marijuana for their patients who may not be able to go to a dispensary.

“While there was growth in the registered, qualifying patient population,
that growth really leveled off a little while ago,” Wahl said.

Wahl said, after an initial allotment of general and special funds from the
Legislature during the 2017-19 biennium to get their office up and running,
the medical marijuana program’s budget has been completely covered by the
permit and application fees.

North Dakota’s medical marijuana law became effective in 2017 and, by 2020,
the medical cannabis dispensaries raked up $6.4 million in total sales.
Sales tripled over the next two years, rising to $20 million in 2022, but
have recently stabilized, totaling $22.4 million last year.

Under state law, North Dakota allows only two permitted manufacturing and
processing facilities and eight retail dispensaries for the entire state.

Another bill set to take effect in August, Senate Bill 2293, will set the
maximum container size for THC concentrate at 1 gram. It also allows those
who are unable to receive North Dakota identification cards due to a
medical condition to submit other documentation to qualify for the medical
marijuana program.

Mittelsteadt said the 2025 legislative session was a big step forward in
preserving the medical marijuana program in North Dakota.

“This most recent legislative session has been the most promising, in terms
of them saying, ‘Let’s do something to actually benefit the patients and
actually benefit the program,’” Mittelsteadt said. “Let’s keep running with
it. Listen to the feedback from the patients, listen to the feedback from
the industry…just using common sense when we’re looking at this is going to
be vital.”

*This story was first published by North Dakota Monitor.*

*Photo courtesy of Pexels/Kindel Media.*

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