How Easy Is it to Get a Medical Marijuana Card?

Marijuana, Rights

America is still a fairly puritanical country, which is reflected, in part, in the national attitude about marijuana. Although numerous peer-reviewed studies show that marijuana is a very effective treatment for pain, nausea, and other unpleasant symptoms and conditions, it is stigmatized as a dangerous drug among the more conservative half of the population.

Currently 16 states, plus D.C., have passed legislation allowing people with legitimate medical need to buy and use marijuana, and more states will likely follow suit in the coming years. Naturally, a medical marijuana card is something most recreational users would like to get their hands on so that they can enjoy a doobie legally instead of having to break the law and associate with shifty types and potentially dangerous situations.

The question is, how easy is it to get a medical marijuana card?

The process

The process for obtaining a medical marijuana card is straightforward. In fact, it’s more difficult to get a passport or a driver’s license than a pot card in states that allow medical marijuana use. The process is very much like acquiring any prescription—you convince your doctor you have a legitimate medical need for marijuana, he or she writes you a prescription, and you fill it. The difference is, instead of going to CVS or Walgreens, you fill it from a legal grower or dispensary.

Doctors and dispensaries

You may not be able to convince your own doctor that marijuana is a better choice for your symptoms than conventional medications, but an entire network of marijuana-friendly doctors exists. Many will write a prescription for relatively vague symptoms, including insomnia, general pain, or depression. In fact, in states like California and Oregon, marijuana doctors operate out of storefronts, advertise online, or you can simply Google search your state and the term “marijuana doctor” for a list.

Dispensaries, often located in close proximity to where cards are issued, are like a candy store for pot. Most offer several varieties, either for smoking or eating, and will allow you to partake on-site in a clean, safe environment. All states allowing medical marijuana except New Jersey allow people to grow it themselves, as well.

The obstacles

If it seems ridiculously easy, that’s because it is—in certain states. In California, Oregon, and Washington, for example, the list of conditions that justify medical marijuana is long and relatively vague, and the process is informal. It can be significantly more difficult in states where it’s only allowed for people with very serious, well-documented diseases, such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, or Crohn’s disease. Regulations in these states are tight, and even questionable doctors can’t write prescriptions unless you are really sick with one of the specified conditions. If you are, however, it becomes every bit as simple as in more liberal states.

Of course, if you live in a state that does not have legalized medical marijuana, you’re pretty much out of luck. Although in California you can apparently use a hotel address and still get a prescription while you’re there, once you go home again, your supply is cut off.

How easy is it? It depends.

Given the vast differences from state to state, not only as to whether medical marijuana is legal at all, but as to the conditions required and level of state oversight of each program, it is really only easy to get a medical marijuana card in a few places. That means that for the vast majority of Americans, a medical marijuana card is unobtainable—an unfortunate reality for those who could be helped by one.