More than six months after it became legal, the Iowa Department of Public Health has an application available for people seeking a medical cannabidiol registration card.
Those granted the card would be allowed to possess and use, but not manufacture or sell, cannabidiol for treatment of intractable epilepsy in Iowa.
Iowa’s medical marijuana law took effect July 1, 2014, allowing patients with certain medical conditions – including kids with epilepsy – to use cannabis oil to relieve their symptoms. Parents have complained that they still had to wait for months before the treatment was actually available to their children, and that the law allowed the use – but not the production – of the cannabis oil. That meant risking breaking the law in other states to get the oil into Iowa.
The application form became available on the Iowa DPH website in late January 2015, as part of the process to obtain cannabidiol registration cards in Iowa.
“Cannabidiol registration cards provide documentation that patients and primary caregivers have met the requirements of the Medical Cannabidiol Act and are authorized to legally possess medically-necessary cannabidiol,” said information posted January 26 on the IDPH website.
Applications must include a written recommendation from a neurologist and the identity of the patient and caregiver(s). If approved, applicants then must take additional steps to get their registration card through the Iowa Driver’s License system.
Click to read more: Iowa Cannabidiol regulations