Hallberg's Picture of Health: Medical marijuana and pain

Wyatt Hauser's medical marijuana.
Two kinds of medical marijuana tinctures ready to go with a 4-year-old patient's lunch of bananas, ham and applesauce.
Evan Frost | MPR News

A year into Minnesota's medical marijuana program, doctors are getting a new condition for which they can prescribe the treatment: intractable pain.

Doctors on Friday began evaluating potential medical marijuana patients with intractable pain. Their treatments would begin in August.

Dr. Jon Hallberg, MPR News' regular medical analyst, joined All Things Considered host Tom Crann to talk about how this change will work in a clinical setting.

Here's some of what they discussed:

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• How doctors will diagnose intractable pain

• Guidelines doctors are getting from the state

• Considering Minnesota's opioid epidemic, what difference could it make to have medical marijuana available for pain?

Use the audio player above to hear their entire conversation.