Did you know that more than 18% of people in the United States have tried marijuana at some point? Fortunately, marijuana is becoming legal and more accepted across the country, and in many states, you can even use medical marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of certain conditions. If you live in Rhode Island and would like to try medical marijuana, you might be wondering how you should go about getting a Rhode Island medical marijuana card.

Fortunately, it isn’t as complicated as you might think. Keep reading and learn how to get your Rhode Island medical marijuana card below.

Meet the Requirements

To get a medical marijuana card, you will first need to meet some important requirements. First, you need to be at least 18 years old. For those under the age of 18 who may benefit from medical marijuana, a caregiver will need to apply for the minor in question, but the caregiver must be over the age of 21 to be eligible.

To apply for a Rhode Island medical marijuana card, in particular, you will need to be a resident of the state. Another very important requirement is to have a signature from your medical practitioner approving the use of medical marijuana. You will need this signature, otherwise, you won’t be able to apply for the medical marijuana card application at all.

The doctor must also be a legal resident of the state of Rhode Island. It may take about a week to receive the medical marijuana certificate from your doctor with the practitioner’s signature on it. Before you get the certificate, you will need to consult with your doctor so the doctor can see whether or not you would benefit from medical marijuana.

There are many medical conditions that can benefit from this treatment. For example, if you have cancer, glaucoma, AIDS, PTSD, or another severe condition, your doctor will most likely give you the signature you need to get a medical marijuana card. Besides that, you will also need to have a legal ID, your medical records, and proof that you legally reside in the state of Rhode Island.

The Details

Once you have all of this information in order, you should be able to apply without too many problems. Most people apply online because it is easier and much more convenient. The application will cost you around $50.

Once you apply, it will take some time for you to get approved. The exact amount of time will depend on a variety of factors. For some, it might only take a few weeks before they’re approved.

For others, on the other hand, it might take several months. If you think that your application is taking too long, it would be a good idea to contact someone to make sure that your application hasn’t been lost. If all your information is correct and you don’t have anything that would make it seem like you’re not a good candidate for medical marijuana, your application should be approved relatively quickly, usually not any longer than 4 weeks.

If you left your application uncompleted, it will not be approved and you will need to start the application process over from the beginning.

Get Your Medical Marijuana Application Approved

After about 4 weeks and if all goes well with your application, you should be approved. If this is the case, you should get an approval letter in the mail. In this letter, you will have instructions to come to a nearby state office so you can get an official photograph for your medical marijuana card.

As soon as you get your photograph taken, you will get your physical medical marijuana card. You can use this card as soon as you have it in your hands but only ad medical marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island specifically. This card will not give you access to medical marijuana dispensaries outside of the state of Rhode Island.

Interestingly enough, with an approved medical marijuana card, you can actually grow your own cannabis plants if you feel like it. However, there are limits to this. A single patient can grow up to 12 marijuana plants at one time.

You can also have 12 seedlings on hand. However, these plants should only produce a total of 10 oz. You are also not allowed to grow these plants inside.

Instead, they have to be kept inside.

What You Need to Know

You are also allowed to only possess a certain amount of medical marijuana from medical dispensaries. Again, you can have around 10 oz on your personal property, but this does not mean that you can carry this much on your person.

Instead, you are only allowed to carry 2.5 oz on your person. Keep in mind that this only applies to marijuana in its flower form. Marijuana flower is the bud of the plant that you can smoke, cook with, and use in many other ways.

The rules are slightly different when it comes to marijuana concentrate. Marijuana concentrate is a liquid or tar-like substance and it produces more intense effects because it is so concentrated. You are allowed to have only 1 gram of marijuana concentrate.

This amount of concentrate is more or less equal to 3 grams of marijuana flower.

Your Rhode Island Medical Marijuana Card

Getting a Rhode Island medical marijuana card isn’t as hard as you might expect. First, you will need to be of legal age and you will need to get a signature from your doctor for your medical marijuana application to be approved. Once it’s approved, you can get your picture taken and finally get your very own medical marijuana card.

If you’re interested in getting a medical marijuana card for yourself, choose your state to get started.