QUALIFYING PATIENTS IN DELAWARE

To register as a medical cannabis patient in Delaware, you must:

  • Be a resident in the state of Delaware.
  • Be at least 18 years old.
    • Patients under the age of 18 years, must be certified by a pediatric specialist. A separate application form for minors is provided on the Program's website.
  • Submit application or renewal fee
  • Submit the Physician Certification, which should be completed by the qualifying patient's physician and is attached to the application provided on the Program's website.
  • Sign a consent for release of medical information related to the qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition.
  • Registry identification cards usually have to be renewed once a year

Medical Marijuana Program Application Form

Eligible conditions:

  • Terminal Illness
  • Cancer
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Decompensated cirrhosis
  • ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
  • Alzheimer's Disease
  • PTSD
  • Intractable epilepsy
  • Autism with self-injurious or aggressive behavior
  • a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces 1 or more of the following:
    • Cachexia or wasting syndrome
    • Intractable nausea
    • Seizures
    • Severe & debilitating muscle spasms, including multiple sclerosis
  • Severe or debilitating pain that has not responded to previous treatment for more than three months, or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects
  • Any other condition added by the Department
    • Citizens may petition to add conditions or treatments to this list, which must be approved by the Department

Minor Patient Qualifying Conditions (Note: For patients under the age of 18 years, the certifying physician must be a pediatric neurologist, pediatric gastroenterologist, pediatric oncologist or pediatric palliative care specialist)

  • Intractable epilepsy
  • Cachexia (Wasting Syndrome)
  • Intractable nausea
  • Severe, painful and persistent muscle spasms

Becoming a Patient as a Minor:

Patients under the age of 18 years, must be certified by a pediatric specialist. A separate application form for minors is provided on the Program's website.

Benefits of Being a Patient:

Unless a failure to do so would cause the employer to lose a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law or federal regulations, an employer may not discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment, or otherwise penalize a person, if the discrimination is based on the person's status as a cardholder or the patient's positive drug test, unless the patient used or was impaired by marijuana during the hours of employment.

Employers are allowed to prohibit or permit the ingestion of marijuana in the workplace, but a patient is not considered under the influence of marijuana solely because of the presence of metabolites or components of marijuana. Also, employers may discipline employees for ingesting marijuana in the workplace or for working under the influence.

No school or landlord may penalize a person solely for his or her status as a registered qualifying patient or a registered designated caregiver, unless failing to do so would cause the school or landlord to lose a monetary or licensing-related benefit under federal law or regulations. Property owners, however, are not required to allow a guest to smoke marijuana on his property.

A person otherwise entitled to custody of or visitation or parenting time with a minor shall not be denied such a right, and there shall be no presumption of neglect or child endangerment, for conduct allowed under this chapter, unless the person's actions in relation to marijuana were such that they created an unreasonable danger to the safety of the minor as established by clear and convincing evidence.

For the purposes of medical care, including organ transplants, a registered qualifying patient's authorized use of marijuana in accordance with this chapter shall be considered the equivalent of the authorized use of any other medication used at the direction of a physician, and shall not constitute the use of an illicit substance or otherwise disqualify a qualifying patient from needed medical care.

A government medical assistance program or private health insurer, however, is not required to reimburse a person for costs associated with the medical use of marijuana.

Out of State Patients:

Delaware allows access to medical marijuana for visiting patients that:

  1. Have been diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition;
  2. Possess a valid registry identification card or its equivalent that was issued in another state; and
  3. Are not a resident of Delaware or have been for less than 30 days.

Home Cultivation:

Unfortunately, home cultivation is not allowed for patients in Delaware.

Cannabis Expungement:

In 2019, anyone under the age of 21 who has been convicted of possessing a “personal use quantity” is eligible for mandatory expungement. Those convicted of a “single offense” that is related to cannabis “possession, use, or consumption” prior to December 18, 2015 are also eligible for mandatory expungement. For more information on adult expungement see Delaware's Adult Expungement Instruction Packet.

 

Medical cannabis patients can find additional resources here

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