More than three-dozen states now recognize legal medical cannabis. They all have one thing in common: patients hoping to use medical cannabis must obtain state-issued cards. A medical cannabis card acts as a license to purchase, possess, and consume cannabis for medical purposes.
Obtaining a card is generally not difficult. As long as you are of legal age and have been diagnosed with a qualifying medical condition, the process is more administrative than anything else. However, it is not uniform. Each state with legal medical cannabis has set up its own system.
Things Are Done Online
States have gone out of their way to make applying for medical cannabis cards as easy as possible. All of them administer their card programs online. Take Utah. The state implemented an electronic verification system (EVS) that launched with their medical cannabis program in 2020.
The EVS is the tool through which patients register with the state and submit their card applications. It is also where medical providers submit their official recommendations. The state uses EVS data to determine whether a card application will be approved or denied.
Digitization Helps Rural Patients
Doing everything digitally helps all types of patients, but particularly those who live in rural areas. Utah provides a great example once again. The Beehive State is a largely rural state with only a few major urban centers. Applying online makes the process as easy for patients in rural Utah as it is for their counterparts in Salt Lake City and Brigham City.
State lawmakers even went so far as to redefine the types of medical providers who could make medical cannabis recommendations. Rural patients can now see their own GPs to get a recommendation. They do not have to drive for a couple of hours to see a doctor in one of the state’s urban centers.
Utah as an Example of How It Works
To give you an idea of just how easy it is to get a medical cannabis card, let’s walk through the process in place in Utah. According to Salt Lake City’s Beehive Farmacy, it’s pretty straightforward:
1. Create and EVS Account
The first step for a Utah patient is to create an account in the EVS. The system piggybacks on the UtahID system linked to driver’s licenses and other public records. So a patient with an existing UtahID account will use the same credentials to establish an EVS account. Otherwise, the person must first set up a UtahID account.
2. Begin Completing the Application
With an EVS account established, a patient can begin completing the application. There is a certain amount of information he needs to enter before proceeding with the next step. Even after entering this information, the application is not complete. It just means that the patient is ready to go to the next step.
3. Visit With a Medical Provider
The next step is for the patient to visit a medical provider for a complete evaluation. During that evaluation, the provider will complete their portion of the patient’s application. The information will be entered through the EVS.
4. Complete the Application
The final step is for the patient to go back into the EVS and complete the rest of the application. It gets submitted with the patient’s application fee. Within 15 days, the patient should receive their medical cannabis card digitally.
Getting a medical cannabis card isn’t difficult in terms of process. The states have seen to it. They have made it as easy as they can so as to expand access to as many qualified patients as possible.
