Minnesota Cannabis Nurses Association
A nurse-led nonprofit advancing cannabis therapeutics at the bedside, in clinical practice, and through legislation — and tending to the healers themselves through the medicine of plants.
About MNCNA
The Minnesota Cannabis Nurses Association is a nurse-led nonprofit rooted in clinical practice, patient care, and the evolving role of cannabis as medicine. Our work lives at the bedside, in care planning, and in the policy conversations that shape how healthcare systems respond to cannabis therapeutics. MNCNA welcomes all healthcare and helping professionals, because the need for informed, compassionate cannabis care extends across every discipline that serves people.
We exist to advance evidence-based cannabis practice, improving patient access, raising clinical standards, and preparing healthcare professionals for a landscape that is changing faster than most institutions are ready for. This is not about the industry. It is about the care.
Health equity is central to everything we do. Cannabis access has never been equally distributed, and the patients who need it most are often the ones with the least support navigating it. MNCNA is committed to closing that gap through education, advocacy, and policy change.
We are also here for the healers. Nurses, social workers, counselors, first responders, community health workers, and every helping professional who gives everything to others and has little left for themselves. MNCNA holds space for that through The Well, our dedicated wellness community where helping professionals come to refill their cup.
What We Do
Our work spans clinical education, policy advocacy, community connection, and healer wellness — unified by a commitment to patient safety, health equity, and the belief that cannabis is medicine.
01
Evidence-based, clinically grounded education for healthcare and helping professionals. Built for the bedside, the clinic, and every space in between. A public educational platform with trusted resources for accessing cannabis as medicine is also coming soon.
CE Programs Coming Soon · Public Platform Coming Soon
02
We advocate for the plant, the patients who depend on it, veterans, and communities impacted by the war on drugs. We show up at every policy table that affects cannabis care — at the bedside and through legislation.
03
A professional home for healthcare and helping professionals who believe in cannabis as medicine and want to be part of advancing it with integrity and purpose.
04
A dedicated wellness space where healthcare and helping professionals come to refill their cup. Through classes, seminars, fellowship, and modalities that support the endocannabinoid system.
Coming Soon
Founded by a Nurse. Driven by Purpose.
"Nurses should be having these conversations at the bedside. We need the credentials, the community, and the policy framework within our workplace systems and through legislation to do it safely."
MNCNA was founded by a Registered Nurse who recognized a critical gap: patients were using cannabis, asking nurses about it, and receiving silence. Not because nurses didn't care, but because they lacked the professional infrastructure to respond with confidence. From a retail CBD shop to a statewide movement, one nurse found her lane and built the road for everyone else. MNCNA exists to fill that gap, and to make sure no healthcare or helping professional ever has to navigate it alone.
Molly Taylor, RN
Founder & Executive Director, MNCNA
Member Voices
MNCNA is just getting started, and we are looking for founding members who want to shape what cannabis nursing looks like in Minnesota and beyond. This is your opportunity to help build something that has never existed before — and to leave a legacy that will outlast all of us.
Be a founding member. Help us write this chapter.
Become a Founding Member →Our Story
From a retail CBD shop to a statewide movement. One nurse trying to find her lane discovered that cannabis nursing was already blazing a trail worth following. The Conversations with Kush Podcast opened the door to the full cannabis conversation from the industry perspective, and through those interviews and stories, a mustard seed was planted. Molly the Kush RN was watching healthcare fail cannabis patients in real time, and MNCNA grew from that.
Our Mission
To educate, empower, and unite healthcare and helping professionals in the advancement of cannabis therapeutics, at the bedside, in clinical practice, and through legislation. We provide professional development, community, and advocacy rooted in evidence-based practice and a deep respect for the relationships between those who heal and those they serve.
We champion equitable access to cannabis medicine, knowing that access alone is not enough without the informed, compassionate care to support it. We work to shape policy, shift systems, and ensure that no patient is left without a knowledgeable professional in their corner.
And we tend to the healers. Through The Well, we offer a home for every helping professional who needs to be restored — through wellness education, fellowship, and modalities that nourish the endocannabinoid system and support the whole person. Because those who are whole give better care, and that wholeness is part of our mission.
Our Vision
We envision a future where cannabis is recognized as a legitimate and evidence-based component of patient care, and where every healthcare and helping professional feels informed, confident, and supported in having that conversation. A future where access is not determined by zip code, income, or circumstance, but by clinical need and human dignity.
We see a healthcare system that is prepared, not reactive. One where policy reflects the science, institutions support their clinicians, and patients are never left to navigate cannabis care alone.
We envision a culture of wellness within the helping professions, where healers are not expected to pour from an empty cup. Through The Well, we are building a space where restoration is not an afterthought but a practice, rooted in fellowship, plant medicine, and the science of the endocannabinoid system.
