How to Qualify for a Cannabis/ THC and CBD Card in the USA

Alabama

Marijuana/THC and CBD possession for “personal use only” is a misdemeanor and can result in a prison sentence of up to a year and a maximum fine of $6,000. Anything other than possession for personal use can be considered a felony in Alabama, resulting in anywhere between a year and 10 years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines. Medical marijuana can be used for qualifying health conditions so long as conventional medical treatment or therapy has failed to treat it. Medical marijuana does not include cannabis flower or edibles, and can only be in the form of “tablets, capsules, tinctures, or gel cubes for oral use; gels, oils or creams for topical use, or suppositories, transdermal patches, nebulizers, or liquids or oils for use in an inhaler.”

Qualifying Health Conditions

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• Cancer-related cachexia, nausea or vomiting, weight loss, or chronic pain

• Crohn’s Disease

• Depression

• Epilepsy or a condition causing seizures

• HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss

• Panic disorder

• Parkinson’s disease

• Persistent nausea that is not significantly responsive to traditional treatment, except for nausea related to pregnancy, cannabis-induced cyclical vomiting syndrome, or cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Sickle Cell Anemia

• Spasticity associated with a motor neuron disease, including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

• Spasticity associated with Multiple Sclerosis or a spinal cord injury

• Terminal illness

• Tourette’s Syndrome

• A condition causing chronic or intractable pain in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or has proved ineffective

 

Alaska

Arizona

Is weed legal in Arizona? As of November 2020, recreational use of marijuana is legal for adults 21 or older. Adults can possess up to an ounce of weed or may cultivate up to six plants for personal use. Adults may also transfer up to six plants to another adult as long as there is no monetary exchange and the transfer is not advertised to the public.

 

Arkansas

Though there is an official Arkansas medical marijuana program, it’s considered to be one of the more restrictive in the country, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. There are very few legal places to purchase medical weed, though many people have official ID cards. Recreational possession in small amounts can lead to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500, and the ACLU has reported that enforcement disproportionately affects black Americans in Arkansas. Patients with qualifying health conditions may purchase up to 2.5 ounces of medical cannabis per 14-day period.

 

California

The first state to legalize medical use of weed in 1996 with the now-famous Proposition 215, California now has a rich history with the substance. In 2016, weed became legal for recreational use, too. Is weed legal in California today? Yes, and the state is home to marijuana cafés and hundreds of dispensaries. But of course, there are limits built into the California weed laws; for instance, you are limited to growing up to six plants, which must be licensed, you can only travel with 1 ounce (or 28 grams), and you can’t smoke in public. The state itself has lots of information and resources on the substance and how it is regulated.

 

Colorado

While California was the first to legalize medical marijuana, Colorado and Washington were the first two states to legalize it for recreational use. Now, Colorado’s weed tourism brings them big bucks. There are limits to the Colorado marijuana laws: As with California, you can grow up to six licensed plants, you can carry up to 2 ounces, and you must not smoke in public. There are other important things to keep in mind if you plan on visiting, too: National parks are off limits, many counties have their own rules for when, where, and if you can smoke, and you should plan to have cash on you because many dispensaries can’t take credit cards.

 

Connecticut

Connecticut passed a law legalizing recreational marijuana in June 2021, allowing adults 21 and older to possess up to 1.5 ounces in public and up to 5 ounces of marijuana in their private residence. The law also permits adults to grow up to 6 marijuana plants, including 3 mature and 3 immature plants, in their residence beginning July, 1, 2023. The state of Connecticut collected nearly $5 million in excise tax revenue from the sale of marijuana in just the first half of 2023. The use of marijuana in public is strictly prohibited in Connecticut and remains subject to penalty.

Delaware

Delaware is one of the most recent states to pass legislation legalizing recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older. The state of Delaware legalized recreational marijuana in April 2023, allowing personal possession of up to one ounce of marijuana. Edible cannabis products must contain Delta-9 and not exceed 750 mg. Home cultivation of marijuana plants is not legal in Delaware though. The state will begin accepting businesses license applications by August 2024, and cultivation licenses by October 2024.

 

Florida

Is weed legal in Florida? By and large, the answer is no; possession of more than 20 grams can lead to a felony charge. Medical marijuana is legal for those with a qualifying condition. There had once been a ban on smoking medical weed; it has since been repealed but includes a limit of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana in the form for smoking for a 35-day supply. It can still be difficult to get legal Florida marijuana, as you will need to have one of these qualifying conditions:

Qualifying Conditions

• ALS

• Cancer

• Chronic nonmalignant pain

• Crohn’s disease

• Epilepsy

• Glaucoma

• HIV/AIDS

• Multiple sclerosis (MS)

• Parkinson’s disease

• PTSD

• Seizures

• Terminal condition

 

Georgia

Georgia is one of the most restrictive states for weed, with more than 1 ounce in your possession potentially leading to a felony charge. HB 324 allowed for medical use of CBD oil only, with less than 5% THC content. While it’s decriminalized in some major cities, like Atlanta, approval overall is hard to get. Approval for low-THC oil is available to those with the following conditions:

• AIDS

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

• Autism

• Cancer

• Crohn’s disease

• Hospice care patients

• Intractable pain

• Mitochondrial disease

• Multiple sclerosis

• Parkinson’s disease

• Post-traumatic stress syndrome

• Severe or end-stage peripheral neuropathy

• Seizure disorder

• Sickle cell disease

• Tourette’s syndrome

Penalties for possession have been reduced in Atlanta, Savannah, Clarkston, South Fulton, Fulton County, Forest Park, Kingsland, and Macon-Bibb County.

