Vermont

A "health care professional" eligible to complete the verification form includes:

• Physicians (MD)
• Osteopathic physicians (DO)
• Naturopathic physicians (ND)
• Physician assistants (PA)
• Advanced practice registered nurses (APRN)

A "health care professional" also includes individuals who are professionally licensed under substantially equivalent provisions in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, or New York.

Vermont does not require health care professionals to register with the state before verifying patients. However, practitioners may create an online portal account with the CCB to submit verification forms electronically on behalf of patients. To create an account, visit the Information for Healthcare Professionals page and select "Create initial healthcare professional provider account."

The CCB does not maintain or publish a list of health care professionals who participate in the program.

• Cancer
• Multiple sclerosis
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) / acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
• Glaucoma
• Crohn's disease
• Parkinson's disease
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Ulcerative colitis
• Any chronic, debilitating condition, or its treatment, that produces one or more of the following intractable symptoms: cachexia or wasting syndrome, chronic pain, severe nausea, or seizures

The health care professional's only responsibility under the program is to verify that the patient has a debilitating medical condition by completing the Health Care Professional Verification Form. The form must be dated within 6 months of the patient's application or renewal submission. Completed forms are submitted directly to the CCB through the provider's online portal account, by fax, email, or by mail to the CCB Medical Program office.

For a patient 21 years of age or older, there is no statutory requirement for a prior relationship of a minimum duration unless the patient is under 21, in which case a bona fide health care professional-patient relationship is required.

A "bona fide health care professional-patient relationship" means a treating or consulting relationship of not less than three months' duration, in the course of which the health care professional has completed a full assessment of the registered patient's medical history and current medical condition, including a personal physical examination.

The three-month requirement does not apply if:

• The applicant has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, cancer, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome
• The applicant is currently under hospice care
• The applicant had been diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition in another state and has moved to Vermont within the past three months, provided the new health care professional has completed a full assessment including a personal physical examination
• A renewal patient changes health care professionals three months or less prior to renewal, provided the new professional has completed a full assessment including a personal physical examination
• The applicant was referred by their health care professional to another professional who has completed advanced education and clinical training in the specific debilitating condition, and that professional conducts a full assessment including a personal physical examination
• The patient's debilitating condition is of recent or sudden onset

Patient registry cards are valid for 3 years.

For renewal, a new Health Care Professional Verification Form is required, dated within 6 months of the renewal submission, except that patients with a 1-year expiration date need a new form only every other year if they renew before their card expires. 

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).

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