Advantages to holding a medical marijuana authorization.
Although recreational cannabis use is decriminalized for adults over 21, there are advantages to holding a medical marijuana authorization.
First, patients do not need to pay sales tax on their medicine.
Second, patients may purchase 3x as much product.
Third, patients may discuss medical use with medical cannabis consultants, which can be very helpful in navigating the changing product marked.
Fourth, patients are the only people allowed to grow their own cannabis in WA state.
If these advantages are appealing to you, looking into getting a medical marijuana authorization makes sense!
First, a little explanation on authorization vs card. What your doctor issues to you is a medical marijuana AUTHORIZATION.
Then, you may choose to join the WA state medical marijuana database to get the CARD.
Not everyone with an authorization chooses to join the system and get a CARD, it is optional. I’ll use the term authorization in this article.
Next, take a look at the list of WA state Medical Marijuana Qualifying Conditions.
You MUST have at least one of these health problems to be a patient in WA state, diagnosed by a health care provider. You also need to have regular medical care for this condition, this ensures that your qualifying condition is well documented in your medical record.
This condition must be severe enough to impact quality of life.
Despite popular use of cannabis products for anxiety, autism and anxiety these are NOT qualifying conditions. It is rare for additional conditions to be added to the WA Qualifying Conditions list.
- Cancer- please keep in mind that you must also be under the care of an oncologist.
- Epilepsy or other seizure disorders- particularly when poorly controlled with medications. Not all cases are appropriate for cannabis or CBD.
- HIV/AIDS
- PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder)
- Chronic Kidney Failure on Dialysis
- Glaucoma – when not controlled with standard medications
- Intractable Pain – when not controlled with standard medications and treatments. You MUST have been treated for pain in the past and tried other methods to control pain that are documented in your medical record.
- Spasticity Disorder- multiple possible conditions can cause spasticity.
- Crohn’s Disease
- Hepatitis C
- Multiple Sclerosis
- TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury)
- Any disease that results in nausea, vomiting, wasting, appetite loss, cramping, seizures, muscle spasms or spasticity). – This category covers a number of additional conditions and symptoms.
Now that you’ve made sure that you have a severe, well-documented qualifying condition, you need a doctor to fill out the authorization for you.
I recommend that you ask the doctor treating your qualifying condition to write you a medical marijuana authorization.
Some doctors don’t feel comfortable doing so, or work at a facility that doesn’t allow them to write a medical marijuana authorization.
If your doctor can’t or won’t write it for you, you’ll need to find an additional doctor to assist you. Qwibil is the Premier WA Medical Marijuana Clinic, we’d love to assist you.
We offer thorough appointments, assistance in obtaining your medical records from your other doctor(s), a detailed treatment plan including cannabis advice and the opportunity for follow-up care as needed.
Our doctors have over 30 years of combined experience treating medical cannabis patients.
Although there are “authorization clinics” that focus on writing authorizations, they are usually low-level care, cash-only, with very brief appointment and no follow up care available.
Now that you have your authorization, how do you get your WA state medical marijuana card?
To do so, simply bring your authorization form and your WA state ID to any medical marijuana endorsed store. The only employees allowed to handle your authorization form, enter your information into the database and create your medical card is the WA medical marijuana consultant.
You may want to check with the store to see when the constant is there. Once in the database, they will create a photo medical marijuana card for you. You can then store your paper authorization in a safe location as you will then use the card to obtain patient benefits at stores.
What if you have a WA medical marijuana authorization and DO NOT want to join the database?
No problem. Simply hold the paper authorization in a safe location. If you don’t join the verification system you will not get the sales tax exemption or the tripled purchase quantities but you can still grow up to 4 plants for your personal medicinal use.
Now that you know how to get your WA state medical marijuana authorization and card, give us a call to schedule your appointment (253) 392-2400!
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