While many countries are well on their way to legalizing marijuana (following in the wake of Canada and Uruguay), it is unclear whether or not the U.S. has even contemplated the move. On a federal level, rule-makers seem adamant about leaving the plant classed as a Schedule 1 drug. When it comes to individual states, however, it is an entirely different story.

The difference between state and federal marijuana law is causing so much confusion that most people literally cannot keep up with which states have legalized marijuana, which are legal recreationally, and which are in the process of implementing a medical marijuana program.

The difference between state and federal law is causing so much confusion that most people don’t fully understand what ‘legalized marijuana’ even means…

For example, while states such as Alabama and Mississippi seem as if they are decades away from legalizing any form of marijuana, others (like Oklahoma) are trying to fast-track MMJ programs in an effort to bring in more tax revenue.

The situation is far from cut-&-dry, however, and as every state enforces its own laws, it is often too confusing to know the exact laws and which medical conditions qualify in which states. Last month alone, for example, there were approximately 10,000 searches on Google for the words “medical marijuana states, ” and one of the top questions asked was, “What states have medical marijuana?”

In this article, we make an effort to clear up all the confusion once and for all. Here are the state-by-state qualifying conditions for all 33 states where medical marijuana is legal.

Medical Marijuana Legal States and their Qualifying Conditions

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Multiple sclerosis

*Treatment for any of the above conditions, as well as any “chronic or debilitating disease or treatment of such diseases which produces, for a specific patient, one or more of the following”:

Cachexia (wasting syndrome)

Chronic or severe pain

Severe nausea

Epilepsy/seizures

Persistent muscle spasms (relating to MS)

Cancer

Glaucoma

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Hepatitis C

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Crohn’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease

*A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition that causes any one of the following:

Cachexia (wasting syndrome)

Severe and chronic pain

Severe nausea

Seizures/epilepsy

Severe or persistent muscle spasms (including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis)

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Hepatitis C

ALS

Tourette’s syndrome

Crohn’s disease

Ulcerative colitis

PTSD

Severe arthritis

Fibromyalgia

Alzheimer’s disease

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Peripheral neuropathy

Intractable pain (pain that has not responded to ordinary medications, treatment or surgical measures for more than six months)

Severe nausea

Epilepsy/seizures

Persistent muscle spasms (including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis)

*Any other medical condition or its treatment which is approved by the Department of Health.

*No specific qualifying conditions – the use of medical marijuana and issuance of an MMJ card in California is up to the discretion of the physician.

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Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV or AIDS

Cachexia

Persistent muscle spasms

Seizures

Severe nausea

Severe pain

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Parkinson’s Disease

Multiple sclerosis

Spinal cord damage/intractable spasticity

Epilepsy/incontrollable seizures

Cachexia/wasting syndrome

Crohn’s disease

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Sickle cell disease

Post laminectomy syndrome w/ chronic radiculopathy

Severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis

ALS

Ulcerative colitis

Complex regional pain syndrome

Cerebral palsy

Cystic fibrosis

Terminal illness requiring end-of-life care

Spasticity or neuropathic pain associated with fibromyalgia

Severe rheumatoid arthritis

Postherpetic neuralgia

Hydrocephalus with intractable headache

Intractable headache syndromes

Neuropathic facial pain

Muscular dystrophy

Osteogenesis imperfecta

Terminal illness

Cancer

HIV/AIDS

Decompensated cirrhosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS/Lou Gehrig’s Disease)

Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Intractable epilepsy

Autism (w/ self-injurious or aggressive behavior)

Glaucoma

Chronic debilitating migraines

*A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following:

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Severe, debilitating pain that has not responded to previously prescribed medication or surgical measures for more than three months, or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects.

Intractable nausea

Seizures

Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including but not limited to those characteristic of multiple sclerosis

Cancer

Epilepsy

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Crohn’s disease

Parkinson’s disease

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

Medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those above

A terminal condition diagnosed by a physician other than the qualified physician issuing the physician certification

Chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualifying medical condition and persists beyond the usual course of that qualifying medical condition

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Cancer

Glaucoma

Lupus

Epilepsy

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

Rheumatoid arthritis

HIV/AIDS

PTSD

*The treatment of these conditions or a chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following:

Cachexia (wasting syndrome)

Severe pain

Severe nausea

Seizures/epilepsy

Severe and persistent muscle spasms (including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease)

Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease

HIV/AIDS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Arnold-Chiari malformation

