State Accepting Medical Marijuana Recommendations

Jacob Bell

New Member
Arizona's medical marijuana law took effect Thursday, and the Arizona Department of Health Services began receiving applications for patient and caregiver registry medical marijuana identification cards.

According to ADHS Director Will Humble, the system went online at 8 a.m. and the first medical marijuana patient card was issued at 8:30 a.m. to a 60-year-old man from Scottsdale who suffers from Crohn's disease.

The application process must be submitted online to the ADHS Web site in a department-provided format.

The application process requires a recent photograph of the applicant, an electronic copy of their photo identification (driver's license, or Arizona identification card,) a signed statement declaring the legitimacy of the applicant and that they will not share the medicine with those who do not have a registry card and a completed physician certification form downloaded from the ADHS Web site.

Those who wish to apply for a medical marijuana identification card need to visit the ADHS at medicalmarijuana.azdhs.gov.

Patient registry identification card applicants will be charged a fee of $150 for initial and renewal cards; designated caregiver applicants will be charged $200. Those who provide electronic documentation of their participation in the food stamp program will qualify for a 50-percent discount.

Payment is accepted by a MasterCard or Visa. The cards can be either credit cards, debit cards or prepaid cards. Application fees are nonrefundable, but if the ADHS doesn't process an application within 15 working days the fees are waived. Humble said the agency can handle about 500 applications per day and has trained an additional 20 staff members to ensure prompt service.

Health professionals who give a recommendation for a patient registry card must first conduct a physical examination of the applicant, review one year of their medical records and confirm they have one of the debilitating conditions allowed to qualify for medical marijuana.

The accepted conditions include AIDS, ALS, Crohn's disease, HIV, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, glaucoma and Hepatitis C. Patients may also qualify if they have severe and chronic pain, seizures, wasting syndrome, severe nausea or severe and persistent muscle spasms.

While patients have begun to receive their identification cards, dispensaries will not be licensed until later this year. The first dispensaries are not expected to be operational until the fall.

According to the law, patients who lives more than 25 miles from a dispensary will be able to grow their own cannabis. That means every patient granted a card between April 14 and when dispensaries begin operation in the fall will, by default, live more than 25 miles from a dispensary and will be allowed to grow up to 12 plants at a time. If a dispensary opens within a patient's 25-mile radius, the ability to grow designation will be removed from that particular patient's card during its annual renewal.

Patients who grow their own medication must do so in a secure facility. Outside cultivation must be enclosed by a 10-foot-high concrete wall and include a metal gate. Inside cultivation, however, only requires the cannabis to be grown in a locked room or closet.


News Hawk- Jacob Husky 420 MAGAZINE
Source: eacourier.com
Author: Jon Johnson
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Eastern Arizona Courier Newspaper
Website: State accepting medical marijuana recommendations
 
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