Get approved today for a medical cannabis card in Iowa, 100% online.
Get approved today in minutes with the nation’s #1 trusted med card provider.
How to Get a Medical Card in Iowa in Minutes
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1. Signup
Complete a quick, confidential 30-second questionnaire, which we will forward to one of our available doctors for review.
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2. Chat with a Doctor Today
Our state-certified medical practitioners are standing by to help answer your questions and evaluate your cannabis needs.
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3. Get Approved
Once you’re approved, you'll receive your certification via email within 24 to 48 hours with steps to finish your state registration. Your Iowa certification and med card is valid for one year.
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4. Receive Your State Card
Getting your NuggMD recommendation is fast and easy, but IA can take up to two weeks to deliver your card. If you provided your email when completing the IA application, the state will send a temporary patient ID card you can use to purchase medical cannabis while waiting for your permanent card to arrive in the mail.
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Why get a medical cannabis card in Iowa?
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Qualifying conditions in Iowa
Most Common Conditions
- Cancer with severe or chronic pain
- Cancer with nausea or severe vomiting
- Cancer with cachexia or severe wasting
- Chronic pain
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
All Conditions
- AIDS or HIV as defined in Iowa Code, section 141A.1
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Cancer with severe or chronic pain
- Cancer with nausea or severe vomiting
- Cancer with cachexia or severe wasting
- Chronic pain
- Corticobasal degeneration
- Crohn’s disease
- Multiple sclerosis with severe and persistent muscle spasms
- Parkinson’s disease
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy
- Severe, intractable autism with self-injurious or aggressive behaviors
- Ulcerative colitis
- *Any terminal illness with a probable life expectancy of under one year and severe or chronic pain
- *Any terminal illness with a probable life expectancy of under one year and nausea or severe vomiting
- *Any terminal illness with a probable life expectancy of under one year and cachexia or severe wasting
*Note: Conditions marked with an asterisk* immediately qualify for a waiver of the 4.5g THC limit per 90 days. Other conditions may qualify for a waiver but will require a follow-up evaluation following attempted treatment with the 4.5g THC limit first.
How to be a medical cannabis caregiver in Iowa
Some patients need, or are required to have, a caregiver. Iowa medical marijuana caregivers can procure and help administer cannabis to their patients, but they can’t cultivate it.
Registering as a caregiver in Iowa involves roughly the same process as filling out a patient application, with a few caveats.
- Adult patients with caregivers will need to fill out their patient application before the caregiver can fill out theirs.
- The patient will receive a patient application number that they will give to the caregiver so they may complete their application.
- Caregivers for minor patients won’t need this number because minor patients aren’t required to fill out an application. Only their caregivers will apply.
- It’s better to submit the patient and caregiver applications on the same day or close to each other rather than waiting several days.
To qualify as your caregiver, they must:
- be residents of Iowa or a neighboring state, and
- at least 18 years old.
Caregivers cannot:
- use the patient’s cannabis,
- be the patient’s doctor,
- purchase more than the maximum amount allowed for the patient
Whether caring for adults or minors, Iowa’s medical marijuana caregiver application fee is $25.
How to register for a med card in Iowa
Follow the instructions once you start the NuggMD process to fill out your application. Make sure you enter all of your information accurately to avoid possible delays in your processing.
When you’re approved, your NuggMD medical marijuana doctor will send your certification to you via email. This email notification will also contain instructions to finish your state registration via the state’s online portal. You’ll need to enter all of the requested information and pay the state registration fee of $100.
How to renew your med card in Iowa
Renewing your medical marijuana card in IA is an annual requirement for the program.
Thankfully, the process for how to renew your Iowa medical cannabis card isn’t complicated. And NuggMD makes the process even easier!
- We’ll send you an email reminder when it’s time to renew,
- Sign into NuggMD to meet with one of our state-certified medical practitioners,
- Follow the provided steps to complete your med card renewal with the state.
Whether you got your initial recommendation with NuggMD or another doctor or service in the state, our medical marijuana doctors are standing by.
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The NuggMD Promise
We are a team of cannabis and technology professionals focused on connecting you with state-licensed doctors. We believe all people deserve access to medical cannabis if they think it might improve their quality of life. Since our founding in 2015, we’ve held ourselves and our partners to the highest standards to ensure every patient we serve is able to access reliable cannabis information, trustworthy medical practitioners, and proactive updates on the cannabis healthcare ecosystem and legislation that may affect their experience as a medical cannabis patient.
