QUALIFYING PATIENTS IN CONNECTICUT

Your physician begins the process of registering you in the Connecticut Medical Marijuana Program by certifying for the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) that you have a debilitating medical condition listed above. That certification takes place online with the Department and includes providing your email address and phone number or contact by the Department. Patients must (2) register with the DCP prior to engaging in the palliative use of marijuana, and (2) provide proof of residency in the state, (3) a photo ID, (4) a passport-style photo, and (5) a $100 registration fee. Note that the fee is subject to change; however the fee must be reasonable.

If your physician indicates that you need the assistance of a caregiver, you must designate and register one when submitting your registration application.

The portal for medical cannabis in Connecticut can be found here.

Eligible Conditions for Adults:

  • Cancer
  • Glaucoma
  • Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
  • Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Damage to the Nervous Tissue of the Spinal Cord with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity
  • Epilepsy
  • Cachexia (Wasting Syndrome)
  • Crohn's Disease
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Sickle Cell Disease
  • Post Laminectomy Syndrome with Chronic Radiculopathy
  • Severe Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
  • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Type 1 and Type II
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Irreversible Spinal Cord Injury with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity
  • Terminal Illness Requiring End-Of-Life Care
  • Uncontrolled Intractable Seizure Disorder
  • Spasticity or Neuropathic Pain Associated with Fibromyalgia
  • Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Post Herpetic Neuralgia
  • Hydrocephalus with Intractable Headache
  • Intractable Headache Syndromes
  • Neuropathic Facial Pain
  • Muscular Dystrophy
  • Osteogenesis Imperfecta
  • Chronic Neuropathic Pain Associated with Degenerative Spinal Disorders
  • Interstitial Cystitis
  • Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome (MALS Syndrome)
  • Vulvodynia and Vulvar Burning
  • Intractable Neuropathic Pain that Is Unresponsive to Standard Medical Treatments
  • Tourette Syndrome
  • Chronic Pain of at least 6 months duration associated with a specified underlying chronic condition refractory to other treatment intervention
  • Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Associated with Chronic Pain
  • Chronic Pancreatitis
  • Movement disorders associated with Huntington Disease

Eligible Conditions for Minors:

  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Cystic Fibrosis
  • Irreversible Spinal Cord Injury with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity
  • Severe Epilepsy
  • Terminal Illness Requiring End-Of-Life Care
  • Uncontrolled Intractable Seizure Disorder
  • Muscular Dystrophy
  • Osteogenesis Imperfecta
  • Intractable Neuropathic Pain that is Unresponsive to Standard Medical Treatments
  • Tourette Syndrome for patients who have failed standards medical treatment
  • Chronic Pancreatitis for patients whose pain is recalcitrant to standard medical management

Becoming a Patient as a Minor:

An individual who is a minor seeking treatment as a medical cannabis patient must have permission from a parent or legal guardian. A minor must have two physicians, a primary care provider and a board certified physician.

Benefits of Being a Patient:

Under Connecticut law, registered patients and caregivers are shielded from arrest and prosecution so long as they conform to the rules of the state's medical marijuana program. If a patient or caregiver is prosecuted on state charges, the patient or caregiver is entitled to present an affirmative defense that the marijuana was for a medical purpose.

Becoming a Caregiver:

To become a registered caregiver, the qualifying patient's physician must indicate that the patient requires the assistance of a caregiver and the qualifying patient must designate you as that caregiver on the patient registration application. To do so, the patient must provide your name, email address, and phone number. The Department of Consumer Protection will contact you and ask you to provide:

  1. Proof of Identity
  2. Current passport-size photograph
  3. $25 registration fee

Registered caregivers (1) must be at least 18 years of age, (2) cannot have been convicted of crimes related to controlled substances, and (3) may serve as a caregiver for only one qualifying patient. Caregivers may care for more than one qualifying patient if the caregiver and each qualifying patient have a parental, guardianship, conservatorship or sibling relationship. Additionally, any changes in registration as indicated above must be reported within five (5) days.

Out-of-State Patients:

Connecticut does not offer reciprocity of any kind for out of state patients.

Home Cultivation:

Medical marijuana patients 18 years and older are able to grow up to 3 mature and 3 immature plants at home. Only 12 total plants can be grown per household. Plants must be grown indoors and must not be visible from the street.

Cannabis Expungement:

In 2021, Connecticut legalized the adult use of cannabis under Senate Bill 1201. This required the automatic relief for possession convictions for up to four ounces which took place between January 1, 2000 and September 30, 1015. Individuals with convictions for more serious offenses can petition the court for cannabis erasure.

 

Medical cannabis patients can find additional resources here

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