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How to become a legal patient..

.Under California law, you must have a
recommendation or approval for the
medical use of cannabis from a licensed
physician. A physician may write a
recommendation for any condition for
which cannabis provides relief. However,
most physicians write recommendations
for symptoms associated with AIDS,
cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis,
chronic pain, and other serious illnesses.

It is best to obtain the recommendation
from the physician you are already seeing
to treat your illness. He or she can use the
sample letter of recommendation from this
site or write a new one. Oral
recommendations are legal, but difficult to
verify. Your best legal protection comes
from having a written recommendation
from your usual physician.

If your physician can not or will not write a
recommendation, you may seek out a
medical cannabis specialist by clicking the
link to the right. These specialists are
usually not covered by insurance.

Keep the original copy of your physician’s
letter of recommendation in a safe place.
You will need it to prove your legal status
following any encounter with law
enforcement. You may also need it to obtain
membership in one of California’s medical
cannabis dispensaries. You should carry a
photocopy of your recommendation
whenever you carry your medicine.

After obtaining your recommendation, you
are legally entitled to grow, possess,
consume, and transport cannabis under
state law. You may also designate a
“primary caregiver” to grow, possess, or
transport your medicine if you are unable to
do so yourself. There is a primary caregiver
designation on the publications page. The
number of plants and quantity of
medication you can possess varies from
city to city. If your city or county does not
have a higher limit, you may possess eight
ounces of dried cannabis, six mature
plants, and up to twelve immature plants.
No city or county may adopt limits lower
than these.

The federal government does not recognize
California’s medical cannabis laws.
Cannabis possession, cultivation, and use
are illegal under federal law – even for
qualified patients. However, California’s
medical cannabis laws remain fully in force
and unaffected by this conflict. Federal
cannabis prohibition does not trump state
medical cannabis laws.