Minnesota is where we plant our roots. The vision reaches further.
Core Belief
What We Stand For
Education
Evidence-based knowledge for clinical confidence. Every curriculum, protocol, and resource we develop is grounded in peer-reviewed research and best practice, designed for healthcare and helping professionals who need more than surface-level information to serve their patients well.
Compassion
We meet patients where they are, without judgment. Stigma-free, culturally competent care is not a nicety. It is a standard. Every person deserves a knowledgeable professional in their corner who sees cannabis as medicine and treats them with dignity.
Advocacy
We advocate for the plant, for the patients who depend on it, for veterans, for communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, and for the helping professionals who need a seat at every policy table. Cannabis justice is part of this work, and we will not leave it out of the conversation.
Health Equity
Cannabis access has never been equally distributed. We are committed to changing that through education, legislation, and community — ensuring that zip code, income, and background never determine whether someone receives informed cannabis care.
Healing the Healer
Nurses, social workers, counselors, first responders, and every helping professional who pours into others deserves to be restored. We hold that truth as sacred, and we build our community around it.
The Well
Our dedicated wellness space for healthcare and helping professionals. The place where you come to refill your cup. Through classes, seminars, fellowship, and modalities that support the endocannabinoid system, The Well exists so that those who care for others have somewhere to come and be cared for themselves.
Coming Soon
Core Beliefs
Our History
2020
A Minnesota nurse working in a retail CBD shop discovers the American Cannabis Nurses Association and realizes that cannabis nursing is not only possible — it is already a movement. The search for a lane becomes a calling. That same nurse begins advocating for recreational marijuana legalization in Minnesota, believing that access, equity, and clinical care cannot be separated.
2023
Minnesota becomes the 23rd state to legalize recreational cannabis, effective August 1st. Years of advocacy pay off. The work of changing hearts, minds, and policy is real — and it is just beginning.
2024
Hosted by Molly the Kush RN, the Conversations with Kush Podcast launches with a simple belief: that real people telling real stories about cannabis changing their lives was the most powerful way to change the minds of those who still saw it as a drug. Episode by episode, it became a vehicle for shifting the narrative and building the case for cannabis as medicine, from the inside of the industry out.
2026
The Minnesota Cannabis Nurses Association officially incorporates as a nonprofit in St. Paul, MN. Built on the belief that cannabis is medicine, that healers deserve to be healed, and that justice and clinical care belong in the same conversation.
Coming Soon
MNCNA introduces The Well — a dedicated wellness space for healthcare and helping professionals. The place where you come to refill your cup.
Coming Soon
Continuing education rooted in evidence-based practice, designed for clinicians who need more than surface-level information.
Coming Soon
A free, accessible library for patients, caregivers, and communities who deserve to understand their options.
Leadership
MNCNA is governed by a volunteer board of dedicated professionals committed to advancing cannabis care with integrity, equity, and purpose. Board composition is currently being established.
Molly Taylor, RN
Founder & Executive Director, MNCNA
Registered Nurse, cannabis advocate, and founder of the Conversations with Kush Podcast. Committed to advancing cannabis nursing practice and healing the healers who make it possible.
Additional board positions are being filled. If you are interested in joining the MNCNA board, reach out to us.
Membership
MNCNA founding members are the people who show up before the road is built. You are not joining an organization — you are shaping one. Every tier includes a 15% discount on all classes and merch at The Well.
Membership Tiers
Student
Founding Student
$35/year
For nursing students and students of other healthcare and helping professions committed to cannabis-informed practice.
Healthcare Professional
Founding RN / Professional
$95/year
For registered nurses, APRNs, and licensed healthcare professionals ready to lead cannabis-informed care.
Healthcare Adjacent
Helping Professional
$95/year
For social workers, counselors, EMTs, firefighters, police, doulas, peer support specialists, community health workers, and all helping professionals.
Scholarship Program
MNCNA believes that financial barriers should never prevent a student from joining this movement. Scholarship awards are application-based and offered at varying levels of support depending on need and available funding.
Full membership covered for students demonstrating significant financial need.
Partial membership support for students with demonstrated need.
For students showing exceptional commitment to cannabis nursing and health equity.
Institutional Partnership
Healthcare organizations, educational institutions, and mission-aligned businesses have an opportunity to partner with MNCNA at the ground floor. Sponsorship and institutional partnership support the education, advocacy, and healer wellness work that makes MNCNA possible.
Community Partner
Brand visibility, newsletter features, and acknowledgment at MNCNA events. For organizations aligned with our mission and ready to show up for cannabis nursing.
Clinical Partner
Elevated recognition, CE co-branding opportunities, and direct access to MNCNA members as cannabis-informed professionals in your community.
