Short answer: The easiest way to get a medical marijuana card in Ohio is by doing it online. Register on the website, schedule an appointment with a doctor, and complete an application process.
Thanks to telehealth and recent changes in Ohio medical marijuana law, it’s now easier than ever to get your Ohio medical marijuana card without leaving your house. Below, you will get to know the main requirements and qualifying conditions for getting a medical marijuana card in Ohio.
Requirements for a Medical Marijuana Card in Ohio
To qualify for an Ohio medical marijuana card, you must meet certain qualifications regarding residency, age (or authorization) and medical status.
Residency and Age Requirements
Your primary residence must be an Ohio address for you to use medical marijuana legally in the state. You must also be either 18 years of age or older or, if a minor, have a parent or legal guardian authorize you to use medical marijuana by agreeing to sign up as your caregiver.
Proving Ohio Residency
The most common forms of identity documentation applicants use to establish Ohio residency are Ohio driver’s licenses or state ID cards. However, if you don’t have either of those, you can instead submit several documents that collectively provide the necessary information.
Read also: Qualifying Conditions for MMJ card in Ohio (Full List)
Provide one document from this list:
- Birth Certificate
- Certificate of Citizenship
- Certificate of Naturalization
- Consular Report of Birth Abroad
- I-797 Case Type of N-565 (Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document)
- Out-of-state Driver’s License or State ID Card
- Permanent Resident Card
- US Passport or Passport Card
And, provide two documents from this list:
- 1099 Form
- Annual or Multi-Year Ohio Resident Fishing or Hunting License
- BMV 2336 “Proof of Ohio Residency – Certified Statement”
- Child Support Account Summary or Statement
- Court Order of Mandatory Release, Probation or Parole
- Credit Card Statement
- Financial Institution Statement
- Homeowner, Renter, Automobile or Life Insurance Card or Policy
- Installment Loan Contract
- Letter from a University or College
- Mortgage Account Statement
- Ohio BMV Correspondence or Postcards
- Ohio Business License or Sales Tax Statement
- Ohio Concealed Weapons Permit
- Ohio Motor Vehicle Registration or Title
- Ohio State or Federal Income Tax Return Filing
- Paycheck Stub or Statement
- Professional License
- Proof of Home Ownership
- Public Assistance Benefits Statement
- School Transcript or Record
- Selective Service Registration Acknowledgement Card
- Social Security Administration Document
- Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Letter
- Utility Bill
- W-2 (Wage and Tax Statement)
(Find source here)
As the caregiver of a minor patient, the parent or guardian would be responsible for procuring medical marijuana from a dispensary on the minor’s behalf and delivering and administering it to him or her. This protects the caregiver from the laws prohibiting marijuana purchase and possession by someone who’s not a medical marijuana patient in the state, but it does not protect the caregiver from the laws prohibiting use of marijuana by a non-patient.
Qualifying Conditions
The other key qualification for an Ohio MMJ card is to have a diagnosis for one of the medical conditions Ohio recognizes as qualifying for medical marijuana in the state. The current list of qualifying conditions in Ohio is as follows:
- AIDS
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Cancer
- Cachexia
- Chronic traumatic encephalopathy
- Crohn’s disease
- Epilepsy or another seizure disorder
- Fibromyalgia
- Glaucoma
- Hepatitis C
- Huntington’s Disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable
- Parkinson’s disease
- Positive status for HIV
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Sickle cell anemia
- Spasticity
- Spinal cord disease or injury
- Tourette syndrome
- Traumatic brain injury
- Terminal illness
- Ulcerative colitis
(Find source here)
Read also: Can you get a medical card for anxiety in Ohio?
Requirements for a Medical Marijuana Doctor in Ohio
Not just any Ohio physician can recommend medical marijuana to patients. In addition to holding a valid license to practice medicine in Ohio, a physician must also have a valid Certificate to Recommend medical marijuana to Ohio patients, known as a CTR.
