The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) manages the state’s medical marijuana program and issues MMJ cards to patients, caregivers, and authorized purchasers registered in the program. While a patient can only have one designated caregiver and authorized purchaser, a caregiver can be designated by up to five patients. Patients diagnosed with approved qualifying medical conditions can join this program after obtaining practitioner certifications for medical cannabis use.
Rhode Island requires each patient applying for its medical marijuana card to provide a signed and completed Practitioner Written Certification Form. Patients seeking medical marijuana recommendations on the basis of autism diagnosis must submit the Practitioner Written Certification Form for Use With Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis. The RIDOH accepts written certifications from physicians licensed to practice in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. A physician must have a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship with the individual they certify and must review the patient’s medical history before recommending them. Patients may expect to pay for the physician consultations required to obtain their written certifications for medical cannabis use. The cost of such a consultation varies by medical practice and location and can be as low as $100 and as high as $400.
A patient, caregiver, or authorized purchaser medical marijuana card is free in Rhode Island. The RIDOH stopped charging individuals for applying to its medical marijuana program on December 1, 2022. Renewing a Rhode Island MMJ card also costs nothing. However, the state charges $10 to replace a lost or stolen card.