Founding Sponsor
The highest level of investment in MNCNA's mission. Naming recognition, board liaison relationship, and a lasting place in the founding story of cannabis nursing in Minnesota.
Education & Training
Evidence-based cannabis education is coming to MNCNA — built for the bedside, the clinic, and every space where care is delivered.
Cannabis Nursing Education
We are building a CE program rooted in clinical practice, designed for healthcare and helping professionals who need more than surface-level information to serve their patients well. Every course will be grounded in peer-reviewed research, built for real-world application, and created by clinicians who understand what it means to navigate cannabis care at the bedside.
While we build — here is how you can be part of it.
Are you a clinician, educator, or subject matter expert with knowledge worth sharing? MNCNA welcomes community-developed course submissions that meet CE qualifying guidelines. If you have a class idea, a clinical experience, or a topic that needs to be taught — we want to hear from you.
CE activity guidelines for reference:
What's Coming
CE Programs Coming Soon
Clinically grounded continuing education units for healthcare and helping professionals, designed for license renewal and professional development.
Public Education Platform Coming Soon
A free, accessible platform where patients, caregivers, and communities can access trusted resources for understanding and accessing cannabis as medicine.
Public Education & Resource Bank Coming Soon
A curated library of peer-reviewed research, practice tools, and clinical references — freely available and regularly updated.
Policy & Advocacy
Cannabis policy is health policy. And nobody is better positioned to shape it than nurses — and the helping professionals who work alongside them.
Why Nurses Lead
Nurses are consistently ranked among the most trusted professionals in the country. They are the ones at the bedside when patients ask about cannabis. They are the ones navigating the gap between what the law allows and what patients actually need. That trust, that proximity, and that clinical knowledge is lobbying power. And MNCNA is here to make sure legislators hear directly from the people who know what is really happening in the rooms where care is delivered.
Healthcare and helping professionals deserve a seat at every table where cannabis decisions are made in Minnesota. MNCNA is pulling up those chairs.
What We Advocate For
MNCNA's policy positions are grounded in clinical evidence, health equity, and the lived experiences of healthcare and helping professionals.
Board & Committee Openings
Policy is shaped by the people who show up. MNCNA monitors open seats on boards and advisory bodies that influence cannabis and healthcare policy in Minnesota. If there is a seat at the table, we want our members in it.
Current board openings will be posted as they become available. Members are notified via newsletter.
Legislative Tracker
This space will be updated regularly with active, proposed, and monitored legislation that affects cannabis care, nursing practice, and patient access in Minnesota.
Legislative updates coming soon. Check back as the session progresses.
Take Action
Cannabis policy changes when the right people hear the right voices. Use these direct links to find and contact the people who represent you.
MNCNA will provide testimony training for healthcare and helping professionals who want to speak before legislative committees on cannabis-related issues.
Clinical Resources
Guidelines, clinical tools, continuing education, research, patient resources, Minnesota law, and trusted organizations — everything you need to practice cannabis nursing with confidence.
National Guidelines
The foundational national guideline covering current legislation, scientific literature, and nursing implications for every license level — LPN through APRN. Free to download.
The American Nurses Association's official position on the roles and responsibilities of nurses related to cannabis use.
The landmark announcement formally recognizing cannabis nursing as a nursing specialty.
Published jointly by ANA and ACNA in 2024. Eighteen national standards with detailed competencies — the defining professional document for cannabis nursing. Free sample chapter available.
MNCNA Clinical Tools
Evidence-based clinical tools developed by MNCNA. Free to download and use in practice. Please cite MNCNA when sharing.
Universal clinical assessment with embedded CUDIT-R validated screener. Covers route, frequency, product, THC:CBD ratio, timing, and color-coded clinical flags. For all settings.
18 drug class interactions color-coded by risk. Covers CYP450 mechanisms, clinical actions, and special populations including pregnancy, elderly, and psychiatric patients.
Three reading levels in one PDF: Basic (6th–8th grade), Standard (8th–10th grade), and Clinical. Includes a clinician guide for when to use each level.
Five-part quick reference covering adult-use law, medical cannabis program, hemp/CBD, HCP scope of practice implications, and key contacts. Updated with 2025 omnibus changes.
Pre-surgical cannabis assessment for all patients and all surgery types. Includes acute intoxication screen, cardiovascular and airway risk flags, anesthesia communication handoff, and a Proceed/Hold/Cancel decision framework. Based on ASRA 2023 guidelines.
Cannabis assessment built for the Emergency Department — designed for urgent cases where deferral is rarely an option. Includes agent-specific interaction table for ketamine, propofol, ketofol, etomidate, fentanyl, and midazolam, plus a CHS screen and four-tier ED decision framework.
Continuing Education
Verify CE approval with the Minnesota Board of Nursing before enrolling.
