QUALIFYING PATIENTS IN COLORADO

To apply you must be:

  1. A Colorado resident with a valid Social Security number;
  2. Receiving treatment for a qualifying medical condition (see above); and
  3. Examined by a doctor with whom you have a bona fide physician-patient relationship.

You must submit:

  • A Colorado medical marijuana card Application; minors will use the same form.
  • A valid Colorado ID or driver's license. If you are applying online, make sure to have a JPEG or PDF copy of your valid Colorado driver's license or ID. You will upload this to your registration.
  • Your social security number.
  • Caregiver's registration ID if you are applying with a caregiver.
  • Credit card or bank account and routing number to pay the $25 application processing fee.

First-time applicants can create an account online.

Eligible conditions:

AIDS, HIV, cancer, glaucoma, or any of the following symptoms that are caused by a chronic or debilitating disease, or the treatment of such disease: cachexia (severe weight loss caused by a medical condition or its treatment), severe pain, severe nausea, seizures, : Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Autism Spectrum Disorder, any condition for which a physician could prescribe an opioid, or persistent muscle spasms. Your doctor must believe marijuana will relieve these symptoms. Colorado may add other conditions to this list.

Becoming a Patient as a Minor:

Minors may be legal medical marijuana patients as long as:

  • They reside in Colorado and have a parent or legal guardian residing in Colorado;
  • Their parent or legal guardian provides consent in writing to serve as the minor's primary caregiver;
  • They have parental consent from each parent residing in Colorado;
  • Two physicians have concluded that the minor applicant has been diagnosed with a debilitation medical condition; and
  • Documentation that one of the physicians referenced in #4 above has explained the possible risks and benefits of medical use of marijuana to the minor applicant and each of the minor applicant's parents residing in Colorado.

All minor applicants must submit two certifications from two different providers. Minor patients diagnosed with a disabling medical condition, which includes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders, and any condition for which a physician could prescribe an opioid, no longer need to provide a certification from a physician who is a board-certified pediatrician, child and adolescent psychiatrist, or family physician who attests to being part of the patient’s primary care team.

Benefits of Being a Patient:

Patients will not be subject to the normal plant count limits on a home grow and are not subject to full sales tax.

Becoming a Caregiver:

A primary caregiver must be at least 18 years old, a Colorado resident, must not be the patient's physician, must not have a primary caregiver of his/her own, must submit a Caregiver Acknowledgement form with the patient's Application or Change, Replacement or Surrender Request form, and have significant responsibility for managing the well-being of a patient. The caregiver may legally grow up to 36 plants, no more than half of which are flowering.

Caregiver Registration

Out-of-State Patients:

Colorado does not offer reciprocity to out-of-state patients; however, if you are over the age of 21, you will be able to shop at one of the state's adult-use dispensaries.

Home Cultivation:

Patients may grow up to ninety-nine plants at home so long as no more than half of them are flowering if your doctor deems that amount sufficient to meet their medical needs. The limiting factor on this has become local ordinances. Many jurisdictions have put a cap on the number of plants regardless of your status as a patient; for example, if you are a patient in Denver you are still subject to a twelve-plant limit.

Cannabis Expungement:

In 2017, Colorado statute § 24-72-710 required courts to seal all records of misdemeanor cannabis offenses which would have been legal on or after state legalization of cannabis on December 10, 2012. In 2021, this statute was expanded to include class-3 felony cannabis-cultivation offenses. Refer to the Colorado cannabis website for more information.

On June 15, 2020, the bipartisan House Bill 20-1424 allowing the governor to grant pardons for possession of at most two ounces of cannabis. In 2020, an unconditional pardon was given to those convicted of possession of up to one ounce of cannabis or less, prior to the state legalization.

 

Medical cannabis patients can find additional resources here.

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