Under the laws of 29 states and Washington, D.C., patients seeking medical marijuana must get official recommendations from doctors. But a local lawmaker in the nation's capital is looking to change that.
Under the Medical Marijuana Improvement Amendment Act of 2017, patients would be allowed to self-certify as qualifying for medical cannabis.
STATE BY STATE: D.C. Cannabis News
That means they would no longer need to go through the time-consuming and sometimes costly process of meeting with a physician, filling out paperwork and waiting for the District of Columbia government to issue a medical cannabis identification card.
Instead, they could simply visit dispensaries and present a signed affidavit affirming that they use cannabis "explicitly for medical purposes," are over 21 years of age and are aware of local and federal marijuana laws.
