NuggMD Patient FAQs — Washington

NuggMD connects prospective patients with state-licensed medical cannabis doctors for online evaluations from home, enabling fast and easy access to required medical assessments.

The process involves three steps: getting evaluated by a healthcare practitioner, obtaining a medical marijuana authorization form, and visiting a medically-endorsed dispensary to receive your card. Approved patients can renew via telehealth with NuggMD through compassionate care renewals.

No, Washington state does not recognize medical marijuana reciprocity for out-of-state cards.

A medical practitioner can authorize cannabis use for any patient despite age when medically appropriate.

Yes. Acceptable identification includes state driver's licenses, U.S. armed forces cards, passports, Merchant Marine cards, or federally recognized Indian tribe enrollment cards with comparable security features. Expired documents are not acceptable.

Valid for up to 1 year for adults; up to 6 months for qualifying minors, depending on doctor recommendations.

NuggMD evaluations are free if not approved. State card registration costs $1-$10 at dispensaries, plus $1 optional database registration.

State cards cost $1-$10. Medical evaluation expenses and cannabis product costs vary by healthcare provider and retailer.

No, because cannabis remains federally illegal, health insurance does not currently cover medical cannabis costs.

State card fees are among the most affordable nationally at $1-$10, though evaluation costs are separate.

Both adults and minors can qualify with authorization from a healthcare practitioner and a qualifying medical condition. Minors require an authorized parent or legal guardian.

Qualifying conditions include cancer, chronic renal failure requiring hemodialysis, Crohn's disease, diseases causing nausea/vomiting/wasting/appetite loss/cramping/seizures/muscle spasms/spasticity, epilepsy, glaucoma, hepatitis C with debilitating nausea or intractable pain, HIV, intractable pain, multiple sclerosis, other seizure disorders, spasticity disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injury. Mental health disorders are not recognized as qualifying conditions.

Since 2015, expanding the qualifying conditions list is not permitted and would require legislative change.

Non-registered patients can possess amounts equivalent to recreational users and cultivate up to four plants. Database-registered patients can purchase three times the recreational limit, receive sales tax exemptions, buy high-THC products, cultivate six plants (or up to fifteen with doctor approval), and are exempt from the 37% excise tax on Department of Health-approved products as of May 2024.

Medical marijuana certification arrives via mail within 7-10 days. Patients then take this to a dispensary to receive their card immediately for $1-$10.

The state doesn't process registrations. Authorized dispensaries print cards on-site after receiving physician certification.

Minors must recertify every six months; adults at least annually.

Yes, patients can see any doctor for renewal. Those approved for compassionate renewals can complete via telemedicine.

Renewal evaluations cost the same low rate as initial evaluations through NuggMD, with no charge if not approved. Dispensary card fees remain $1-$10.

You are ONLY charged for your evaluation if you are approved, ensuring cost isn't a barrier to access.

Charges only apply if approved. Cancellations before evaluation incur a $10 processing fee. Once certification ships, refunds aren't available. Certifications are valid one year and arrive within 5-10 business days. Free reshipment is available within 30 days; thereafter costs $20 per reshipment.

Washington imposes no product limitations. Patients can purchase flower, vapes, concentrates, edibles, topicals, and more. Database-registered patients can buy Department of Health-approved products exempt from the 37% excise tax.

Purchase from state-authorized medical cannabis dispensaries or join cannabis cultivation collectives where members share only with other collective members.

Non-registered adults and patients can possess: one ounce useable cannabis, sixteen ounces cannabis-infused oral products, seven grams extract/concentrate for inhalation, seventy-two ounces liquid cannabis product, ten cannabis-infused units for ingestion. They can cultivate four plants and keep six ounces at home. Database-registered patients can possess: three ounces useable cannabis, forty-eight ounces cannabis-infused oral products, twenty-one grams extract/concentrate for inhalation, two hundred sixteen ounces liquid product. They cultivate six plants (eight ounces at home) or up to fifteen plants with doctor approval (sixteen ounces at home).

Possession limits vary by registration status. See purchasing limits section above for specific amounts.

Only licensed retailers can legally provide cannabis. Collective members may share within their group exclusively.

No, public cannabis use is illegal.

No home delivery is permitted for medical or recreational cannabis.

Reciprocity varies by state. Check your destination state's specific rules.

Database-registered patients cultivate six plants (keeping eight ounces) or up to fifteen with doctor authorization (keeping sixteen ounces). Non-registered patients cultivate four plants and possess six ounces. Recreational cultivation is prohibited.

Doctors may recommend cannabis at any age if medically appropriate. Patients under eighteen must designate a provider and register in the state database.

Patients must independently find and agree with a designated provider willing to assist with medical marijuana needs.

Designated providers must be at least twenty-one years old, serve as parent or legal guardian, appear on the minor's authorization form on tamper-resistant paper, and register in the medical cannabis database.