Ohio Patient FAQs

NuggMD Ohio connects prospective patients with state-licensed medical cannabis doctors so you can get your required medical evaluation fast, easy, and online from the comfort and privacy of your own home.

Browse our full list of patient FAQs, or contact our customer service team for one-on-one support.

NuggMD is now connecting Ohio MMJ patients with state-certified physicians. Visit NuggMD.com/Ohio to start an online evaluation. The state also provides a digital database of registered physicians for patients to browse.

Not anymore! Ohio passed a legalization measure on November 7, 2023. Measure 2, the initiative that legalized marijuana, allows Ohioans to possess up to 2.5 ounces of flower, grow 6 plants, and purchase cannabis in dispensaries in early Spring, 2024. But having a medical marijuana card still carries significant benefits for Ohioans.

Only Ohio residents are allowed to join the medical marijuana program.

Yes, you can as of June 2021. Before this, patients were required to present a valid Ohio driver’s license or passport. Now, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy allows a driver’s license or ID from any other state or any of the following documents:

*Birth certificate,
*Consular report of birth abroad,
*Certificate of naturalization,
*Certificate of citizenship,
*Permanent resident card,
*I-797 Case Type of N-565

If you choose to use ID from another state, or one of the documents listed above, you’ll also need to provide two proofs of residency such as a W-2, paystubs, bill, deed, rental or mortgage statement. The list is extensive. To see the complete list of documents needed for an Ohio medical marijuana card, see this announcement from the State Board of Pharmacy.

It costs just $139 to get your MMJ evaluation with NuggMD Ohio. And there's no risk: if you aren't approved, you don't pay.

Ohio patient registrations cost $0.01, with caregivers paying $0.01. This is in addition to the cost of your evaluation. Patients who qualify for Indigent or Veteran can apply to have their fees reduced.

Yes, patients and caregivers can apply for indigent or veteran registration fee reductions. Remember that the patient must be approved for either status to receive registration discounts. A caregiver will not receive a reduced fee if the patient they provide care for does not qualify for either status.

Those that qualify are recommended not to submit any payments when registering. Instead, they are advised to withhold payments until the state Board of Pharmacy determines their status.

Ohio residents 18 and older with a qualifying condition and certification from their physician can register with the state’s medical marijuana program. Minors under 18 must have an adult caregiver and consent from their parent or another person responsible for providing consent to treatment.

The current list of qualifying conditions are as followed:

- AIDS - Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - Alzheimer's disease - Cancer - Chronic traumatic encephalopathy - Chron's disease - Epilepsy or another seizure disorder - Fibromyalgia -Glaucome - Hepatitis C - Inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) - Multiple sclerosis (MS) - Pain that is either chronic and severe or intractable - parkinson's disease - positive status for HIV - Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - sickle cell anemia - Spinal cord disease or injury - Tourette's syndrome - Traumatic brain injury - Ulcerative Colitis

Most patients in Ohio qualify, but there is a process to add conditions that aren’t listed. The process is slow and takes roughly a year. To add a qualifying condition in Ohio, the patient must submit a petition to the Ohio State Medical Board. You can learn more about the process on the Ohio State Medical Board’s website.

Since marijuana is still federally illegal, insurers will not reimburse for the cost of medical marijuana products.

Ohio MMJ patient benefits include increased legal protections and proper medical guidance from their physicians, helping them to work cannabis into their health and wellness routine for maximum benefit.

Applicants must have an evaluation conducted by a state-certified physician. If approved, the physician will create a patient profile in the Ohio Patient & Caregiver Registry. The patient will receive a confirmation email to complete their application in the registry and pay the required fees.

With NuggMD, registering and connecting with a licensed physician can be accomplished in an hour. But it can take up to one month to get your OH state medical marijuana card, so the sooner you start, the better! Your physician will upload your approval to the state’s database within 24 to 48 hours. You’ll receive an email shortly after inviting you to complete your registration with the state. Only click the provided link once! If you click it multiple times, you’ll receive an error message and will need to submit an email to the state to get your link re-issued. Once you’ve registered and paid the state registration fee, you’ll be able to print out your card and use it at a dispensary.

It can take up to 30 days for Ohio's Department of Public Health to process your application. Once it's approved, it can take up to 15 days for the state to issue the patient ID.

The link in your OH registration email is valid for 90 days.

Contact the state Medical Marijuana Control Program at 1-833-464-6627 or via email at MMCPRegistry@pharmacy.ohio.gov. Provide the full name, date of birth and preferred email address for the Registry profile. A new registration link should be sent soon after.

