Patients FAQ
In 2017, Governor Branstad signed legislation that enacted new Iowa Code chapter 124E, the Medical Cannabidiol Act, which legalized the medical cannabis preparations in order for products to be made available for Iowa residents age 18 or older who suffer from certain debilitating medical conditions.
The law allows patients to possess and use (but not to manufacture or sell) medical cannabidiol. The law also allows designated primary caregivers to possess cannabidiol on behalf of certain patients. Patients and primary caregivers are required to have medical cannabidiol registration cards. Certification from the patient’s primary healthcare practitioner regarding the patient’s qualifying debilitating medical condition and designation of primary caregivers, if any, are required for the medical cannabidiol registration card application process.
The 2017 Medical Cannabidiol Act directs the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Transportation, to administer a process to approve and generate medical cannabidiol registration cards for patients and their primary caregivers. Medical cannabidiol registration cards provide documentation that patients and primary caregivers have met the requirements of the 2017 Medical Cannabidiol Act and are authorized to legally possess medical cannabis preparations.
For more information about the Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Act, visit https://idph.iowa.gov/mcarcp.
No. In 2017, Governor Branstad signed legislation that enacted new Iowa Code chapter 124E, the Medical Cannabidiol Act, which legalized the use of medical cannabidiol for Iowa residents age 18 or older who suffer from certain debilitating medical conditions. Whole plant medical cannabis is not the same as single cannabinoids. The current program includes two single cannabinoids: L Cannabidiol (CBD) and Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol. These single molecules are formulated into extracts, concentrates and topical uses. These extracts can not be smoked.
In Iowa, you can obtain and administer medicinal cannabis preparations for treatment of certain health conditions by:
1. Becoming a patient with a medical cannabidiol registration card.
This includes downloading the patient application for a medical cannabidiol registration card from the Iowa Department of Public Health website and taking it to your physician for certification that you suffer from at least one of the qualifying medical conditions for medicinal cannabidiol treatment.
You must then hand deliver or mail the completed application, all required documentation and the $100 annual fee* to the Iowa Department of Public Health:
Iowa Department of Public Health
ATTN: OMC
321 E. 12th St.
Des Moines, IA 50319-0075
Approved patients will receive mailed instructions for obtaining a registration card from the Iowa Department of Public Transportation. A medical cannabidiol registration card is valid for 12 months from the date of issuance and may be renewed annually.
* If the patient can attest to receiving social security disability benefits, supplemental security insurance payments, or being enrolled in a medical assistance program, the fee is $25. The fee must be submitted by cash or check.
The 2017 Medical Cannabidiol Act specifies that medical cannabidiol registration cards issued to patients prior to May 5, 2017, remain valid until the expiration date listed on the card. Renewal of an existing card can be done through the application for a medical cannabidiol registration card linked on this website.
2. Obtaining a medical cannabidiol registration card as a parent, legal guardian or legal caregiver.
If you are a parent, legal guardian or anyone age 18 or older who is a resident of Iowa or a bordering state and has been legally approved as a necessary caretaker for an Iowa patient, you can download the primary caregiver application for a medical cannabidiol registration card from the Iowa Department of Public Health website. Then take it to the patient’s physician for certification that the patient suffers from at least one of the qualifying medical conditions for medicinal cannabidiol treatment.
You must then hand deliver or mail the completed application, all required documentation and the $25 annual fee (cash or check) to the Iowa Department of Public Health:
Iowa Department of Public Health
ATTN: OMC
321 E. 12th St.
Des Moines, IA 50319-0075
Approved caregivers will receive mailed instructions for obtaining a registration card from the Iowa Department of Public Transportation. A medical cannabidiol registration card is valid for 12 months from the date of issuance and may be renewed annually.
The 2017 Medical Cannabidiol Act specifies that medical cannabidiol registration cards issued to patients prior to May 5, 2017, remain valid until the expiration date listed on the card. Renewal of an existing card can be done through the application for a medical cannabidiol registration card linked on this website.
For more information about the Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Act, visit https://idph.iowa.gov/mcarcp.
To register for a medical cannabidiol registration card, follow the steps for becoming a patient or becoming a caregiver found on this site or see the answer to the question above.
If you qualify for an approved condition, your healthcare practitioner will need to provide certification to the Iowa Department of Public Health that you suffer from a debilitating health condition that qualifies you to apply for a medical cannabidiol registration card.
Doctors are not allowed to prescribe medical cannabis. As a patient’s primary healthcare practitioner, a doctor can only certify that a patient suffers from a particular debilitating health condition approved for medical cannabis in the state of Iowa. A health care practitioner, defined as an individual licensed under chapter 148 to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery, may provide, but has no duty to provide, a certification for a medical cannabidiol registration card.
