David Bowman
New Member
Summary of the Law
Massachusetts voters in November 2012 established legal protection for medical cannabis patients, caregivers, physicians and medical professionals, cultivators, and providers, some of which went into effect as of January 1, 2013. As of September 2013, program details are under development by the state Department of Public Health (DPH). Physicians are always covered by the First Amendment's free speech protections for discussing the benefits and risks of medical cannabis with patients and recommending its use to them. Patients and caregivers with the appropriate paperwork have state law protection from arrest for possession of up to a sixty-day supply of medicine, defined by rulemaking as up to ten (10) ounces of usable cannabis. "Registered marijuana dispensaries" will be licensed to both grow and sell medical cannabis. Most patients will obtain cannabis from one of the state's registered marijuana dispensaries, but under limited hardship circumstances and until dispensaries are operational, patients and caregivers may cultivate up to a 60-day supply of cannabis. Dispensaries will be required to provide medicine at discounted rates for low-income residents. Homebound patients are allowed secure home delivery, and personal caregivers can pick up medicine at dispensaries on behalf of patients under their care. Personal cultivation may still be permitted in rare hardship cases. For the latest information and requirements, consult the DPH program website at: Medical Marijuana.
Patients
To become a qualifying patient under Massachusetts law, a patient must have written certification from a licensed physician as having a debilitating medical condition. A "debilitating medical condition" means any of the following:
While the law requires patients to possess a valid registration card in order to be protected from arrest, until the cards are made available, written certification by a physician serves as a legal equivalent to a registration card for a qualifying patient. In order to prevent wrongful arrest, patients may wish to carry a valid government issued ID card with a picture as well as their written certification.
Obtaining a Registry Identification Card
NOTE: Patients who have a physician's written certification for the medical use of marijuana will not be required to register with the Department of Public Health (DPH) on January 1, 2014. DPH will not begin registering patients and caregivers until it completes development of an online registration system, at a date to be announced later in 2014. DPH will notify the public well in advance on its medical marijuana website, Medical Marijuana, when this online registration system is operational and must be used.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will implement a registry ID card program for patients and designated caregivers, but the program is not operational as of September 2014. Until the program is fully operational, patients and caregivers are entitled to cultivate and possess up to a 60-day supply of usable cannabis, defined as up to ten ounces.
DPH will notify the public on its medical marijuana website, Medical Marijuana, when this system is operational and must be used.
Once operational, patients will pay an annual registration fee of $50. If the patient qualifies for hardship cultivation, there is a $100 fee. ID card replacement will cost $10.
Minors
If you are less than 18 years of age, DPH rules require your parent or guardian to approve of your medical cannabis use. You must also have certification by two physicians, one of whom must be a pediatrician or pediatric specialist. DPH regulation specifically allows medical cannabis access for a life-limiting illness, defined as one likely to result in death within two years, but two physicians may override the life-limiting restriction if they determine the benefits of medical use of cannabis outweigh the risks for a minor patient.
Indigent Patients and Patients with Mobility Issues
Dispensaries will be required to provide medicine at discounted rates for low-income residents. Patients who earn less than 300% of the federal poverty level, or who are enrolled as recipients of MassHealth or Social Security Income are eligible for the discount.
As an alternative to the discount program as well as patients with mobility issues and a lack of access to a nearby dispensary may also apply for a hardship cultivation license (see section below).
Qualified Doctor
Your physician must be licensed to practice in Massachusetts. You must have a bona fide patient-physician relationship with your recommending physician.
Becoming a Legal Caregiver
Until the DPH medical cannabis program is implemented, qualifying patients may register their personal caregivers by sending a letter to DPH containing the patient's and personal caregiver's names, addresses and dates of birth. A certified mail return receipt for this letter is to be used as the registration card for the patient's personal caregiver.
Limitations
Patients are not permitted to operate motor vehicles while under the influence of cannabis. Patients do not have a right to use their medicine in public, at a place of employment, on school grounds or buses, or in correctional facilities. Cities and towns may establish their own laws that also limit use. Health insurance is not required to pay for medical cannabis.
