There are more than a dozen qualifying conditions that make Iowa residents eligible for a medical cannabis registration card. They include:

• Adult autism with aggression and self injury
• ALS/Lou Gehrig’s disease
• Any terminal illness with probable life expectancy of less than a year
• Cachexia
• Cancer with chronic pain and nausea
• Corticobasal degeneration
• Crohn’s disease
• HIV/AIDS
• Intellectual disability with aggression and self injury
• Multiple sclerosis with severe muscle spasms
• Parkinson’s disease
• PTSD
• Seizures
• Severe intractable autism with aggressive and self injury
• Ulcerative Colitis
• Untreatable pain

After your appointment, if approved, the doctor will provide a digital copy of your Healthcare Practitioner Certification Form, indicating your approval for medical marijuana. With this form, you can apply online through the state.

To complete the process, register with the state and fill out the Online Patient Registration Form. There is a $100 state fee, payable upon submission. If you receive government assistance or face financial hardships and can provide documentation, the fee is reduced to $25. Include a copy of your Healthcare Practitioner Certification Form with your application.

The state will process your application and approve it within 3-5 business days. Once approved, you can pick up your card from any DMV or courthouse.

Caregivers for adult or minor registered cannabis cardholders are encouraged to apply online for efficient evaluation and faster approval. To be eligible, the caregiver must be named on the Healthcare Practitioner Certification Form, signed by the patient’s primary doctor. Additionally, the caregiver must provide photo identification or a valid driver’s license from Iowa or the bordering states of Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, or South Dakota.

The caregiver registration fee is $25, payable to the Iowa Department of Public Health. Once approved, caregivers must visit any Iowa Department of Transportation facility to register their medicinal cannabis oil card.

To renew your Iowa medical marijuana card through FadeMD, you’ll need to schedule a renewal appointment with one of our physicians. They can confirm that you still need medical cannabis for your qualifying condition and help you with the renewal process. We will remind you when it’s almost time for your renewal appointment, or you can reach out to our Customer Service Department so we can assist you and apply a renewal discount for you.

A medical marijuana card in Iowa is valid for one year.

Raw leaf and edibles are not legal in Iowa; however, it is allowed in every other form, including oral, vaporizable, topical, nebulizers, and suppositories. Recently, Gov. Kim Reynolds revised the 3% THC cap to 4.5 grams of THC allowable every 90 days. If a patient needs more, their physician can recommend and request a greater quantity be allowed to provide adequate relief for the particular condition.

The Justice Department proposed a new rule to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, which would ease federal restrictions on cannabis if approved. This reclassification would not legalize or decriminalize marijuana nationwide but would place it on the same regulatory level as ketamine and anabolic steroids. Currently, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has "no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse." The proposed change would recognize marijuana as having "a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence."

The proposal initiates a months-long comment and administrative period before any changes take effect. This follows President Biden's 2022 request for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Justice Department to review marijuana's classification. HHS found credible scientific evidence supporting marijuana's medical use. The notice of proposed rulemaking reflects the attorney general's agreement with HHS's recommendation. President Biden hailed the move as "monumental," emphasizing marijuana policy as a priority of his administration, which has also worked to pardon those convicted of simple possession.