Updated on June 22, 2020. Medical content reviewed by Dr. Joseph Rosado, MD, M.B.A, Chief Medical Officer
North Dakota Medical Marijuana Program: Contact Details
North Dakota Department of Health
600 East Blvd Ave., Dept. 301
Bismarck, ND 52505-0200
Phone: (701) 328-1311
Fax: (701) 328-1333
Email: medmarijuana@nd.gov
Website: North Dakota Medical Marijuana Program
North Dakota Medical Marijuana Program: Information
- Patients must be age nineteen (19) or older. If the patient is under nineteen (19) years of age, the name and information of the parent or legal guardian must be designated as their caregiver and included on the application.
- Patients must be a resident of North Dakota and provide proof of residency via a valid Driver’s License or State Identification Card.
- Patients must be evaluated by a certified physician. Find A Certified Physician.
- Patients must be diagnosed with a Qualifying Condition.
- Patients must then register on the North Dakota Medical Marijuana Patient Registry.
- After registering, patients must submit an Application online through the Patient Registry to receive a Registry Identification Card (Medical Marijuana Card).
- Patients must pay the Application Fee of $50.00 and it is Non-Refundable. Check or Cashier’s Check must be made payable to NDDoH Medical Marijuana Program with the applicants ten (10) digit alphanumeric identification number in the Memo/For line. Check/Cashier’s Check can be mailed to NDDoH Division of Medical Marijuana 600 East Blvd Ave, Dept 301 Bismarck, ND 58505.
- Provide Application, Drivers License, 2×2 Passport Style Photo, Copy of State Issued Identification Card or Driver’s License, Name of Health Care Provider completing the written certification with their E-Mail address & Medical Release of Information.
- If the patient is approved, they will receive the Registry Identification Card at the address listed on the application.
Recent Legislation Changes
In October 2018, the Health Department began accepting applications for medical marijuana cards. Applications are open for both patients and caregivers. Patients are required to pay a $50 fee annual and receive a certification from a doctor or nurse in order to maintain their medical marijuana cards. Caregivers are expected to pay the $50 annual fee as well and are required to have a criminal background check. It is expected that in three years as many as 4,000 people in North Dakota will be legally using medicinal cannabis.
Senate Bill 2154
After the November 2016 ballot in which 63 percent of voters said “yes” to Question 5, expectations were high among those who had conditions that can be treated with medical marijuana. However, on January 18, 2017, the state Senate passed Bill 2154, which will delay the implementation of the provisions of the state’s Compassionate Care Act.
Senate Bill 2154 suspends the implementation of some parts of the law until July 2017. It prevents the Department of Health from issuing any licenses for proposed medical marijuana dispensaries. Unfortunately, this leaves patients who are qualified to take advantage of the state’s medical marijuana program without any safe access to the drug for the next four months.
The lawmakers claim they need time to get things right, stating that it’s only a delay and not an attempt to thwart the will of the majority. This tactical delay will also slow down the process of creating a system for patients to apply for medical marijuana ID cards. The bill was signed into law by the governor on January 27, 2017.
In an alarm raised by the Marijuana Policy Project, the organization said that the legislators, who were caught off guard when the people said “yes” to medical marijuana last November, have started making moves to carry out major alterations to the original provisions of the Compassionate Care Act.
Senate Bill 2344
Senate Bill 2344 could prohibit the use of whole marijuana plants and other forms for treatment and limit medical marijuana to liquids and pills in North Dakota. The conservative Republican-controlled Senate will remove the existing home cultivation provision, which is only allowed for patients who are 40 miles from a licensed dispensary. If the eighty-two pages of SB 2344 are approved, the cost of obtaining and using medical marijuana will rise in the state.
A state like North Dakota that has a large rural population needs to allow qualified patients to grown their own medical marijuana plants because many patients with debilitating conditions will find it very difficult to go to urban areas where licensed dispensaries are located. Since only eight dispensaries will be permitted by this bill, it’s necessary for patients living in the suburbs to engage in limited home cultivation.
Added conditions: a terminal illness, Anorexia Nervosa, Anxiety Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Brain Injury, Bulimia Nervosa, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Endometriosis, Interstitial Cystitis, Migraine, Neuropathy, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Tourette Syndrome, a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or treatment for such disease or medical condition that produces one or more of the following:
- Severe debilitating pain that has not responded to previously prescribed medication or surgical measures for more than three months or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects, Intractable nausea, seizures, severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis https://www.health.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/Files/MM/Debilitating_Medical_Conditions.pdf
Now offering a digital medical marijuana card for patients https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/north-dakota-offering-electronic-medical-marijuana-cards/article_41dba988-0fa8-5791-ab8a-05c6c228ed1a.html
HB 1283 permits physician assistants to recommend cannabis to qualified patients
HB 1417 permits patients with cancer to possess up to six ounces of flower when explicitly authorized by a recommending health care provider. https://norml.org/news/2019/04/25/north-dakota-governor-signs-medical-cannabis-expansion-laws
North Dakota Medical Marijuana Program: Possession and Cultivation Regulations
The North Dakota Compassionate Care Act allows qualified patients with a certified physician’s recommendation to possess at maximum, no more than 3 ounces of usable medical marijuana. Furthermore, patients remotely located, living more than 40 miles from the nearest medical cannabis compassion clinic/dispensary, may legally cultivate up to 8 cannabis plants.
North Dakota Medical Marijuana Telemedicine Services Online
The most recent definition of telemedicine in North Dakota was articulated in legislation passed on January 31, 2017. Telehealth or telemedicine is interactive video, audio or other types of telecommunications technology used by a healthcare provider or healthcare facility located at a distant site to deliver services at an originating site where the patient is located.
Telemedicine is currently prohibited in the state of North Dakota. Patients must have a “bona fide provider-patient relationship” in order to receive a medical marijuana recommendation. The state of North Dakota defines this relationship as being one where the physician has reviewed all relevant medical records, conducted a full assessment of patient medical history, and has conducted an in-person evaluation of the patient.