Temporary and Hardship Cultivation
Patients or their designated caregiver have the right to grow medical cannabis until it is available from licensed dispensaries. Patients or their caregivers may grow enough to satisfy a 60-day supply (defined as ten ounces of usable cannabis). Arguably that permits cultivation of at least two (2) plants per patient, as the law specifically grants the right to "cultivate a limited number of plants" in an enclosed, locked facility.
Once licensed dispensaries are operating, patients will only be permitted to grow medical cannabis if the meet a set of hardship circumstances and obtain registration from the state. To be eligible, you must have: "verified financial hardship, a physical incapacity to access reasonable transportation, or the lack of a treatment center within a reasonable distance of the patient's residence."
Personal Caregiver
A patient may designate a "personal caregiver" to assist them with obtaining and administering medical cannabis. Caregivers are protected from arrest and prosecution for assisting their qualified patient, but caregivers may not use medical cannabis unless they are a qualifying patient themselves. Caregivers must be at least twenty-one (21) years old and must be designated at the time when a patient submits a registration application. Until the DPH medical cannabis program is implemented, qualifying patients may register their personal caregivers by sending a letter to DPH containing the patient's and personal caregiver's names, addresses and dates of birth. A certified mail return receipt for this letter is to be used as the registration card for the patient's personal caregiver.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
250 Washington Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
Phone: 617-624-6000
DPH medical cannabis program website: Medical Marijuana
Return of Property
Patients, caregivers, physicians, and operators who are in compliance with the law are protected from forfeiture or seizure of property related to medical cannabis.
Incarcerated, Probation, Formerly Incarcerated
The Massachusetts law places no limitation on formerly incarcerated people or people on probation from becoming patients or caregivers, but those with a felony drug conviction may not work or volunteer at treatment centers where cannabis is grown or dispensed.
Source: ASA: Becoming a Patient in Massachusetts
Massachusetts voters in November 2012 established legal protection for medical cannabis patients, caregivers, physicians and medical professionals, cultivators, and providers, some of which went into effect as of January 1, 2013. As of September 2013, program details are under development by the state Department of Public Health (DPH). Physicians are always covered by the First Amendment's free speech protections for discussing the benefits and risks of medical cannabis with patients and recommending its use to them. Patients and caregivers with the appropriate paperwork have state law protection from arrest for possession of up to a sixty-day supply of medicine, defined by rulemaking as up to ten (10) ounces of usable cannabis. "Registered marijuana dispensaries" will be licensed to both grow and sell medical cannabis. Most patients will obtain cannabis from one of the state's registered marijuana dispensaries, but under limited hardship circumstances and until dispensaries are operational, patients and caregivers may cultivate up to a 60-day supply of cannabis. Dispensaries will be required to provide medicine at discounted rates for low-income residents. Homebound patients are allowed secure home delivery, and personal caregivers can pick up medicine at dispensaries on behalf of patients under their care. Personal cultivation may still be permitted in rare hardship cases. For the latest information and requirements, consult the DPH program website at: Medical Marijuana.
Patients
To become a qualifying patient under Massachusetts law, a patient must have written certification from a licensed physician as having a debilitating medical condition. A "debilitating medical condition" means any of the following:
- Cancer
- Glaucoma
- Positive status for human immunodeficiency virus
- Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
- Hepatitis C
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Crohn's disease
- Parkinson's disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- And other conditions as determined in writing by a qualifying patient's physician
While the law requires patients to possess a valid registration card in order to be protected from arrest, until the cards are made available, written certification by a physician serves as a legal equivalent to a registration card for a qualifying patient. In order to prevent wrongful arrest, patients may wish to carry a valid government issued ID card with a picture as well as their written certification.
