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List items for Medical Cannabis: For Patients
Patients with a qualifying medical condition must schedule a visit with their healthcare practitioner to discuss medical cannabis. A healthcare practitioner must be a:
- Physician (MD/DO)
- Physician's Assistant (PA)
- Advance Registered Nurse Practitioner (ARNP)
- Podiatrist
If deemed appropriate the practitioner must complete a Healthcare Practitioner Certification Form.
- With required materials in-hand, apply online at the top of the page
- Iowa HHS will review your application and communicate with you by email within seven days. If approved, you will receive an approval email with your digital registration card attached.
Patients may qualify for Iowa's Medical Cannabis Program if their Healthcare Practitioner certifies they have one of the following Qualifying Debilitating Medical Conditions:
- Cancer – if the illness or its treatment produces one or more of the following: severe or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, cachexia or severe wasting.
- Seizures
- Crohn’s disease
- Chronic pain
- Multiple sclerosis with severe and persistent muscle spasms
- AIDS or HIV (as defined in Iowa Code, section 141A.1)
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Any terminal illness with a probable life expectancy of under one year – if the illness or its treatment produces one or more of the following: severe or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, cachexia or severe wasting
- Ulcerative colitis
- Severe, intractable pediatric autism with self-injurious or aggressive behaviors
- Severe, intractable autism with self-injurious or aggressive behaviors
- Corticobasal Degeneration
1. A Healthcare Practitioner Certification Form, signed by your Healthcare Practitioner within the last 60 days.
2. A copy of your photo ID, which can be either:
A valid driver's license
A valid non-operator's identification card
3. Payment
$100, unless you qualify for the reduced fee
$25, when proof of any of the following is provided:
Copy of Social Security Disability Benefit notice (SSDI notice)
Copy of proof of receipt of Supplemental Security Income Payment (SSI receipt)
Copy of Iowa Medicaid member card, or your state's equivalent
Government document indicating Veteran status
A patient’s registration card expires one year from issuance by HHS. Patients will be notified 60 days prior to their card expiring. A patient must complete the same process each year, including schedule a consultation with your Healthcare Practitioner to sign your Healthcare Practitioner Certification Form, and submitting an online application that includes:
A Healthcare Practitioner Certification Form, signed by your Healthcare Practitioner within the last 60 days.
2. A copy of your photo ID
3. Payment
$100, unless you qualify for the reduced fee
$25, when proof of reduced fee is provided
Allowable forms of Medical Cannabis in Iowa include:
Vaporizable forms (Cartridges, Concentrates)
Oral and Sublingual Forms (Tablets/Capsules, Tinctures, Water-Soluble Powder)
Topical Forms (Lotion, Ointment)
Prohibited forms of Medical Cannabis in Iowa include:
Raw cannabis flower that may be combusted or smoked
Edible products with a total THC concentration greater than 0.3 percent that is not a consumable hemp product.
For specific product availability, please contact one of the five licensed dispensaries. You may also visit the websites of the two licensed manufacturers.
Established patient's who have been enrolled in the medica cannabis program are eligible for a waiver to increase the default 4.5g THC per 90-day purchase limit.
A THC Waiver cannot be completed at a patient's initial appointment to be certified, but can be completed after participating in the program or at the annual consultation to renew their certification
A THC Waiver must be completed by the same practitioner who completed the patients Healthcare Practitioner Certification Form.
Complete waivers can be submitted using the link at the top of this page.