Cancer

Causalgia

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

Crohn’s disease

CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome Type II)

Dystonia

Fibrous dysplasia

Glaucoma

Hepatitis C

Hydrocephalus

Hydromyelia

Interstitial cystitis

Lupus

Multiple sclerosis

Muscular dystrophy

Myasthenia gravis

Myoclonus

Nail-patella syndrome

Neurofibromatosis

Parkinson’s disease

Post-concussion syndrome

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy

Residual limb pain

Rheumatoid arthritis

Seizures (including those characteristic of epilepsy)

Severe fibromyalgia

Sjogren’s syndrome

Spinal cord disease (including but not limited to arachnoiditis)

Spinal cord injury i.e. damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity

Spinocerebellar ataxia

Syringomyelia

Tarlov cysts

Tourette syndrome

Traumatic brain injury

Cachexia/wasting syndrome

Cancer

HIV/AIDS

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Seizure disorders/epilepsy

Spasticity

Crohn’s disease

Muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis

Glaucoma

Parkinson’s disease

Severe muscle spasms

Intractable pain

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

*Any of these four conditions associated with autism spectrum disorder:

Repetitive or self-stimulatory behavior of such severity that the physical health of the person with autism is jeopardized

Avoidance of others or inability to communicate of such severity that the physical health of the person with autism is jeopardized

Self-injuring behavior

Physically aggressive or destructive behavior

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Hepatitis C

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Alzheimer’s disease

Nail-patella syndrome or the treatment of these conditions;

A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces intractable pain, which is pain that has not responded to ordinary medical or surgical measures for more than six months

*A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following:

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Severe nausea

Seizures (including but not limited to those characteristic of epilepsy)

*Any other medical condition or its treatment as approved by the DHHS, or:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Inflammatory bowel disease

Dyskinetic and spastic movement disorders

Other diseases causing severe and persistent muscle spasms

Cachexia/wasting syndrome

Anorexia

Severe pain

Severe nausea

Seizures

Severe or persistent muscle spasms

Glaucoma

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Chronic pain

14. Massachusetts

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Cancer

Crohn’s disease

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Hepatitis C

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

Parkinson’s disease

Other conditions as approved by a qualifying patient’s physician

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Hepatitis C

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Crohn’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease

Arthritis

Autism

Chronic pain

Colitis/ulcerative colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Parkinson’s disease

Rheumatoid arthritis

Spinal cord injury

Tourette syndrome

Nail patella, or the treatment of the following conditions:

A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that results in wasting syndrome; severe and chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, and severe and persistent muscle spasms.

Cancer (associated with severe/chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, or cachexia or severe wasting syndrome)

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Tourette Syndrome

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Seizures/epilepsy

Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis

Inflammatory bowel disease

Crohn’s disease

Terminal illness (with a probable life expectancy of less than one year)

Intractable pain

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Autism

Obstructive sleep apnea

*If your illness or its treatment produces one or more of the following, you must suffer from cancer or a terminal illness with a probable life expectancy of under one year in order to qualify for the program:

Severe or chronic pain

Nausea or severe vomiting

Cachexia or severe wasting

Cancer

Epilepsy

Glaucoma

Intractable migraines

Chronic pain or persistent muscle spasms (including those associated with multiple sclerosis, seizures, Parkinson’s disease, and Tourette syndrome)

Debilitating psychiatric disorders (including but not limited to PTSD)

HIV/AIDS

A medical condition typically treated with prescription drugs could lead to physical or psychological dependence

Any terminal illness

*Any other chronic debilitating medical condition, including but not limited to:

Hepatitis C

ALS

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Crohn’s disease

Huntington’s disease

Autism

Neuropathy

Sickle cell anemia

Alzheimer’s disease

Cachexia

Wasting syndrome

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Severe chronic pain

Intractable nausea or vomiting

Epilepsy or an intractable seizure disorder

Multiple sclerosis

Crohn’s disease

Painful peripheral neuropathy

A central nervous system disorder resulting in chronic, painful spasticity or muscle spasms

Admittance into hospice care

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)

Cancer

Glaucoma

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Cachexia (general physical wasting and malnutrition from chronic disease)

Persistent muscle spasms (including multiple sclerosis)

Seizures (including epilepsy)

Severe nausea

Severe pain

Additional conditions as subject to approval by the Nevada DPBH (Division of Public and Behavioral Health)

