Ever since cannabis has been legalized in various parts of the world, it seems like a lot of patients have decided to give it a try to see if it is going to help them improve their life in terms of health.
And it looks like some of them have managed to drastically change certain health conditions for the better. Namely, these days, this plant is utilized to treat different health issues and alleviate chronic pain too.
If you live in the United States, you are probably wondering how you can get your own marijuana card. The entire process isn’t too complicated, and today, we’ll try to explain to you exactly what steps need to be taken to obtain it.
Conditions That Can Be Treated With Cannabis
Now, before we tell you what you’re supposed to do to acquire your marijuana card, we first need to make some things clearer. Namely, the law when it comes to medical marijuana varies from the state you live in.
And this refers to the conditions that qualify for the use of cannabis. Not every health condition qualifies, which is why it’s of huge importance to get yourself familiar with the ones that do, and they include:
- Cancer
- Crohn’s disease
- HIV and AIDS
- Glaucoma
- Chronic pain
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Chronic nausea
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
- Epilepsy and seizures that are linked to it
- Fibromyalgia
- Anorexia
- Parkinson’s disease
- Migraines
Now, before you take any further steps concerning applying for the marijuana card, it would be recommendable to first talk to your healthcare provider to see if he or she will suggest trying cannabis to treat your health condition.
This is particularly important (referring to consultation with your physician) if you’re living with a specific condition that prevents you from leading a normal life, or that poses a threat to your overall well-being and safety.
Learning All About Obtaining Your Marijuana Card
As stated above, we would suggest first talking to your doctor because he/she is the one who is going to determine if cannabis can improve your health, and will provide you with all the relevant information regarding potential side effects and risks that can be experienced when a person uses marijuana.
Once your healthcare provider gives you approval, you can proceed with other steps. We would like to remind you that this whole process varies from state to state, but in most cases, you’ll have to sign up for the state’s marijuana registry which can be done online. And that’s something that can be done relatively quickly. For example, if you want to get a medical marijuana card in NJ, all you have to do is go to New Jersey’s website that’s dedicated to medical marijuana and fill in certain designated fields that require your name, email, and phone number. That’s how you can apply.
Now, on some websites, you’ll be obligated to also prove that you’ve been approved by your physician. Creating an account is generally a great idea because it automatically saves all the information you entered, which is a good thing in case you decide at some point, that you want to renew your marijuana card.
Now, if you want to apply for this card with a caregiver, then your caregiver must enter their credentials as well. Another thing that’s worth adding is the fact that you’ll most likely have to pay a certain fee for receiving your medical marijuana card.
We cannot tell you at this very moment what’s the price of it, because it depends on the state you live in. What’s convenient about it, is the fact that you can pay for it online and then you’ll receive your marijuana card. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to purchase cannabis whenever necessary.
Where Can You Get Medical Marijuana?
The main goal of obtaining a marijuana card is so that you can acquire cannabis from reputable dispensaries in the state you reside in. Depending on the place you live, having this card lets you buy cannabis products that contain high levels of THC, or you can even obtain them in bulk.
If it’s concluded that you are dealing with a serious, potentially debilitating condition, you may even be permitted to grow this plant at home, which is, undoubtedly, a huge advantage. Once you acquire a medical marijuana card, you’ll be able to purchase it in the form of:
- Topical creams and applications
- Oral solutions
- Sprays
- Pills
- Dried-out leaves that are used for smoking
- Oils for vaporizing
As soon as you obtain any of the aforementioned products, you can administer them, or if you’re not capable of doing so, just ask your caregiver to help you. Of course, as we previously stated, this person must be listed as your caregiver.
A Lot Of People Turn To Medical Marijuana Instead Of Prescription Drugs
In the beginning, we said that more and more people have started using cannabis because they’ve realized that it can help them treat numerous conditions and lead a relatively normal life. What may surprise you is the fact that a lot of them would rather use marijuana instead of prescription drugs.
In fact, one study has shown that more than forty percent of patients (who are using medical marijuana) have at some point stopped employing the medications that were prescribed to them, or at least they’ve utilized less.
There are various reasons why people pick medical marijuana over medicines. Namely, lots of them noticed that health conditions such as depression, migraines, back problems, and chronic pain are drastically improved when they use cannabis.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone is going to react the same to this plant, however, if you’re currently struggling with a certain health condition, you should definitely give it a try to see how your body will react.
As you can see, getting your medical marijuana card is in fact a pretty straightforward and fast process, but before you do anything when it comes to this, please be sure to talk to your doctor first.