RECOMMENDING CANNABIS IN MARYLAND

Maryland healthcare providers are required to register online with the Commission. Physicians must provide their Maryland physician's license number and controlled dangerous substance number to complete the form. A physician must also be in good standing with the State Board of Physicians, have an active and unrestricted license to practice medicine issued by the State Board of Physicians. In addition, physicians must specify the conditions or diseases that they plan to treat, as well as any criteria for including or excluding patients. This form must be renewed every two years.

Physicians must have a "bona fide physician-patient relationship", which is a treatment or counseling relationship between a physician and a patient in which the physician reviews the patient's medical records, completes an in person assessment of the patient's medical history and current medical condition, creates and maintains standard medical records, expects to monitor patient's program, and takes any medically required actions to follow up with the patient.

If a physician determines that a patient's condition, treatment or disease qualifies him/her for medical cannabis, the physician must go to the Commission website to issue the patient a written certification. The written certification must have the patient's name, address, date of birth, physician's name, date of patient qualification and medical condition. At a minimum, the physician must also perform an in person evaluation at least once every year in order to continue to issue a written certification for the patient.

The physician registration form and written certification form are available on the Commission website.

Qualifying Medical Conditions include A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition that causes the following:

  • Cachexia (Wasting Syndrome)
  • Anorexia
  • Severe or chronic pain
  • Severe nausea
  • Seizures
  • Severe or persistent muscle spasms
  • Glaucoma
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • another chronic medical condition which is severe and for which other treatments have been ineffective

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.