Home / About Us / Press Room / State’s Physicians to Discuss Recreational Marijuana

State’s Physicians to Discuss Recreational Marijuana

June 6, 2019

The Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) will hold a forum on recreational marijuana for physicians and physicians-in-training on Thursday, June 6, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 317 on Rice Park (317 Washington St.) in downtown St. Paul.

The forum will help the association form policy on the prospect of legalizing recreational marijuana. The MMA currently has no policies regarding the drug.

In May, the association sent a survey to its membership soliciting opinions.

“The survey showed that there is a lot of interest in the topic,” said MMA President Doug Wood, MD. “More and more discussion is taking place in clinics about the drug. We want to be prepared if legislation to legalize recreational marijuana ever gains traction. Do Minnesota’s physicians oppose it? Favor it? Or maybe they’re neutral on the issue. The survey and this forum should provide us with the data we need.”

The forum will be an opportunity for attendees to learn more about the health effects of marijuana, and what legalizing recreational marijuana could mean for Minnesota.  It will include a 45-minute panel discussion, followed by table discussions in which attendees will have the opportunity to dive deeper into the issue.

Table topics will include:

  • Youth Access to Marijuana: How does marijuana affect youth health?
  • Marijuana and Pregnancy: What are the potential health effects of using marijuana during pregnancy?
  • Race and Marijuana: How does the criminalization of marijuana use disproportionately harm (health and social effects) people of color?
  • Marijuana and Mental Health: What are the effects of marijuana use on mental health?
  • The Legalization Debate: What is the role of medicine and science in this debate?

The speaker panel will include:

  • Darin J. Erickson, PhD, Associate Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota
  • Sheila Specker, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Director of Addiction Medicine Fellowship, University of Minnesota
  • David Thorson, MD, Entira Family Clinics

Sponsors include:

  • Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians
  • Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology
  • Minnesota Psychiatric Society
  • Minnesota Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians
  • Minnesota Chapter, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

More Publications

Latest Press Releases

Minnesota Physicians Focus on Five Priorities for Legislative Session

February 11, 2026

The state’s largest advocacy group for Minnesota physicians and physicians-in-training will advocate for five key legislative priorities at the Capitol this session, which begins February 17. The group will hold its annual Physicians’ Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, March 4, bringing together physicians and physicians-in-training from across the state to meet with their elected officials.

“Dozens of healthcare-related bills go through the Capitol each session,” said Lisa Mattson, MD, the Minnesota Medical Association’s (MMA) president. “But to make an impact for patients and medical practice in Minnesota, we really need to focus our efforts on a few top issues.”

Minnesota Physicians Urge Congressional Delegation to Restrict ICE, CBP Activities in Healthcare Facilities and Other Sensitive Locations, and to Ensure Access to Medical Care at Detention Facilities

February 6, 2026

On February 5, the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA), along with several other physician advocacy groups, sent a letter to the Minnesota Congressional Delegation urging Congress, as a condition of ongoing funding for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to restrict U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) activities in or near healthcare facilities and other sensitive locations, and to hold DHS accountable for ensuring that detainees are provided with appropriate medical care, food, water, and other basic human needs.

MMA statement on CDC’s revision to childhood vaccine schedule

January 5, 2026

The Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) is deeply concerned with the recent decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to revise the childhood vaccine schedule. The changes add unnecessary confusion and uncertainty around vaccines that have been shown to be both safe and effective. Minnesota law continues to require evidence-based vaccinations for childcare and school attendance. The MMA urges parents and families to talk directly with their physicians about the critical role that childhood vaccines play in preventing serious disease and death, and in protecting the most vulnerable members or our communities.