Absolutely. You have the right to see whatever practitioner you choose to renew your medical marijuana certification, so long as they're licensed in the state and qualified to certify patients for cannabis use. All NuggMD practitioners are fully licensed in the state for which they provide evaluations and have obtained all state-required education and certifications to recommend cannabis.

With NuggMD, your Ohio renewal evaluation costs the same as your original evaluation, just $139. Your state registration fee is still just $0.01 for a renewal.

You need to renew your Ohio MMJ ID every year. You should start the renewal process 60 days before your card expires to avoid gaps in coverage.

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. You can also change your mind after your evaluation if you wish and request a refund, but you must do so before your certification has been submitted to the state. Once you’ve been certified, 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. 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. A refund is no longer available more than 30 days after the date of your evaluation. If any issues arise, please feel free to reach back out for further assistance.

No. While you won't be charged for your NuggMD evaluation if you don't receive a recommendation, the Ohio board will not issue any refunds for payments submitted to the state before the status determination.

Yes. Ohio doesn't prevent patients with a criminal record from using cannabis. However, if you're on parole or probation, you may be barred from using cannabis as a condition of your release.

Learn more about Ohio's cannabis laws and regulations.

Patients and caregivers can buy tinctures, oils, dry flower, edibles and patches. Medical cannabis cannot be smoked under state law, with the exception of vaping. The state Board of Pharmacy is permitted to approve additional consumption types as needed.

Ohio patients can buy medical marijuana at the medical cannabis dispensary of their choice. Recreational cannabis is legal in Ohio, but transferring cannabis is not.

The following forms of medical cannabis are authorized in Ohio: oils, tinctures, plant material, edibles, lotions, creams, and patches. The law prohibits the use of medical marijuana by smoking or combustion but does allow for vaporization (vaping), and you can purchase both flower or oil for vaping from most dispensaries. The law prohibits any form that is attractive to children.

Patients can buy up to 45 days worth of cannabis at a time.

Learn more about Ohio's cannabis laws and regulations.

Ohio registered medical marijuana patients can possess up to a 90 day supply of cannabis. They break this amount up into different categories to explain what is allowed. Flower is broken up into tier one and tier two, depending on potency.

A 90 day supply of -Tier 1 flower is 8 ounces

-Tier 2 flower is 5.3 ounces

-Oil is 53.1 grams

-Edibles and tinctures is 9.9 grams of THC

-Ointment and creams is 26.55 grams of THC

Absolutely not. Public consumption is banned in Ohio.

It's legal to transport your cannabis from point A to point B in Ohio so long as it's sealed and locked out of the driver's reach. Cannabis can't be usied in a car, even by the passengers. Doing so will result in a DUI.

Medical marijuana delivery isn't allowed in Ohio yet, but this will probably change now that recreational cannabis has been legalized.

You can now cultivate your own cannabis in Ohio. Adults 21 and older can grow up to six plants per person, with a maximum of 12 plants per household no matter how many adults live at the house.

Adults in Ohio can grow six plants each in an enclosed, locked area out of reach of children.

Ohio medical marijuana cards are valid for one year, and expire on the last day of the month that the card was issued; i.e., issued 5/13/2021, expires 5/31/2022.

The law does require Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy to make efforts to negotiate and reach reciprocity agreements with other states. To do so, the state must determine the other party’s laws are comparable to Ohio’s, as well as having the second state recognize the ID issued to the Ohio citizen.

That said, no states have been added to the list at this time.

The state does not have any agreements in place, so no out-of-state patients can legally obtain cannabis in Ohio at this time. Lawmakers are required to make efforts to reach such agreements, but nothing has come to fruition as of June 2020.

No. Ohio legal code states: "(C) Notwithstanding any conflicting provision of the Revised Code, the use or possession of medical marijuana in accordance with this chapter shall not be used as a reason for disqualifying a patient from medical care or from including a patient on a transplant waiting list."

Yes. Ohio doesn't have any protections in place for employees who use medical marijuana yet.

The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy can be contacted on their website or at 77 S High St, Columbus, OH 43215 or by phone at (614) 466-4143.

Your physician must authorize the use of a caregiver in Ohio and link the caregiver to you in the state’s database if you need one. Your doctor is the only person who can complete this step. A patient can link up to two caregivers to their account, and no caregiver can serve more than two patients. Once the physician enters the caregiver into the database, they will receive an email to complete the registration process. Caregivers must be approved by the State Board of Pharmacy, which can take up to seven business days. The caregiver application fee is $0.01.

To be a caregiver you must be 21 or older and a resident of Ohio.

An OH caregiver can have up to two patients.

Yes, minors can register with the program with the approval of their parent or legal guardian.