A CTR physician is able to recommend to qualifying patients a 90-day supply of medical marijuana with up to three refills. This totals a 360-day supply for applicable patients if filled to the maximum.
As of January 19, 2022, dispensaries are now required to calculate the 90-day supply in two separate 45-day fill periods.
How to Obtain a Medical Marijuana Card in Ohio Using Telehealth
When thinking about where to get a medical marijuana card in Ohio, the best place these days is online using telehealth. While this option wasn’t always available to Ohioans seeking a medical marijuana card, it is now.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Medical Board of Ohio voted on March 18, 2020 to allow Ohio medical marijuana doctors to use telehealth to provide patients with medical marijuana recommendations and renewals. These new regulations will last at least as long as there is a declared COVID emergency.
With telehealth, the whole process of getting your Ohio MMJ card is done online, so you can do it all without leaving your home. It also requires no insurance or copays, no expensive in-office examinations and no referrals. All combined, this makes telehealth the safest, easiest, quickest and most affordable way to get your Ohio medical marijuana card.
To use telehealth to get your Ohio MMJ card, simply go to MMJCard4Less.com and sign up. MMJCard4Less.com’s telehealth system meets the minimal standards-of-care requirements the Ohio State Medical Board has set for physicians to legally use telehealth in place of in-person appointments.
To use MMJCard4Less.com to get your Ohio medical marijuana card, you’ll need a few pieces of information and documentation handy:
- Basic contact information – Including full name, address and either a phone number or email address with which to reach you
- Photo ID – Either an official, valid and unexpired Ohio state ID or driver’s license or a US passport with your name matching the one listed on your application. The ID must also show an Ohio address and your birthdate and bear a photo resembling your current appearance. (See the section above on Residency and Age Requirements for additional forms of identification accepted for these purposes.)
- Qualifying condition – The name of the specific disease or condition you have that qualifies you for a medical marijuana card in Ohio.
- Fee – To see a medical marijuana doctor through MMJCard4Less costs $99.
- Once you sign up at MMJCard4Less.com and provide all the requested information, you will speak with a licensed and CTR Ohio physician via videocall for your required examination. Once the physician deems you qualified, he or she will access the Patient Registry directly and submit your medical marijuana recommendation for you.
You, then, only need to wait to receive an email from the Ohio Board of Pharmacy with the subject line “Ohio Medical Marijuana Registry User Activation” prompting you to complete the process of getting your MMJ card. Simply click the link in the email to be sent to the Patient Registry, where you will log in to complete your profile and pay the state fee of either $50 or, if you’re indigent, disabled or a veteran, $15. The fee for caregivers is $25.
Note that you can only click the link in the email once. If you click it again, you’ll receive an error message. If you click it and make a mistake, you must contact the Ohio Board of Pharmacy at MMCPRegistry@pharmacy.ohio.gov with your name and date of birth to be resent the activation email with a fresh link.
If you don’t see the email in your inbox, check your Spam or Junk folder.
Once you’ve completed this process, you’ll receive your Ohio medical marijuana card containing the following information:
- Your name
- Your date of birth
- Whether you’re a patient or a caregiver
- The card’s date of issuance
- The card’s expiration date
- Your registry ID number
Once you’ve received your Ohio medical marijuana card, all that’s left is to find a dispensary and make your first purchase of legal medical marijuana in Ohio.
Anytime you visit an Ohio dispensary to purchase medical marijuana, you will need to bring your Ohio MMJ card with you along with a government-issued photo ID matching the information on the card and associated with your account.
Renewing Your Ohio MMJ Card
An Ohio medical marijuana card is valid for one year from the date of issuance. Before the date of expiration on your Ohio MMJ card, you must have another examination with an Ohio licensed and CTR physician to get a renewed medical marijuana recommendation. Fortunately, you can get this accomplished through MMJCard4Less as well. Get more useful information about the marijuanas Ohio card renewal on our Renew Page.
If you do not have a medical marijuana card and are unsure if you may qualify for one, do not hesitate to make an appointment with one of our qualified doctors who are always available thanks to the telehealth service.