If you have a chronic injury or illness that causes you pain, one way to manage that pain is with medical cannabis. If you want to use medical cannabis, you have to get a medical cannabis card. Although the details of the approval process vary from one state to the next, the general process usually follows much of the same script:

#1 History Of Illness

The first thing you need in order to obtain a medical cannabis card is a documented history of illness. For example, if you have chronic back pain, you would need documentation from your primary care physician for this pain. You would also need evidence that you had taken steps to deal with this pain in other ways, for example, by seeing a physical therapist or a chiropractor.

If you have not sought out medical treatment for the pain or illness that you are dealing with, you need to start getting medical treatment and establish a record of treatment. To qualify for a medical cannabis card, you need to have a history of treatment that spans a long period of time, so if you want to use cannabis to treat your illness or injury, you need to start establishing a history of treatment right now. A history of traditional treatment is necessary to qualify for a medical cannabis card. 

#2 Recommendation From Primary Care Physician

Second, you need the recommendation to treat your illness or injury with medical cannabis from a primary care physician. It is not enough to just have a history of chronic pain or illness; you also need a recommendation from your doctor to treat your chronic pain or illness with medical cannabis. Your doctor needs to think that your condition can be treated and managed with medical cannabis. Most doctors are not just going to suggest this course of action, so you will need to ask your doctor this course of treatment yourself.

#3 Application 

Finally, you are going to need to fill out an application and submit it to the agency in your state that approves medical cannabis cards. Generally, with the application, you are going to need to provide proof of your illness or injury. There should also be a recommendation form for your primary care physician to fill out as well. You may also have to submit a photo for the identification card if your application is approved. Additionally, there is going to be a fee associated with your application as well. 

If you want to treat your condition with medical cannabis, you need a paper trail of the treatment for your condition and a doctor who thinks that medical cannabis is the right way to treat your condition. 

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