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Hepatitis C

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Muscular dystrophy

Crohn’s disease

Multiple sclerosis

Chronic pancreatitis

Spinal cord injury or disease

Traumatic brain injury (TMI)

Epilepsy

Lupus

Parkinson’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease

Ulcerative colitis

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

*One or more injuries or conditions that have resulted in one of the following qualifying symptoms, or a severely debilitating or terminal medical condition or its treatment that has produced at least one of the following:

Elevated intraocular pressure (glaucoma)

Cachexia/wasting syndrome

Chemotherapy-induced anorexia

Severe pain that has not responded to previously prescribed medication or surgical measures, or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects

Constant or severe nausea

Moderate to severe vomiting

Seizures

Severe or persistent muscle spasms

“Qualifying medical condition” can also mean:

Moderate to severe chronic pain

Severe pain that has not responded to previously prescribed medication or surgical measures or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects

Moderate or severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease)

Multiple sclerosis

Terminal cancer

Muscular dystrophy

Inflammatory bowel disease

Crohn’s disease

Any terminal illness with a prognosis of less than 12 months

Seizure disorders (including epilepsy)

Intractable skeletal muscular spasticity

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Glaucoma (if traditional medicine has failed)

Severe or chronic pain

Severe nausea or vomiting

Wasting syndrome caused by HIV/AIDS and cancer

Anxiety

Migraines

Tourette syndrome

Chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders (including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia, and opioid use disorder)

Chronic pain of “visceral origin” (including pancreatitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and bowel dysfunction)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Cancer

Crohn’s disease

Epilepsy/seizure disorders

Glaucoma

HCV infection and receiving antiviral treatment currently

HIV/AIDS

Huntington’s disease

Hospice care

Inclusion body myositis

Inflammatory autoimmune-mediated arthritis

Intractable nausea/vomiting

Multiple sclerosis

Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord

Painful peripheral neuropathy

Parkinson’s disease

Post‐traumatic stress disorder

Severe chronic pain

Severe anorexia

Cachexia

Spasmodic torticollis (cervical dystonia)

Ulcerative colitis

Obstructive sleep apnea

Cancer

HIV infection or AIDS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Parkinson’s disease

Multiple sclerosis

Spinal cord injury with spasticity

Epilepsy

Inflammatory bowel disease

Neuropathy

Huntington’s disease

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Chronic pain

*Any condition for which an opioid could be prescribed, or for which a severe debilitating or life-threatening condition is accompanied by one or more of the following conditions or complications:

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Severe or chronic pain

Severe nausea

Seizures

Severe or persistent muscle spasms

PTSD or opioid use disorder (only if enrolled in a treatment program certified pursuant to Article 32 of the Mental Hygiene Law)

Cancer

HIV/AIDS

Decompensated cirrhosis due to hepatitis C

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Agitation of Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia

Crohn’s disease

Fibromyalgia

Spinal stenosis/chronic back pain (including neuropathy or damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity)

Glaucoma

Epilepsy

Anorexia nervosa

Bulimia nervosa

Anxiety disorder

Tourette syndrome

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome

Endometriosis

Interstitial cystitis

Neuropathy

Migraine

Rheumatoid arthritis

Autism spectrum disorder

Brain injury

Terminal illness

*Chronic or debilitating diseases or medical conditions or the treatment for such diseases or medical conditions that produce one or more of the following:

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Severe debilitating pain that has not responded to previously prescribed medication or surgical measures for more than three months or for which other treatment options produced serious side effects

Intractable nausea

Seizures

Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis

Alzheimer’s disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/Lou Gehrig’s disease

Cancer

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy

Crohn’s disease

Epilepsy

Fibromyalgia

Glaucoma

Hepatitis C

HIV/AIDS

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)

Chronic pain or severe/intractable pain

Multiple sclerosis

Parkinson’s disease

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Sickle cell anemia

Spinal cord disease or injury

Tourette Syndrome

Traumatic brain injury

Ulcerative colitis

Application and recommendation must be submitted by a licensed Oklahoma physician. There are currently no specific qualifying conditions (recommendations are left up to the discretion of the physician).

Cancer

Glaucoma

A degenerative or pervasive neurological condition

HIV/AIDS

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

[You can access the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Patient Application].

