A Massachusetts Certifying Healthcare Provider can evaluate you and certify a qualifying condition. You can request a telehealth first visit, registration is free, and medical purchases are tax-free.
You need both an active certification and an active registration with the Cannabis Control Commission.
A Massachusetts physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant registered with the Commission evaluates you and documents a debilitating condition.
Sign up in the Commission's Online System with ID, proof of Massachusetts residency, and a photo.
Your Program ID card usually arrives about two weeks after approval. Renew at least once a year.
The Commission's November 2024 regulatory reforms added options that many patients still don't know about.
Patients may now request that their initial certification appointment be conducted by telehealth, so the whole process can start from home.
Initial Access lets new patients, or their caregivers, purchase medical cannabis while the registration card is pending. It's limited to one Initial Access certification per 365 days unless the Commission approves otherwise.
From the Commission's Diagnosing and Certifying Patients and Register as a New Patient pages. Ask your provider how these apply to you.
Massachusetts allows pediatric patients, with added safeguards. Here's what the Commission requires.
Two Massachusetts Certifying Healthcare Providers must certify the child, and one must be a board-certified pediatrician or pediatric subspecialist.
The providers must diagnose a debilitating life-limiting illness — or, if it isn't life-limiting, determine the benefits outweigh the risks and document why.
Providers discuss possible effects on neurological development with you, and you give written consent.
The parent or guardian is identified as the child's Personal Caregiver and handles purchases.
Summarized from the Commission's guidance for Certifying Healthcare Providers and Parent Caregivers page. For a pediatric certification, ask before booking whether a provider can serve as one of the two required.
Massachusetts law lists eight conditions by name.
For adult patients, a Certifying Healthcare Provider may certify another debilitating condition in writing when, in their professional judgment, the benefits likely outweigh the risks.
Open to registered medical patients, with a medical menu and medical delivery across much of Eastern Massachusetts. Bring your patient or caregiver card plus a government photo ID, and confirm hours before you go.
Thousands of acres of wooded trails, rocky outcrops, and reservoirs on Medford's northern edge — including easy loops for a gentle walk.
“I asked for a telehealth first visit and never had to leave the house. Initial Access meant I didn't have to wait for the mail.”
— Rachel N., West Medford“As a parent, I appreciated how clearly the safeguards were laid out before we started anything.”
— Tom G., MedfordA Massachusetts-licensed physician, certified nurse practitioner, or physician assistant registered with the Cannabis Control Commission.
Yes. Since the Commission's November 2024 reforms, patients may request that initial certification appointments be conducted by telehealth.
Not necessarily. Initial Access lets new patients or their caregivers buy while the card is pending, limited to once per 365 days.
Yes, with safeguards: two providers (one a board-certified pediatrician or pediatric subspecialist), a qualifying diagnosis, and your written consent. You'd serve as the caregiver.
No. Registration is free. A replacement card costs $10, which can be waived for verified financial hardship.
On the Cannabis Control Commission's Patients and Caregivers page.
Medford grew along the Mystic River as a shipbuilding town, and Lydia Maria Child's "Over the River and Through the Wood" recalls visits to her grandfather's house here. Today it's home to Tufts University's main campus, the Green Line's Medford/Tufts terminus, Medford Square, and a large share of the Middlesex Fells. Residents follow the same statewide medical process as everyone in Massachusetts.
The Medical Use of Marijuana Program operates under M.G.L. c. 94I and the Commission's 935 CMR 501 regulations. The Cannabis Control Commission oversees patient and caregiver registration and licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers.
Tax-free medical purchases, a larger allowance, telehealth first visits, and Initial Access keep registration valuable. See the Commission for current rules.
Appointments with Massachusetts Certifying Healthcare Providers.