Qualifying Conditions for a Medical Marijuana Card in Connecticut

Getting a med card in Connecticut is easy. Connecticut allows the standard medical marijuana evaluation and follow-up care to be completed through telehealth, but certification and state approval are not automatic.

To apply through the standard process:

1. 1. Meet with a Connecticut-licensed physician, PA, or APRN who is treating you for a qualifying condition.
   2. If certified, the provider will submit the certification electronically and start your application.
   3. Complete your portion of the application through BizNet and upload the required identity and residency documents.
   4. Wait for DCP to review the application. Qualifying patient applications can take 30 business days.

Eligible adults may choose to receive a one-time, 90-day temporary certification from a licensed dispensary pharmacist. Unlike Connecticut’s standard registration process, this pharmacist assessment must take place in person.

To qualify through Connecticut’s standard medical marijuana registration process, you must:

• Be a Connecticut resident.
• Not be an inmate in a correctional institution or facility under the supervision of the Connecticut Department of Correction.
• Have a qualifying debilitating medical condition.
• Be certified by a Connecticut-licensed physician, PA, or APRN who is treating you for that condition. Glaucoma patients must be certified by a physician.

Through the standard process, a Connecticut-licensed physician, PA, or APRN who is treating you must certify that you have a qualifying debilitating medical condition and that the potential benefits of medical marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks.

Connecticut currently recognizes 42 qualifying conditions for adults and 11 for patients under 18. After submitting your certification electronically, your provider will start your application. You must then complete the patient portion through BizNet before DCP can review it and decide whether to issue your registration certificate.

Connecticut has an extensive list of qualifying conditions for a medical marijuana card.

If you are an adult, these 42 conditions make you eligible for a medical card in the state:

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Autism Spectrum Disorder
• Cachexia
• Cancer
• Cerebral Palsy
• Chronic Neuropathic Pain Associated with Degenerative Spinal Disorders
• Chronic Pain of at Least Six Months’ Duration Associated with a Specified Underlying Chronic Condition Refractory to Other Treatment Intervention
• Chronic Pancreatitis
• Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Type I and Type II
• Crohn’s Disease
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Damage to the Nervous Tissue of the Spinal Cord with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity
• Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Associated with Chronic Pain
• Epilepsy
• Female Orgasmic Difficulty/Disorder
• Glaucoma
• Hydrocephalus with Intractable Headache
• Intractable Headache Syndromes
• Intractable Neuropathic Pain That Is Unresponsive to Standard Medical Treatments
• Interstitial Cystitis
• Irreversible Spinal Cord Injury with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity
• MALS Syndrome (Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome)
• Movement Disorders Associated with Huntington Disease
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Neuropathic Facial Pain
• Osteogenesis Imperfecta
• Parkinson’s Disease
• HIV/AIDS
• Post-Herpetic Neuralgia
• Post-Laminectomy Syndrome with Chronic Radiculopathy
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Severe Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis
• Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Sickle Cell Disease
• Spasticity or Neuropathic Pain Associated with Fibromyalgia
• Terminal Illness Requiring End-of-Life Care
• Tourette Syndrome
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Uncontrolled Intractable Seizure Disorder
• Vulvodynia and Vulvar Burning
• Wasting Syndrome

If you are a minor, the following diseases qualify for a medical card in CT:

• Cerebral Palsy
• Chronic Pancreatitis for Patients Whose Pain Is Recalcitrant to Standard Medical Management
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Intractable Neuropathic Pain That Is Unresponsive to Standard Medical Treatments
• Irreversible Spinal Cord Injury with Objective Neurological Indication of Intractable Spasticity
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Osteogenesis Imperfecta
• Severe Epilepsy
• Terminal Illness Requiring End-of-Life Care
• Tourette Syndrome for Patients Who Have Failed Standard Medical Treatment
• Uncontrolled Intractable Seizure Disorder

Anxiety by itself is not currently one of Connecticut’s approved qualifying conditions. Therefore, a physician, PA, APRN, or dispensary pharmacist cannot certify a patient solely for anxiety.

A patient with anxiety may still qualify if they have a separate condition on Connecticut’s approved list, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Eligibility depends on the qualifying diagnosis and the required medical assessment, not anxiety symptoms alone.