If you are a medical doctor (MD), doctor of osteopathy (DO) or nurse practitioner who can prescribe medicine in New Mexico, you can write a referral for the Medical Cannabis Program as long as you are licensed in New Mexico. You must demonstrate an established patient-provider relationship that includes a current assessment of the applicant's debilitating medical condition and an assessment of whether the potential benefits of program participation outweigh any risks. A certification requires a clinical visit.

A number of qualifying conditions also require the documented support of a provider or specialist with expertise in the particular condition. Conditions with special application requirements are as follows:

  1. Painful peripheral neuropathy - requires inclusion of medical records that provide objective evidence of the presence of peripheral neuropathy
  2. PTSD - requires verification of the diagnosis by a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner
  3. Glaucoma - requires the diagnosis be made by an ophthalmologist
  4. Severe chronic pain - requires 2 certifications. One certification must be from the applicant's primary care provider. The second certification must be from a medical specialist with expertise in pain management or from a medical specialist with expertise in the disease process that is causing the chronic pain.
  5. Inflammatory auto-immune mediated arthritis - the certification must come from a board certified rheumatologist

The Department of Health requests that when filling out a Medical Certification Form, practitioners complete them with as much detail as possible including medical records supporting diagnosis, date of appointment(s), evaluations or tests used to determine the diagnosis, and past treatments.