Medical Cannabis - Petition to Add Qualifying Conditions

Who Can Submit a Petition?

Any person may file a petition to add medical conditions.  

The petition form may be filled out electronically or hand-written, and then completed with a signature and date. The petition may be emailed, mailed or hand delivered to: 

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Cannabis Regulation 

Lucas State Office Building

321 E. 12th Street

Des Moines, IA  50319-0075

Email:  medical.cannabis@hhs.iowa.gov 

Timelines for Review

• Petitions must be submitted a minimum of one month in advance of the next scheduled Medical Cannabidiol Board meeting in order to be place on the agenda for that meeting.
• Fill out a different petition for each condition.
• Completely fill out each section that applies to the petition. Failure to do so may result in a denial of consideration by the board.
• The board may request additional information concerning the petition, and will notify the petitioner if more information is needed.
• At the next scheduled board meeting (if the petition is provided at least one month in advance), the board will consider the petition. Petitioners may provide public comment about the petition during the board meeting.
• The board has six months to deny or approve the petition. If approved, the petitioner will be notified of the board's decision. If the petition is denied, the petitioner will be notified of the reason for denial.

Petition Process

1. The Medical Cannabidiol Board hears petitions from the public and votes to approve (or amend and approve) or deny the condition.
2. If approved, Iowa HHS forwards the approved condition to the Board of Medicine, which also considers the condition and votes to approve or deny the petitioner's request.
3. If the Board of Medicine approves the addition of the condition, the Board of Medicine will notice an administrative will with the condition. 
4. The Legislative Services Agency publishes the noticed rules in the Administrative Bulletin
5. The Administrative Rules Review Committee (ARCC) reviews the noticed rule at a meeting where the public may comment.
6. The Board of Medicine staff accepts comments and may hold a public hearing.
7. The Board of Medicine staff reviews oral and written comments and may make changes to the rule accordingly.
8. The Board of Medicine considers the revised rule at a public meeting and votes to adopt (or not).
9. The Legislative Services Agency publishes the adopted rules with an effective date at least 35 days from the date of publication of the adopted rule.
10. The Administrative Rules Review Committee reviews the adopted rules and takes comments from the public at an ARRC meeting. The committee can take no action, in which case the rule becomes effective on the date proposed by the Board of Medicine or can vote to do the following (delay the effective date by 70 days, delay the effective date until the end of the next session of the legislature.
11. The rule takes effect - effective date may depend on action taken by the ARRC to delay the effective date.

Petitions to Add Debilitating Medical Conditions

The following conditions have been petitioned by the public for consideration by our Medical Cannabidiol Board for addition to our qualifying conditions list. These conditions have either been denied, approved, or amended and approved before being forwarded to the Board of Medicine for additional consideration.