In 2016, Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program was passed into law, starting the state’s long-awaited journey towards legal cannabis.
Now, well into its fourth year, Pennsylvania patients with qualifying ailments can purchase medical cannabis from one of the 150 legal dispensaries in the state.
While medical cannabis is legal in over half of the states in the U.S., the process of getting medical marijuana in Pennsylvania is a bit different from other states. In this article, you’ll learn how Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program works and how to get a medical marijuana card in PA.
Who is eligible for medical marijuana in Pennsylvania?
In order to legally get cannabis in Pennsylvania, you must take your Medical Marijuana ID card to a state-licensed dispensary. To get the MMJ ID card, you first need to be a PA resident with proof of residency and a state-issued ID. Secondly, you need to determine if you have one of the qualifying conditions and are eligible to participate in the state’s medical-marijuana program.
Below is a list of the “Serious medical conditions” approved for medical cannabis:
- Tourette syndrome;
- Terminal illness;
- Sickle cell anemia;
- Severe chronic or intractable pain or severe unmanageable or chronic pain of neuropathic origin;
- Post-traumatic stress disorder;
- Parkinson’s disease;
- Opioid use disorder for which adjunctive therapy is indicated in combination with primary therapeutic interventions, or for which conventional therapeutic interventions are contraindicated or ineffective;
- Neuropathies;
- Neurodegenerative diseases;
- Multiple sclerosis;
- Intractable seizures;
- Inflammatory bowel disease;
- Huntington’s disease;
- HIV / AIDS;
- Glaucoma;
- Epilepsy;
- Spastic and dyskinetic movement disorders;
- Sustained damage to the nervous tissue of the brain-spinal cord (central nervous system) with an indication of other associated neuropathies and intractable spasticity;
- Crohn’s disease;
- Cancer, including remission therapy;
- Autism;
- Anxiety disorders; and
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
How can I register for Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program?
If you believe that you have one of the approved medical conditions, you’ll need to get a medical evaluation from a state-licensed physician.
However, before booking an appointment with a doctor, you must log in to the State’s Patient and Caregiver Registry and pre-certify.
It’s crucial that you provide the PA Department of Health with a detailed and accurate assessment of your health. If given all of the proper information, they’re able to adequately evaluate if medical cannabis would be appropriate for you.
How do I get a medical marijuana patient certification?
Upon pre-certifying through the state’s registry program, you’ll receive your patient ID number.
As you go to schedule a medical evaluation, be sure to provide them with the patient ID number you were given.
You can book an in-person appointment, or you can use a service like NuggMD, which allows you to have the physician’s appointment from the comfort of your own home.
Once you find a doctor who fits your needs, simply set up an appointment and complete any complimentary paperwork.
How do I find a licensed medical marijuana doctor in Pennsylvania?
Looking for doctors? If you go to Pennsylvania’s state website, you should be able to find a few state-approved physicians. Alternatively, if you head over to NuggMD, you can be speaking with a fully-licensed Pennsylvania weed doctor in just minutes!
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it may be a great time to leverage NuggMD’s virtual telemedicine software. You can talk with a licensed physician and complete your evaluation all from the convenience and comfort of your own home.
Best of all, this awesome and convenient service costs just $139.
What do I do after getting my PA medical marijuana evaluation?
Once your evaluation is complete, your doctor will provide you with a medical marijuana certification. Upon approval, your physician will enter your recommendation into the state’s registry, and you should receive an email to pay the $50 fee to complete your registration.
It’s worth noting that the registration fee is reducible if you participate in one of the following government assistance programs:
- Medicaid;
- SNAP;
- CHIP;
- PACE; or
- WIC.
The state’s registration fee is separate from the medical evaluation cost, so be sure to account for both as you are planning your evaluation.
How soon after the PA MMJ evaluation will I have access to medical cannabis?
You’re almost to the end! However, before you head over to the dispensary to pick up your marijuana subscription (which NuggMD also provides through its sister service, Nugg Club), you need to wait to get your MMJ ID card in the mail.
Once the PA Department of Health receives your MMJ application, you can expect your card to be printed and mailed out within seven days. Be sure to allow 14 days for your card to arrive at your address.
How do I get a medical marijuana evaluation with NuggMD?
1) Head over to the State’s Patient and Caregiver Registry and pre-certify.
2) Create your account at Nuggmd.com/Pensylvania
3) Complete your NuggMD profile and include all your medical information.
4) Provide your credit card information for payment. If you’re not approved, NuggMD will wave the cost of the evaluation.
5) Once you’re paired with a physician, they’ll come into your secure virtual meeting room and conduct a face-to-face video evaluation via your webcam enabled laptop, smartphone, or tablet.
6) Once approved, your evaluating doctor will submit your information to the state’s medical registry.
7) Once you complete your medical evaluation, you’ll wait for your email notification to go back to the state’s website to pay for your ID card and complete your application.
Why use NuggMD?
NuggMD is a state of the art telemedicine platform that connects medical marijuana patients with their state-licensed physicians via video-enabled phones, computers and tablets. All of NuggMD’s affiliated physicians are fully licensed and certified in the state for which they provide medical marijuana evaluations. NuggMD has connected more than 600,000 patients with their new compassionate and caring weed doctors in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nevada and California. And they’re coming to more states soon!
You can get your Pennsylvania medical marijuana card entirely from the comfort of your own home via their online, easy-to-use platform for just $139. Now that you know how easy it is, head over to NuggMD and get started with your medical marijuana evaluation today!
