RECOMMENDING CANNABIS IN VIRGINIA

In order to complete a written certification in Virginia, you must be a physician who is licensed by the Virginia Board of Medicine. A practitioner of medicine or osteopathy, or a physician assistant, licensed by the Board of Medicine, or a nurse practitioner jointly licensed by the Board of Medicine and the Board of Nursing. Before a practitioner can issue or continue issuing written certifications, he or she must register with the Board of Pharmacy. The initial registration fee is $50 and the annual renewal fee is $50. Patient assessments may be conducted with the use of telemedicine providing the delivery of patient care is done through real-time interactive audio-visual technology.

More information for practitioners can be found here.

Eligible Medical Conditions:

Any patient or, if such patient is a minor or an vulnerable adult may use medical cannabis to alleviate the symptoms of any diagnosed condition or disease determined by the practitioner to benefit from such use including:

  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
  • Anxiety
  • Autism
  • Cachexia (Wasting Syndrome)
  • Cancer
  • Crohn’s Disease
  • Chronic Pain
  • Epilepsy and other seizure disorders
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Glaucoma
  • Hepatitis C
  • Huntington’s Disease
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
  • Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Sickle Cell Anemia
  • Tourette’s Syndrome

Medical professionals have a legal right to recommend cannabis as a treatment in any state, as protected by the First Amendment. Established by a 2004 United States Supreme Court decision to uphold earlier federal court rulings that found doctors and their patients have a fundamental Constitutional right to freely discuss treatment options.

More resources for medical professionals can be found here.