Free, on-demand. 5.5 NCPD contact hours across 6 modules. Designed for RNs, NPs, pharmacists, PAs, and first responders. Covers ECS, synthetic cannabinoids, and disease-state applications.
ANCC-accredited. Free for RNs and LPNs. 1.5 contact hours. Covers pharmacology, ECS, legal considerations, and patient safety. Instant certificate on completion.
ANCC-accredited (Provider #P0274). Free. Covers state laws, nursing practices, contraindications, drug interactions, and methods of administration. Audio format available.
Free, live, practitioner-led education every Sunday 9–10am PT. Led by Maureen "Mo" Smyth BSN, RN with weekly expert guests. Open to everyone — nurses, providers, patients, and the public.
30-hour, evidence-based curriculum earning 30 CEUs. Covers ECS, 38 condition-specific protocols, dosing, drug interactions, and more. CA BRN approved. ($500)
Research & Evidence
The leading clinical research platform for cannabis and ECS science. Aggregates thousands of peer-reviewed studies into searchable dashboards by condition, cannabinoid, terpene, and organ system — each with a Strength of Science rating. Replaces hours of manual PubMed searching. MNCNA's recommended starting point for evidence-based cannabis research. Free trial available.
The National Library of Medicine's free database of peer-reviewed biomedical literature. Search "endocannabinoid system," "cannabidiol," or any condition + cannabis.
Dr. Dustin Sulak's evidence-based platform offering clinical protocols, dosing guidance, and patient education tools for integrating cannabis into practice.
Official NCSBN journal. Published the original nursing guidelines and continues to publish cannabis nursing research. Includes a 1.0 CE article on caring for cannabis-using patients.
Patient Education
Laura Barrett MBA, BSN, RN — cannabis nurse educator, clinical director, and public speaker with 25+ years of clinical experience. Provides individualized patient consultations and provider group training. Faculty at University of Maryland's Master's in Cannabis Science and Therapeutics program. A trusted referral resource for patients needing one-on-one cannabis guidance from an experienced RN.
The only free, RN-staffed cannabis nurse hotline in the U.S. Anonymous, evidence-based guidance on dosing, products, and drug interactions. Mon–Fri 8am–7pm MDT. 1-844-LEAF411.
Dr. Bonni Goldstein's educational platform covering cannabis medicine for complex and pediatric conditions including epilepsy, autism, cancer, and chronic pain.
The official state resource for Minnesota patients on legal cannabis use, possession limits, the medical cannabis program, and licensed dispensaries.
Trusted Organizations
We believe in lifting the whole field. These organizations are doing important work in cannabis nursing, clinical education, patient access, and advocacy.
Last Updated May 2026
If you know of a resource that belongs here, or if a link needs updating, please reach out. This page is a living document — we update it regularly.
education@mncna.comBy MNCNA
The place where you come to refill your cup.
A dedicated wellness community for healthcare and helping professionals. Because those who give everything to others deserve a place to come and be restored — through fellowship, plant medicine, and the science of the endocannabinoid system.
Who The Well Is For
The Well holds space for every helping professional who has ever put others first at the cost of themselves. Nurses, social workers, counselors, first responders, doulas, community health workers, peer support specialists, EMTs, firefighters, police, and all those who show up in service of others. The healer in all its forms deserves to be healed.
You cannot pour from an empty cup. The Well exists to fill it.
What Lives Inside The Well
All programming at The Well is rooted in the science of the endocannabinoid system and the wholeness of the person who shows up. MNCNA members receive 15% off all classes and merch.
Yoga, breathwork, somatic practices, mindfulness, and movement modalities — all through the lens of endocannabinoid health.
Seminars and workshops on the endocannabinoid system, plant medicine, nutrition, adaptogens, and holistic wellness for helping professionals.
Virtual and in-person gatherings, peer support circles, and community spaces where helping professionals can finally exhale.
Signature wellness retreats and gatherings designed exclusively for those who give care for a living.
Articles, research, and tools specific to provider wellness, burnout recovery, and endocannabinoid system health.
Wear the reminder. Apparel and goods designed to carry The Well's message into every space you occupy. Members save 15%.
The Well is coming. Join the waitlist to be notified when we open, get early access to programming, and help shape what this space becomes.
No spam. Just restoration, when it's ready.
MNCNA was born from conversations. To hear where it all began, visit the Conversations with Kush Podcast.
Contact
We welcome inquiries from healthcare and helping professionals, healthcare organizations, policymakers, media, and anyone committed to advancing cannabis care and healing the healers who make it possible.
Minnesota Cannabis Nurses Association (MNCNA)
St. Paul, Minnesota
Use the form below and we will be in touch. You can also sign up for our newsletter to stay connected with practice updates, events, and advocacy news.
Stay Connected
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