Short answer: Obtaining a medical marijuana card in Arizona with the help of Affordable Certification is an easy three-step process: register, videochat with the doctor, and create an online account with the AZDHS. Once you complete the process of applying for your Arizona medical card, you’ll generally receive your digital card within 5 business days. It will display within your ADHS portal.
Getting a medical marijuana card in Arizona is still seen sort of confusing by many people. At Affordable Certification we designed the process to be easy to navigate and collect everything that is required to file the application with Department of Health. Read on to learn exactly how to use Affordable Certification to get your Arizona medical card.
Qualifying Conditions
In order to get an AZ MMJ card, you must have at least one of the medical conditions the Arizona Department of Health lists as qualifying for legal medical marijuana. These include:
- ALS (Amyotrophic lateral Sclerosis)
- Alzheimer’s disease related agitation
- Cancer
- Crohn’s Disease
- Glaucoma
- HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)/AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
- Hepatitis C
In addition to these qualifying illnesses and medical conditions are other conditions that can also be symptoms of other conditions. You can, therefore, qualify for medical marijuana in Arizona even if these symptoms are the result of other conditions, or the treatment for other conditions, even if they’re not explicitly listed by the AZDHS as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana.
For example, anxiety and depression are not currently qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Arizona. However, if you experience any of the following symptoms as a result of your anxiety or depression, it can still qualify you for a medical marijuana card in Arizona. (Likewise, incidentally, you can qualify for an Arizona medical card with anxiety or depression, or any non-qualifying condition, if it is a symptom caused by another qualifying condition.)
These qualifying conditions that may also be symptoms of other conditions are as follows:
- Cachexia (aka wasting syndrome)
- Chronic and severe pain
- Severe nausea
- Seizures, like those associated with epilepsy
- Persistent or intense muscle spasms, such those associated with MS (multiple sclerosis)
- PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
Read also: Can You Get a Medical Card for Depression in Arizona?
Documents Needed
In order to have the AZDHS issue you an AZ medical card, you must present certain documentation, as follows:
Doctor’s Certification form
You must present a doctor’s letter that meets the following criteria:
- Current – It must be dated within one year of the time of your application.
- Authorized doctor – It must be written and signed by an Allopathic (MD), Osteopathic (DO), Homeopathic (MD or DO) or Naturopathic (NMD or ND) physician or a psychiatrist with a valid, active and current license to practice in the state of Arizona.
- Diagnosis – It must state that you have a diagnosis for one of the qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Arizona (though it need not identify that condition.)
- Use of medical marijuana – It must acknowledge that you may use medical marijuana in order to help relieve certain symptoms of your qualifying condition.
Photo ID
You must have photo identification that meets the following criteria:
- Arizona-issued – It must be issued by the state of Arizona, such as a driver’s license or state ID.
- Arizona residence – It must list an Arizona address as your primary residence.
- Valid – It must be current and valid.
- Identification – It must list your name as it appears in your application for an Arizona medical card and the photo it contains must reasonably resemble how you currently look.
- Age – Your birthday must indicate that you are at least 18 years of age (unless you also have a parent or guardian’s authorization.)
Process of Obtaining a Card
Obtaining a medical marijuana card in Arizona with the help of Affordable Certification is an easy three-step process.
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- Sign up with Affordable Certification by providing some essential personal information and answering a few basic questions about your medical state. When you sign up, you’ll be asked to upload a photo of your official Arizona driver’s license or state ID and a photo of yourself to use on your AZ MMJ card as well as submit an electronic signature with your application materials.
- Meet with the doctor Affordable Certification arranges for you to meet with via videoconferencing for a medical marijuana evaluation and consultation. Affordable Certification doctors meet with patients from Monday through Friday between 10 am and five pm, Arizona time. Assuming the doctor determines that you qualify, you will, then, pay the doctor’s fee (detailed below,) and the doctor, in turn, will provide the certification you need to get your AZ MMJ card and, if necessary, help you produce the medical records demonstrating a history of your qualifying condition.
- Create an online account with the AZDHS at the Arizona medical marijuana individual licensing portal and submit your doctor’s certification form and other application materials.
Price
An Arizona medical card, which is valid for two years, costs $150. One exception to this cost is for people who receive food stamps through the Arizona SNAP program. If you can prove that you are on the program, you’ll get a 50% discount on an Arizona medical card, paying only $75 for the same two-year period. Note that an EBT card alone may not qualify as sufficient proof. Rather, you must provide either a statement of receiving Arizona SNAP benefits or an approval letter for the program. Before the two-year period of validity on an AZ MMJ card expires, you must renew it, including presenting new and current documentation and paying another fee.
This does not include the cost to see a doctor to get your required doctor’s note. Doctor’s typically charge between $75 and $150 for a medical marijuana appointment and letter. To see a doctor through Affordable Certification, the fee is $99.
How Long Does it Take?
Once you complete the process of applying for your Arizona medical card, you’ll generally receive your digital card within 5 business days. It will display within your ADHS portal.
How to Make Sure Your Card is Legal, Not Fake
These days, countless fake medical cards and counterfeit medical documents abound, and while they may work for some people to obtain medical marijuana illegally now and again, they could expose you to a host of penalties, including fines, potential jail-time for illegal possession of a controlled substance and the inability to get a legal medical marijuana card in Arizona in the future.
To avoid getting fake documents and counterfeit cards, make sure that:
- The doctor who writes your letter is a physician with an active, current, valid license to practice medicine in the state of Arizona
- You submit your letter and application to the Arizona Department of Health directly
Note as well that no physical medical marijuana card is legal in Arizona, as the state now uses exclusively digital medical cards.
Read also: 8 Reasons to Keep Your Medical Marijuana Card in Arizona.
Which Rights you Get With an AZ Medical Card
With a medical card in Arizona, you get the following rights and privileges:
- To purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana over any 14-day period, defined as dried flowers of the cannabis plant, as well as any preparations or mixtures derived from them
- To grow your own marijuana if you don’t live within 25 miles of an Arizona medical marijuana dispensary.
- To name up to two authorized caregivers who are allowed to purchase and possess marijuana on your behalf.
- To avoid prosecution for marijuana purchase, possession or use within the bounds of Arizona medical marijuana laws, such as not being under the influence while driving a motor vehicle.
By contrast, however, you do not get the right to:
- Leave the state with medical marijuana nor to purchase or possess marijuana in another state (unless that state is a legal medical marijuana state that has reciprocity with Arizona)
- Use medical marijuana while driving or to be under the influence of medical marijuana while driving
- Grow medical marijuana if you live within 25 miles of an Arizona dispensary
- Sell or give away your medical marijuana to anyone else or purchase it for anyone else, even if that person is also a legal medical marijuana patient in Arizona with his or her own AZ MMJ card
- Possess more than your legally-authorized amount of medical marijuana at any one time
Violation of these medical marijuana regulations could lead you to lose your Arizona medical card and, possibly, the right to obtain one in the future as well as expose you to potential legal penalties and liabilities for any laws you break.
As you can see from the article, getting a card in Arizona is not difficult, especially if you entrust all the hassle related to the medical marijuana card registration to our service. Doubt if your reasons for obtaining a medical card are sufficient? Register on the link below, and we will contact you with a licensed specialist as soon as possible. Thanks to telemedicine, communication takes place at a time and place convenient for you.