A bill introduced in Minnesota would add at least two more medical cannabis producers in the state, aiming to increase production, spur more competition, and perhaps drive prices down, 5 Eyewitness News reports. Republican state Sen. Mark Koran, the bill’s sponsor, said there could be “a lot of benefits” to adding more medical cannabis producers by 2024.
“More competition can lead to better prices for patients and then we have to ask ourselves, ‘What does success look like?’ so that we are careful to not dilute the market.” – Koran to 5 Eyewitness News
Dr. Stephen Dahmer, chief medical officer of Green Goods, said he doesn’t think more producers are needed, noting that the company’s “average unit price dropped by nearly 30%” since the flower option was added for patients on March 1. He contended that the $45 price point for flower in Minnesota’s dispensaries “is not too off the market” – which he pegged at $35 in the unregulated market.
“Again, you’re getting a trusted product dispensed by pharmacists from a trusted company that’s gone through the system,” Dahmer told 5 Eyewitness News. “A huge market difference between what you’re receiving at a cannabis patient center than on the illicit market. Ideally, we would love to approach that illicit market costs because, again, patients should not have to buy cannabis on the street.”
The bill was introduced on Tuesday and has bipartisan support but has not yet had a committee hearing.
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