Whether you’re a cannabis connoisseur or thinking of becoming a first-time medical marijuana patient, our network of doctors will listen to your needs and give you an honest opinion about whether they think cannabis can help.
Frequently asked. Frequently answered.
Any Iowa resident can become part of the state’s medical marijuana program. Minors won’t apply directly. Instead, their parents or guardians will apply for them. All minor or adult patients must receive an evaluation and approval from a state-licensed doctor to see if their debilitating medical condition qualifies for cannabis treatment. If approved, the patient must apply to the state and receive approval before they can begin using medical cannabis.
Explore additional Iowa patient FAQs.
Qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Iowa include:
* AIDS or HIV
* Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
* Cancer (with severe or chronic pain, nausea, vomiting, or cachexia/wasting)
* Chronic Pain
* Corticobasal Degeneration
* Crohn’s Disease
* Multiple Sclerosis (with severe and persistent muscle spasms)
* Parkinson’s Disease
* Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
* Seizures, including those from epilepsy
* Severe, intractable autism with self-injurious or aggressive behaviors
* Ulcerative Colitis
* Any terminal illness with a probable life expectancy under one year and associated severe pain, nausea, vomiting, or cachexia
Note: Some conditions, including terminal illnesses, may qualify for a waiver of the 4.5g THC limit per 90 days.
If you don’t have a qualifying condition, you’re not eligible. But you can change this with approval from the board. Any Iowa state resident can petition the Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Board to add their medical condition to the state’s list of qualifying conditions.
For now, getting an Iowa medical marijuana card is the only way to legally use cannabis in the state, though there are a range of other benefits for Iowa med card holders. You’ll have access to safe, tested medicine, legal protections, and medical guidance.
Iowa charges a $100 fee to process medical cannabis applications. This is in addition to the cost of a doctor’s evaluation. NuggMD offers low-cost, risk-free Iowa medical cannabis evaluations, and you only pay if you’re approved for medical cannabis.
Private health insurance and federal programs like Medicare or Medicaid will not pay for medical marijuana or the costs associated with obtaining a medical marijuana card since cannabis remains federally illegal. This may change if federal laws around cannabis are updated.
It’s faster to apply via the online process, which is expedited, instead of by paper which can take up to 4 weeks. Once approved, you will receive your permanent card via email. You can start the process by connecting with an Iowa licensed physician in as little as 15 minutes with NuggMD, and receiving your PDF certification to register with the state within 24 to 48 hours.
With NuggMD, you are ONLY charged for your evaluation if you are approved. We believe everyone deserves access to a qualified medical cannabis doctor, and the cost of an evaluation shouldn’t be a barrier.
You’ll only be charged if you’re approved for your medical marijuana certification. If not, your evaluation is free! If you sign up and pay for your evaluation, but then cancel before your evaluation, there is a small $10 fee for the payment processing. Once you’ve been approved and issued your certification, a refund for services will no longer be available. Please send an email to support@nuggmd.com with the subject line “Refund Request” and a brief description of your issue. Patients won’t receive a refund for failure to follow through with their certification process once the practitioner completes the certification requirements. It is the patient’s responsibility to complete their certification. If you’re stuck or having trouble completing your certification, please reach out to customer service and our agents will help you through the process. We want to make sure you’re 100% satisfied with your purchase being that you, the customer, are the most important thing to us! Once a refund has been initiated, please allow 3-5 business days for the funds to transfer back to the card you used for the transaction. If any issues arise, please feel free to reach back out for further assistance.
Absolutely! You have the right to see any Iowa state-licensed MD or DO for your medical marijuana renewal evaluation. All NuggMD physicians are licensed in the state for which they provide evaluations and have acquired all state-required cannabis training and certifications from their respective states.
Some states do recognize out-of-state medical marijuana cards through reciprocity agreements. Before traveling, it’s important to check the medical marijuana laws in your destination state to see if they accept out-of-state cards.
Traveling across state lines with cannabis is illegal under federal law, even if you have an Iowa medical marijuana card.
No. You can’t get a medical marijuana card in Iowa without an Iowa-issued ID or driver’s license. You’ll be required to upload a photo of your ID if you apply online or provide a readable photocopy of it if you apply via mail. For a full list of documents needed for an Iowa medical marijuana card, please see Iowa’s Department of Public Health adult patient registration application instructions.
Learn more about Iowa’s cannabis laws and regulations.