Licenced Medical Marijuana Doctor in Virginia

Since 2019, Virginia allows either a doctor or other specified medical assistant to diagnose and prescribe CBD and THC-infused oils. Now that the list has broadened, patients who suffer from several conditions relieved by medical cannabis can now seek the needed relief. Some of the most common conditions that medical cannabis patients seek MMJ cards for include:

Anxiety

Cancer

Chronic pain 

Menopause 

Muscle spasms

Rheumatoid arthritis 

Glaucoma

Epilepsy

Virginia specifically reports that chemotherapy, seizures, and depression are three additional conditions considered for relief.

Along with having any diagnosable condition, a patient must also prove they are a resident of Virginia with a valid driver’s license or state identification card. The annual medical cannabis card registration fee is $50, which must be paid to the Virginia Board of Pharmacy upon physician approval.

Possession and Cultivation

The state allows up to 10mg of THC in a single dose, which can be taken as many times a day prescribed by a certified physician or medical assistant. Forms of allowable medical cannabis include capsules, sprays, tinctures, lozenges, creams, gels, patches, edibles, and inhalation devices. No smokeable flower is allowed. Home growing is not permitted at this time. 

Registering as a Caregiver in VA

 A Virginia caregiver must be designated by the state-registered patient as an assistant to be considered for approval. Once named, the caregiver must prove they are a resident of Virginia with a valid driver’s license or state identification card. Once approved, the caregiver will be allowed to purchase medicinal cannabis for the patient. 

Virginia, like many states, now has a formal program of medical marijuana cards. The certification process is overseen by the Virginia Department of Health Professions and the Pharmacy Board.

A registered patient can currently only access a 90-day supply of THC-A or CBD oil. Once certified, patients will have access from a pharmaceutical processor to their suggested dosage.

 Until COVID-19, Virginia’s strictly limited cannabis program was one of the most restrictive in the U.S. Though the state decriminalized small amounts of cannabis before COVID-19, fining residents the lowest U.S. fine of $25, it still had a limited list of qualifying conditions. But that changed. Now that list can now be broadened based on a physician’s diagnosis and approval.  

According to the bill, SB 1557, the medical cannabis program now “authorizes licensed physician assistants and licensed nurse practitioners to issue a written certification for use of cannabidiol oil and THC-A oil,” and “the bill requires the Board to promulgate regulations establishing dosage limitations, which shall require that each dispensed dose of cannabidiol oil or THC-A oil not exceed 10 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol.”

Virginia is allowing several forms of medical cannabis products to be purchased at statewide dispensaries such as oil, tinctures, and edibles but not cannabis flowers. However, even though the Old Dominion State expanded the program the Americans for Safe Access (ASA) gives the state an F. This Washington D.C.-based organization publishes an annual report card on state medical cannabis programs, and Virginia has maintained a failing grade since 2015. Moving forward, ASA has a list of suggested changes to turn the untimely and limited program into a progressive plan that will benefit all Virginia residents.

“As the state looks to 2021 ASA recommends that lawmakers focus efforts on authorizing legal retail sale of medical cannabis flower, and authorize registered patients to cultivate cannabis at home to reduce cost and travel burdens on patients,” reports ASA.   Until further changes, Virginia medical cannabis patients now register with the Board of Pharmacy after they are approved by a physician or approved medical assistant.