You can’t receive approval for a medical cannabidiol registration card without certification of your medical condition from your primary healthcare practitioner.
Follow the steps for becoming a caregiver found on this site.
You are eligible to apply for a medical cannabidiol registration card if you:
- Are age 18 or older
- Are a permanent resident of Iowa
- Suffer from a qualifying debilitating medical condition which is certified by your primary healthcare practitioner
Applicants must be age 18 or older or within the qualifications of an approved caregiver.
You must provide a clear copy of valid photo identification and documentation that shows your permanent Iowa address, including one of the following:
- Valid Iowa driver’s license
- Valid Iowa non-operator’s identification card
- Valid Iowa voter registration card
- Current Iowa vehicle registration certificate
- Utility bill
- Statement from a financial institution
- Residential lease agreement
- Check or pay stub from an employer
- Child’s school or child care enrollment document
- Valid documentation establishing a filing of homestead or military tax exemption on property located in Iowa
- Other valid documentation as deemed acceptable by the Iowa Department of Public Health to establish residency
- Valid state-issued driver’s license or non-operator’s identification card issued by a state other than Iowa (for primary caregiver applicants who do not reside in Iowa)
If you are eligible for a reduced application fee ($25), you must provide a clear copy of documentation showing that you receive social security disability benefits or supplemental security income payments or are a member of Iowa Medicaid.
You must submit a $100 annual fee for a patient registration card or a $25 annual fee for a primary caregiver registration card. If a patient can attest to receiving social security disability benefits, supplemental security insurance payments, or being enrolled in a medical assistance program, the fee is $25. Each renewal fee is the same as the initial card application fee. The fee must be submitted by cash or check.
A medical cannabidiol registration card is valid for 12 months from the date of issuance and may be renewed annually. Cardholders must submit a renewal application and fee to the Iowa Department of Public Health at least 60 days prior to the date of expiration. A cardholder who fails to renew the medical cannabidiol registration card may not legally possess medical cannabidiol.
Health insurers are not required to cover the cost of medical cannabidiol.
Yes. You must have your valid registration card ready at the door when you check in.
Yes. You must have current government-issued identification ready at the door when you check in, along with your medical cannabidiol registration card.
Only people with valid Iowa medical cannabidiol registration cards may pick up medical cannabidiol from an Iowa dispensary. Cardholders who are not under the care of a primary caregiver must pick up their own medical cannabidiol. The only people qualified to pick up medical cannabidiol for someone else’s treatment are those who’ve obtained a primary caregiver registration card.
No. A medical cannabidiol registration card only authorizes the person associated with the card to obtain medical cannabidiol from a dispensary.
No. It is illegal for patients and/or caregivers to cultivate their own cannabis plants. Only MedPharm Iowa is licensed in the state of Iowa to grow cannabis for the purpose of producing medical cannabidiol.
No. Iowa patients may only obtain legal medical cannabidiol from Iowa-licensed dispensaries and may not possess or use any cannabidiol produced out of state.
No. Only Iowa patients with valid medical cannabidiol registration cards may obtain medical cannabidiol from Iowa dispensaries.
As of Dec. 1, 2018, medicinal cannabidiol will be available at five dispensaries located across the state of Iowa. MedPharm Iowa welcomes you to visit our dispensaries in Windsor Heights and Sioux City.
Although both hemp oil and CBD oil can be derived from the hemp plant, CBD oil comes from the flowers, leave and stalks, while hemp oil comes from the seeds. Hemp oil does not have the medicinal benefits of CBD oil. CBD oil can also be derived from cannabis, while hemp oil can only be derived from the industrial hemp plant.
It’s a new drug manufactured with CBD from cannabis plants. It does not contain THC. The drug is used to reduce seizures in patients with two rare and severe forms of epilepsy, Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Epidiolex is delivered as oral tincture.
No – The FDA approval only means that this particular drug may now be prescribed by doctors for specific, serious epileptic conditions. It remains to be seen whether doctors will prescribe this for other conditions, known as “off-label” prescribing. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) must now schedule Epidiolex under the Controlled Substances Act; it is expected that the DEA will schedule only Epidiolex, not CBD more generally.
Even with this new approval, Iowa’s program will continue to deliver a wide range of products, including tinctures. MedPharm Iowa’s products will contain both CBD and THC, which research shows can treat a wide range of serious medical conditions.
No, Epidiolex only contains CBD. For those patients needing both CBD and THC, such as patients treating pain, Epidiolex may not deliver relief. MedPharm Iowa’s medical cannabis products will contain both CBD and THC, along with certain other cannabinoids, which research shows can treat a wide range of serious medical conditions.