 

Hawaii

Weed in Hawaii is approved only for medical use, with only 4 ounces of usable marijuana allowed at a given time and no more than seven plants. Possession in Hawaii has been decriminalized; only very large amounts, one pound or more, can bring a felony charge. Marijuana is available for medical use with a prescription when you have one of the following:

Qualifying Conditions

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

• Cachexia

• Cancer

• Chronic pain

• Crohn’s disease

• Epilepsy

• Glaucoma

• HIV or AIDS

• Lupus

• Multiple sclerosis

• Nausea

• Persistent muscle spasms

• Post traumatic stress

• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Seizures

There is also room in the law for the state department of health to approve specific cases.

 

Idaho

Marijuana is not legal in any fashion in the state of Idaho, and possession of more than 3 ounces is a felony.

 

Illinois

As of Jan. 1, 2020, recreational marijuana legalization took effect in Illinois. Users 21 or older are legally able to posses up to 30 grams of raw cannabis or 5 grams of concentrated cannabis. Those with a medical cannabis prescription are allowed to grow up to 5 plants. You can find answers to commonly asked questions about Illinois’s cannabis legalization law here.

 

Indiana

As of now, Indiana allows CBD oil with less than 0.3% THC. Medical CBD is allowed for those in Indiana with treatment-resistant epileptic conditions, including Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

 

Iowa

Weed is not legal in Iowa and the state has one of the most severe penalties for first-offenses in the country. A first-offense possession of even just one marijuana joint can be punishable by up to six months in jail and a thousand-dollar fine. Iowa allows medical use of cannabis oil products with a total of 4.5 grams of THC every 90 days for those with the following conditions:

Qualifying Conditions

• AIDS/HIV

• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

• Autism (with self-injurous or aggressive behavior)

• Cancer

• Cancer-related chronic pain, nausea, or cachexia

• Chronic pain

• Crohn’s disease

• Multiple sclerosis

• Parkinson’s disease

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Intractable epilepsy

• Terminal illness

• Ulcerative colitis

• Chronic pain

 

Kansas

In 2018, Kansas passed a law allowing CBD products with 0% THC, one of the most restrictive medical marijuana laws in the country. But there’s a problem; most oils contain at least traces of THC. Fundamentally, it’s still illegal.

 

Kentucky

Kentucky signed medical marijuana legislation into law in March 2023, although the law doesn’t go into effect until the beginning of 2025. Kentucky’s legislation does not allow for raw cannabis to be smoked, but it can be consumed through vaporization. The legislation set a cap of 35% THC for raw cannabis, 10 mg THC for edibles, and concentrates are capped at 70% THC. The qualifying health conditions for medical marijuana in Kentucky includes:

Qualifying Conditions

• cancer

• chronic severe, intractable, or debilitating pain

• epilepsy or any other intractable seizure disorder

• multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms, or spasticity

• chronic nausea or cyclical vomiting

• post-traumatic stress disorder

• other medical condition or disease for which medical cannabis is deemed appropriate

 

Louisiana

Louisiana has a medical marijuana program that’s not very functional, with only two state-licensed cultivators, Louisiana State University and Southern University, and has only authorized 10 locations to dispense medical cannabis with satellite locations coming in later 2023/2024. The state’s medical programs only offers a 30-day supply of non-smokable marijuana to those with one of these qualifying conditions:

Qualifying Conditions

• Autism spectrum disorders

• Cachexia/wasting syndrome

• Cancer

• Crohn’s disease

• Epilepsy

• Glaucoma

• HIV/AIDS

• Intractable pain (defined as “pain so chronic or severe as to otherwise warrant an opiate prescription”)

• Muscular dystrophy

• Multiple sclerosis

• Parkinson’s disease

• Post-traumatic stress disorder

• Seizure disorders/spasticity

• Severe muscle spasms

• Other debilitating conditions

 

Maine

Is weed legal in Maine? Yes, it’s one of the cannabis-legal states approved for both recreational and medical use. Locals can carry up to 2.5 ounces (or 71 grams) on them and 5 grams of concentrate. They can also cultivate up to three flowering plants or 12 immature plants. Adults may only consume marijuana on private property in Maine, public use is a civil infraction punishable by a fine.

 

Maryland