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Medical marijuana program adopts fee changes, adds edible product rules and testing requirements
Summary
The Department of Health and Human Services proposed administrative amendments implementing recent legislative changes to fees and creating rules for cannabinoid edible products, packaging and testing.
The Department of Health and Human Services told the Administrative Rules Committee it amended North Dakota’s medical marijuana administrative rules to implement changes from the recent legislative session, including fee adjustments and new standards for cannabinoid edible products.
Jason Wall of the medical marijuana program said the amendments implement two categories of legislative changes: fee changes and rules for a cannabinoid edible product added by statute. Wall told the committee the department increased the resident qualifying patient application fee from $20.25 to $40 while the state moved card expiration to a two‑year term; he noted that ‘‘in effect, the resident qualifying patients will see a decrease of $10 over a 2 year period.’’ The department also established a $40 fee for nonresident qualifying patient applications and modified fees for lost cards and replacement cards due to name changes.
Wall said the amendments change inventory and reserve‑sample requirements for manufacturers and dispensaries to make inventories more efficient and add labeling, marketing, ingredient and testing requirements for cannabinoid edible products. The statutory changes required the department to address marketing, packaging, ingredient lists and imprinting on edible items; the department also added testing requirements for ingestible products and revised how long reserve samples must be maintained at manufacturing facilities.
Wall said the department held a public hearing, received no public comments, and had the proposed rules reviewed and approved for legality by the Attorney General’s office. He reported the non‑staff cost of notice and hearing and rule development was minimal and that the anticipated fiscal impact of the changes is minimal.
Why it matters: the rules implement recently passed legislative provisions on edible cannabinoid products and adjust patient fees while aligning administrative requirements for inventory and testing. Changes to testing, packaging and labeling will affect manufacturers and dispensaries that participate in the program.
Wall asked the committee to accept the report and said staff would answer any technical questions in subsequent reviews during the rulemaking process.
