Michigan

Any Medical Doctor (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery (DO), or Expedited Medical Compact (EMC) who is licensed by the State of Michigan can complete and sign the physician certification for a qualifying patient.

Michigan does not require physicians to register separately with the MMMP or CRA before certifying patients. Any Michigan-licensed MD, DO, or EMC physician may complete the Physician Certification Form.

• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• HIV/AIDS
• Hepatitis C
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Crohn’s disease
• Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease
• Nail patella syndrome
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Autism spectrum disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Parkinson’s disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Ulcerative colitis
• Spastic quadriplegia
• Cerebral palsy
• Any chronic or debilitating disease or its treatment causing: cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe and chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis

Additional conditions may be added through a petition to the Cannabis Regulatory Agency. 

Step 1: Establish a bona fide physician-patient relationship.

Review the patient’s relevant medical records and complete a full assessment of the patient’s medical history and current condition.

Step 2: Confirm the qualifying debilitating condition.

Confirm the patient has a qualifying debilitating medical condition and that the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit.

Step 3: Complete the Physician Certification Form.

Complete the Physician Certification Form (included in the MMMP Application Packet). Sign and date the form within 6 months of the patient’s application date. Certification forms: michigan.gov/cra/sections/mmp.

Step 4: Maintain records.

Maintain a reasonable expectation of follow-up care to monitor the efficacy of cannabis treatment. Document your evaluation and certification in the patient’s medical record.

Michigan permits telehealth evaluations for medical cannabis physician certifications.

A physician shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by the Michigan board of medicine, the Michigan board of osteopathic medicine and surgery, or any other business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau, solely for providing written certifications if in compliance with a bona fide physician-patient relationship.

Recertification requires a new Physician Certification Form completed and signed within 6 months of the renewal application date. The physician must re-attest to the bona fide physician-patient relationship and confirm the patient continues to have a qualifying debilitating condition. Telehealth is accepted. 

Medical professionals have a legal right to recommend cannabis as a treatment in any state, as protected by the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act (Title III section 301) which became law on December 2, 2022, and the First Amendment (established by a 2004 United States Supreme Court decision to uphold earlier federal court rulings that doctors, and their patients have a fundamental Constitutional right to freely discuss treatment options).

DOWNLOAD MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, MEDICAL CANNABIS & THE LAW