How to Get a Medical Marijuana Recommendation in Maine

1. Do you qualify for medical marijuana?

• The list of qualifying debilitating conditions is specific and does not allow doctors to recommend marijuana treatment for other conditions.
• Conditions include debilitating diseases that cause pain which lasts more than six months and does not respond to conventional treatment, wasting syndrome, severe nausea, seizures, and severe muscle spasms, cancer, glaucoma, hepatitis C, HIV, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, nail-patella syndrome, and lateral sclerosis.
• You may also use marijuana to combat the side-effects of conventional medicine that cause debilitating symptoms (i.e. chemotherapy or pharmaceuticals).

2. Get an official diagnosis.

• If you don’t already have a diagnosis of one of the qualifying conditions, see your regular doctor. After receiving the diagnosis, speak to your doctor about medical marijuana treatment.
• If your doctor is unwilling to consider a recommendation, find one who is open to the discussion. Most dispensaries have a list of physicians, surgeons, and osteopathic physicians that may give you a recommendation.
• Maine law requires a bona-fide physician-patient relationship so some doctors interpret this as requiring two visits within a six month period before recommending marijuana.

3. Obtain the official forms.

• Your doctor must fill out the Medical Marijuana Program Physician Certification. This form is available to view online, but can not be used because it is not tamper-proof. Your doctor should provide the watermarked form, but it may also be available from local dispensaries and caregivers.
• You will need a Designation Form if you plan to buy from a dispensary or assign a caregiver to grow for you. You can change your designation at any time by filling out a  Change of Information form. These forms do not have to be tamper-proof, so can be printed from the internet.
• If you wish to receive a free Registry Identification Card, you can use the Patient Application / Renewal Form. The only proof of medical use you need is the physician certification, but some patients like the wallet-sized i.d. card. Along with the application, you must send a copy of your driver's license (or photo i.d.) and a copy of your physician certificate. You do not need to give any medical information to the state and registration is voluntary.