Obtaining a Registry Identification Card
NOTE: Patients who have a physician's written certification for the medical use of marijuana will not be required to register with the Department of Public Health (DPH) on January 1, 2014. DPH will not begin registering patients and caregivers until it completes development of an online registration system, at a date to be announced later in 2014. DPH will notify the public well in advance on its medical marijuana website, Medical Marijuana, when this online registration system is operational and must be used.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health will implement a registry ID card program for patients and designated caregivers, but the program is not operational as of September 2014. Until the program is fully operational, patients and caregivers are entitled to cultivate and possess up to a 60-day supply of usable cannabis, defined as up to ten ounces.
DPH will notify the public on its medical marijuana website, Medical Marijuana, when this system is operational and must be used.
Once operational, patients will pay an annual registration fee of $50. If the patient qualifies for hardship cultivation, there is a $100 fee. ID card replacement will cost $10.
Minors
If you are less than 18 years of age, DPH rules require your parent or guardian to approve of your medical cannabis use. You must also have certification by two physicians, one of whom must be a pediatrician or pediatric specialist. DPH regulation specifically allows medical cannabis access for a life-limiting illness, defined as one likely to result in death within two years, but two physicians may override the life-limiting restriction if they determine the benefits of medical use of cannabis outweigh the risks for a minor patient.
Indigent Patients and Patients with Mobility Issues
Dispensaries will be required to provide medicine at discounted rates for low-income residents. Patients who earn less than 300% of the federal poverty level, or who are enrolled as recipients of MassHealth or Social Security Income are eligible for the discount.
As an alternative to the discount program as well as patients with mobility issues and a lack of access to a nearby dispensary may also apply for a hardship cultivation license (see section below).
Qualified Doctor
Your physician must be licensed to practice in Massachusetts. You must have a bona fide patient-physician relationship with your recommending physician.
Becoming a Legal Caregiver
Until the DPH medical cannabis program is implemented, qualifying patients may register their personal caregivers by sending a letter to DPH containing the patient's and personal caregiver's names, addresses and dates of birth. A certified mail return receipt for this letter is to be used as the registration card for the patient's personal caregiver.
Limitations
Patients are not permitted to operate motor vehicles while under the influence of cannabis. Patients do not have a right to use their medicine in public, at a place of employment, on school grounds or buses, or in correctional facilities. Cities and towns may establish their own laws that also limit use. Health insurance is not required to pay for medical cannabis.
Temporary and Hardship Cultivation
Patients or their designated caregiver have the right to grow medical cannabis until it is available from licensed dispensaries. Patients or their caregivers may grow enough to satisfy a 60-day supply (defined as ten ounces of usable cannabis). Arguably that permits cultivation of at least two (2) plants per patient, as the law specifically grants the right to "cultivate a limited number of plants" in an enclosed, locked facility.
Once licensed dispensaries are operating, patients will only be permitted to grow medical cannabis if the meet a set of hardship circumstances and obtain registration from the state. To be eligible, you must have: "verified financial hardship, a physical incapacity to access reasonable transportation, or the lack of a treatment center within a reasonable distance of the patient's residence."
Personal Caregiver
A patient may designate a "personal caregiver" to assist them with obtaining and administering medical cannabis. Caregivers are protected from arrest and prosecution for assisting their qualified patient, but caregivers may not use medical cannabis unless they are a qualifying patient themselves. Caregivers must be at least twenty-one (21) years old and must be designated at the time when a patient submits a registration application. Until the DPH medical cannabis program is implemented, qualifying patients may register their personal caregivers by sending a letter to DPH containing the patient's and personal caregiver's names, addresses and dates of birth. A certified mail return receipt for this letter is to be used as the registration card for the patient's personal caregiver.
Massachusetts Department of Public Health
250 Washington Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
Phone: 617-624-6000
DPH medical cannabis program website: Medical Marijuana
Return of Property
Patients, caregivers, physicians, and operators who are in compliance with the law are protected from forfeiture or seizure of property related to medical cannabis.
Incarcerated, Probation, Formerly Incarcerated
The Massachusetts law places no limitation on formerly incarcerated people or people on probation from becoming patients or caregivers, but those with a felony drug conviction may not work or volunteer at treatment centers where cannabis is grown or dispensed.
Source: ASA: Becoming a Patient in Massachusetts
