CO Marijuana Qualification

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Colorado Medical Marijuana Qualification

What Ailments Qualify For Medical Cannabis in Colorado

Patients in Colorado diagnosed with one of the following severe, debilitating, or life-threatening medical conditions, are afforded legal protection under the Colorado Medical Marijuana law, as per Ballot Amendment 20:

​Qualifying disabling medical conditions

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
  • An Autism Spectrum Disorder.
  • Any condition for which a physician could prescribe an opioid.

Colorado Medical Marijuana Program: Information

  1. Patients must be eighteen (18) years of age or older. If the patient is a minor under the age of eighteen (18), the minor and primary parent are Colorado Residents and the minor has a Qualifying Medical Condition after seeing two (2) physicians and submit two (2) physician certifications.
  2. Patients must be residents of Colorado and provide valid proof of residency and a valid Driver’s License or State Issued Identification Card.
  3. Patients must be evaluated by a certified physician. Find Certified Physicians in Colorado.
  4. Patient must be diagnosed with a Qualifying Medical Condition listed above.
  5. Patients must submit an Application and register on the Colorado Medical Marijuana Patient Registry.
    • The Application Fee is $25.00 and Non-Refundable.
    • A Copy of the patients Colorado Driver’s License or Identification Card must be uploaded.
    • Patients can apply by Mail by filling out the Application, including a copy of your Driver’s License or ID, with all other required documentation included on the checklist, and a Check or Money Order for the Application Fee made out to CDPHE, mailed to Application Processing CDPHE HSV-8608 4300 Cherry Creek Dr. S. Denver, CO 80246-1530. Mailed applications will take six to eight (6-8) weeks to be processed.
  6. If approved, the patient will be notified within three to five (3-5) days and the Medical Marijuana Identification Card will be mailed to the address listed on the application.

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How to Become A Medical Marijuana Patient in Colorado

Patients must be a Colorado Resident with a valid Colorado I.D. as proof of residency. If you do not have a Colorado I.D. an out of state I.D., passport, or other photo I.D. with proof of residency such as bank statement, utility bill, etc. is acceptable.

Obtain an authenticated, written certification from a physician that is licensed in the state of Colorado, that states that you have been diagnosed with a debilitating condition and that you would likely receive benefit from medical marijuana – *Find a certified medical marijuana physician in Colorado

Patients must obtain legitimate medical records or documentation from a primary care physician describing their diagnosis and bring these records with to their marijuana evaluation appointment – *Learn how to request your medical records

Upon receiving a physician’s medical marijuana recommendation, patient’s MUST register with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, to obtain a Medical Marijuana card. The cost is $90, and the application process may take up to 30 days.

Medical Marijuana Access in Colorado

Some medical marijuana patients will claim they have a doctor’s prescription for medical marijuana, but marijuana prescriptions are in fact illegal. The federal government classifies marijuana as a schedule I drug. Therefore doctors are unable to prescribe marijuana to their patients, and medical marijuana patients cannot go to a pharmacy to fill a prescription for medical marijuana. Instead, medical marijuana doctors in Colorado will supply patients with a medical marijuana recommendation in compliance with state law.
According to Colorado medical marijuana laws, patient or their primary caregiver may possess no more than two ounces of a usable form of marijuana, have NO more than six marijuana plants, with three or fewer being mature, flowering plants that are producing a usable form of marijuana.

One of the issues involving access for patients who have conditions that meet medical marijuana qualifications in Colorado is red tape. Thousands of patients are having difficulty obtaining their medical cannabis cards due to a backlog in the system.

As of April 2017, some patients had to wait up to two months due to the state switching from a mail-based registration system to an online process. This was not only causing an incredibly heavy workload among the employees responsible for processing registrations but also leading to a great deal of frustration among patients.

The main complaint about Colorado medical marijuana qualifications among patients was they are only able to fill out the online registration if their recommending doctors also applied online. Even though there were about 600 physicians in Colorado who could legally recommend medical cannabis, less than 70 of them had registered online.

In addition, caregivers must also register online before a patient can include them in their online application. The registration process was expected to go fully online sometime in 2018. Patients would be able to continue to submit paper registrations throughout the remainder of 2017.

MarijuanaDoctors.com will keep you informed on developments regarding obtaining a medical cannabis card in Colorado.

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Finally, a helpful & informative website! MarijuanaDoctors.com answered all of my medical marijuana questions and helped me schedule an appointment with an accredited doctor in my area.~Susan - Denver, CO