*A medical condition or treatment for a medical condition that produces one or more of the following:

Cachexia (a weight-loss disease that can be caused by HIV or cancer)

Severe pain

Severe nausea

Seizures, including but not limited to seizures caused by epilepsy

Persistent muscle spasm, including but not limited to spasms caused by multiple sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Autism

Cancer, including remission therapy

Crohn’s disease

Damage to the nervous tissue of the central nervous system (brain-spinal cord) with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity, and other associated neuropathies

Dyskinetic and spastic movement disorders

Epilepsy

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS.

Huntington’s disease

Inflammatory bowel disease

Intractable seizures

Multiple sclerosis

Neurodegenerative diseases

Neuropathies

Opioid use disorder for which conventional therapeutic interventions are contraindicated or ineffective, or for which adjunctive therapy is indicated in combination with primary therapeutic interventions

Parkinson’s disease

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin or severe chronic or intractable pain

Sickle cell anemia

Terminal illness

Cancer

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Hepatitis C

*A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following:

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Severe, debilitating, chronic pain

Severe nausea

Seizures, including but not limited to those characteristic of epilepsy

Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including but not limited to those characteristic of multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease

Agitation related to Alzheimer’s Disease

HIV/AIDS

Alzheimer’s disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Cancer

Cachexia

Persistent nausea that is not significantly responsive to conventional treatment except for nausea associated with pregnancy, cannabis-induced cyclical vomiting syndrome, or CBD hyperemesis syndrome

Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis

Epilepsy or debilitating seizures

Multiple sclerosis or debilitating muscle spasms

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is being treated and monitored by a mental health therapist and has been properly diagnosed and documented

Autism

Terminal illness when the remaining life expectancy is less than six months

A condition resulting in the individual receiving hospice care

A rare condition or disease (affecting less than 200,000 individuals in the U.S., as defined by federal law) which is inadequately managed using conventional treatments (other than opioids or opiates) or physical interventions

Pain lasting longer than two weeks that is inadequately managed, in the qualified medical provider’s opinion, despite treatment with conventional medications (other than opioids or opiates) or physical intervention

*If the patient does not have a specifically named qualifying condition, they may petition the Compassionate Use Board for medical cannabis approval

Cancer

Multiple sclerosis

HIV

AIDS

Glaucoma

Crohn’s disease

Parkinson’s disease

*Or the treatment of ANY ONE OF THE ABOVE conditions, or if the disease or the treatment results in severe, persistent, and intractable symptoms of:

PTSD (provided the applicant is undergoing psychotherapy or counseling with a licensed mental health care provider)

Cachexia or wasting syndrome

Chronic pain

Severe nausea

Seizures

32. Washington

Cancer

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Multiple sclerosis

Epilepsy or other seizure disorder

Spasticity disorders

Intractable pain (limited for the purpose of this chapter to mean pain unrelieved by standard medical treatments and medications)

Glaucoma

Crohn’s disease

Hepatitis C

*Other diseases which result in:

Anorexia

Nausea

Vomiting

Wasting

Appetite loss

Cramping

Seizures

Muscle spasms/spasticity

Chronic renal failure requiring hemodialysis

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

33. West Virginia

Cancer

HIV/AIDS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Parkinson’s disease

Multiple sclerosis

Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity

Epilepsy

Neuropathies

Huntington’s disease

Crohn’s disease

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Intractable seizures

Sickle cell anemia

Severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin or severe chronic or intractable pain for which conventional treatment and opiate therapy is contraindicated or has proved ineffective

Terminal illness with a life expectancy of approximately one year or less if the illness runs its normal course

Click here to access the official West Virginia MMJ application.

34. Washington D.C.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)

Glaucoma

Conditions characterized by severe and persistent muscle spasms, such as multiple sclerosis

Cancer

*Medical treatments that qualify for the use of medical marijuana:

Chemotherapy

Use of azidothymidine or protease inhibitors

Radiotherapy

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Cancer

HIV/AIDS

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

Alzheimer’s disease

Epilepsy

Parkinson’s disease

Spinal cord injuries

Crohn’s disease

Fibromyalgia

Anxiety disorders

Hepatitis C

Arthritis

Anorexia

Legal Marijuana States (Recreational)

As of early 2020, there are currently 11 recreational states in the U.S. These include:

Alaska

California

Colorado

Illinois

Maine

Massachusetts

Michigan

Nevada

Oregon

Vermont

Washington

There are also some states which have specific rules on the use of CBD oil and other CBD (hemp) products. For more information on these states, please visit this article.

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