Medical cannabis was legalized in West Virginia in April 2017. However, due to bureaucratic holdups, the program still isn’t up and running, and medical marijuana sales were delayed until the spring of 2021. Now medical marijuana is available for purchase in West Virginia.
If you have a qualifying condition, getting an MMJ card will allow you to get effective treatment under the supervision of a physician, gain access to licensed dispensaries, and gain legal protection from possessing, transporting, and consuming medical cannabis products.
Quick Guide to West Virginia Medical Marijuana
There are three basic steps to getting a medical marijuana card in West Virginia
- Determine Your Eligibility: You’ll need to meet basic requirements and be diagnosed with a qualifying medical condition to be eligible to apply.
- Register with the Bureau and Get a Written Certification: A licensed physician in West Virginia will need to provide an official written certification.
- Register for an MMJ card: You’ll then submit your application and registration fee to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources.
How to Get a West Virginia Medical Marijuana Card in Three Steps
1. Determine Your Eligibility
To get medical marijuana in West Virginia once the state’s medical-marijuana program is up and running, you’ll need to be 18 years of age or older, or have an authorized caregiver if under 18. You’ll need to provide proof of residency in West Virginia.
To be eligible, you’ll also need to be diagnosed with one or more of the state’s qualifying severe medical conditions for medical cannabis.
The conditions that are approved for medical cannabis treatment are as follows:
- Severe, chronic, or intractable pain of neuropathic origin
- Severe, chronic, or intractable pain in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy has proved ineffective
- Crohn’s Disease
- PTSD diagnosed by an MD, licensed counselor, or psychologist
- Cancer
- Epilepsy
- Intractable seizures
- Neuropathies (weakness, numbness, pain from nerve damage)
- HIV
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with an objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity
- Huntington’s disease
- Sickle cell anemia
- Terminal illness with a medical prognosis of life expectancy of approximately one year or less if the disease runs its normal course
2. Register with the Bureau and Get a Written Certification
Once you’ve determined that your medical condition qualifies you for medical marijuana treatment in West Virginia, you’ll need to register with the Bureau of Public Health, which operates as part of the state’s medical cannabis commission.
The most difficult part of the process will then be to get a doctor’s recommendation for medical cannabis. You’ll need to have a legitimate doctor-patient relationship with the physician for a minimum of six months before you’ll be able to request a written certification. Further, the physician will need to be registered with the Bureau.
If your family doctor will not recommend medical cannabis as a treatment for your condition, you’ll need to find a certified doctor who is willing to provide the certification, and then wait six months for the recommendation. That’s why it’s a good idea to start this process early. Fortunately, Heally makes this step easier by connecting you with a certified physician in your state.
At the appointment, the doctor will complete a physical exam, assess your medical history, and discuss medical cannabis as a treatment option for your condition. If the physician determines that you qualify, they will provide you with a signed certification and continue to monitor your condition and progress during treatment.
3. Register for an MMJ Card
To complete the process, you’ll need to send in your application form, a photocopy of your state ID or driver’s license, a $50 registration fee, and the signed doctor’s certification to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. Once your application has been processed, you’ll be added to the program’s patient registry and receive your ID card.
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