When major states of the United States started decriminalized marijuana, Illinois did not stand back. Medical Marijuana was declared as legal in the state of Illinois in the year 2013!
However, it took more than a couple of years for the registered patients to buy themselves some medical marijuana. The registration for marijuana growers and sellers did not start until the year 2014. So, getting the law set for medical marijuana took quite some time.
In 2016, Illinois decriminalized possession of pot. So, gone are the days when you would get charged with a misdemeanor. If you get caught with pot, all you have to do is pay a fine of $200.
With each passing year, the medical marijuana law is getting steadier. And there is more and more registration request received on a daily basis. However, there are many who don’t know about the medical marijuana registration and ID card that is needed to be eligible to buy medical marijuana.
In this article, we will explain how to get an ID in Illinois.
Getting Medical Marijuana Identification Card in Illinois
– In order to begin with the process of getting a medical marijuana registration card, you have to meet a registered and licensed physician to get yourself checked up for possible ailments that are qualified medical conditions. The condition is:
- Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease
- HIV/AIDS
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Arnold-Chiari malformation
- Cachexia/wasting syndrome
- Cancer
- Causalgia
- Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
- Crohn’s disease
- CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome Type II)
- Dystonia
- Fibrous Dysplasia
- Glaucoma
- Hepatitis C
- Hydrocephalus
- Hydromyelia
- Interstitial cystitis
- Intractable Pain
- Lupus
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Muscular Dystrophy
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Myoclonus
- Nail-patella syndrome
- Neurofibromatosis
- Opioid Alternative Pilot Program
- Parkinson’s disease
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
- Residual limb pain
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Seizures (including the characteristics of Epilepsy)
- Severe fibromyalgia
- Sjogren’s syndrome
- Spinal cord disease (including but not limited to arachnoiditis)
- Spinal cord injury is damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with an objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity
- Spinocerebellar ataxia
- Syringomyelia
- Tarlov cysts
- Tourette syndrome
- Traumatic brain injury
Once your physician says you need medical marijuana to get better, they have to complete a Physician Written Certification Form. It must be filled and signed by your physician within 90 days before the day you submit the application form to the department for a medical marijuana card. This form must be posted to the Department’s Division of Medical Cannabis located at the address below, by the physician themselves.
Illinois Department of Public Health
Division of Medical Cannabis
535 W. Jefferson Street
Springfield, IL 62761
- Your physician also has to produce documentation that proves that you do have one of the ailments listed above or you are terminally ill and need marijuana medication.
- Once you get your physician to complete the written certification form and mail it to the concerned department, you can fill the Marijuana Card Application Form.
- In the form, you have to mention the licensed physician you want to be treated by along with their complete address and the registered dispensary you want to buy marijuana from.
- In case you want a caregiver, you can sign them up as well.
- Next, you have to pay the application fees. The fee depends on the plan you choose between one-year plan, two-year plan or three-year plan. It must be paid using a check or Money Order and made out to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
- Next, you must attach a clear 2×2 inch, passport-size photograph of yours. Make sure the picture captures your face perfectly and your face is clearly visible. The picture must only be 30-days old.
- You must submit a Fingerprint Consent Form. Make sure that your fingerprints are taken 30 days within the submission of the application form.
- You have to submit two proof of residency. You have to prove that you are an Illinois resident. You can give anything from the list – state ID, bank statements, driver’s license, voter ID, or utility bills.
- You should also produce proof of age and identity. So you can simply provide a copy of driver’s license or a copy of the passport.
- If you want to elect a caregiver, a separate form must be filled for the caregiver with the same information, that is, photograph, identity proof, address proof, and signature of the caregiver.
Once you completely gather all the above, mail it to:
Illinois Department of Public Health
Division of Medical Cannabis
535 West Jefferson Street
Springfield, Illinois 62761-0001
After you get to have your medical marijuana identification card in hand, you can go to the licensed dispensary you opted to get medical marijuana. You can find them on websites like Weedmaps and Veriheal serve a Yelp equivalent for legal weed in the state, If you have opted for a caregiver, they must collect medical marijuana for you.
In case you are a veteran, the application procedure is entirely different. It does not follow the above procedure. Veterans can get their Medical Marijuana procedures done at the Veteran’s Administration (VA) facility.
