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Medical Marijuana Registry providers

Health care provider qualifications

Recommend medical marijuana for all medical conditions

To recommend medical marijuana for all debilitating and disabling conditions in Colorado you must:

  • Be an M.D. or D.O.
  • Be in good standing and licensed to practice medicine in Colorado.
  • Have a valid, unrestricted DEA certification.
  • Have an online account to submit certifications.

Recommend medical marijuana for only disabling medical conditions

To recommend medical for only disabling medical conditions in Colorado you must:

  • Be one of the following types of advanced practice practitioners with prescriptive authority:
    • Dentist.
    • Physician assistant.
    • Advanced nurse practitioner.
    • Podiatrist.
    • Optometrist.
  • Be in good standing and licensed to practice in Colorado.
  • Have a valid, unrestricted DEA certification.
  • Have an online account to submit certifications.

 Register as a health care provider

Before you begin gather PDF or JPG copies of required documents

  • Copy of your valid and signed Colorado license to practice medicine
  • Copy of your valid Colorado Driver’s license. We do not accept Colorado digital IDs from the MyColorado app.
  • Copy of your valid DEA certificate
  • If you have a provisional license a copy of your mentorship agreement.
  • If you have APN  license, signed copies of your RN, APN, and RXN licenses
  • If you have C-APN license, a signed copies of your C-RXN, C-APN, and registered nurse license issued by your home state.

Make an account and register

  1. Create an account and register. Select “health care provider” as your registration type. 
     
  2. Enter your information and upload copies of your valid Colorado ID or driver’s license, Colorado physician license, and DEA certificate.

    As part of the identity and credential verification process, you will be asked a series of questions. Only you will know the answers to these questions, which protects your identity, account, and certifications.
     
  3.  Receive registration approval. Once your information has been verified, you will receive an email with directions to log into your account. 

Recommending medical marijuana

Effective Jan. 1, 2022 providers will need to include more information on provider certifications. 

Add this new information to a provider certification

Under the "Etiology and additional information" section select "Additional Information" to open a textbox. Then type in:

  • Patient address
  • The maximum THC potency level 
  • Directions for use
  • The recommended product, if any
  • The patient's daily authorized quantity, if such quantity exceeds the maximum statutorily allowed amount for the patient's age
  • Other etiology, if any

After you enter this information, complete the rest of the certification and give a copy of it to the patient.

Tip: To save time, use the instructions above as a template. Copy and paste the list of newly required information into the text box, then enter the rest of the information. 

HB 21-1317 requires providers to include additional information on medical marijuana recommendations. Marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and recommendations for medical marijuana made in accordance with Colorado law are not prescriptions. 

Article XVIII, Section 14 of the Colorado Constitution and section 25-1.5-106 of the Colorado Revised Statutes authorize qualified physicians and advanced practice practitioners with prescriptive authority to recommend medical marijuana if they determine that the patient suffers from a debilitating or disabling medical condition and might benefit from such use. The recommendation is submitted to the Medical Marijuana Registry with the rest of the patient's application. If all other application information is complete and correct, the patient will be issued a registry identification  card. The physician’s recommendation for medical marijuana cannot be “filled” as a prescription at a pharmacy.

Please review this information for more details about the differences between prescriptions and medical marijuana recommendations.

Form required by the Marijuana Enforcement Division

Starting Jan. 1, 2022 if a patient's provider authorizes them to purchase more than the statutory daily sales limit, they will need a Uniform Certification Form from the Marijuana Enforcement Division that has been completed by their recommending provider. The patient does not need to include this form with their application for a medical marijuana registry identification card as it is separate from the provider certification that is submitted to the Registry.


For more information about the form visit the Marijuana Enforcement Division's website.

Exam setting

Pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes, Colorado Board of Health 5 CCR-1006-2 and Colorado Medical Board Policy 40-28, recommendations for medical marijuana must be made during an in-person encounter in a clinical setting. Recommendations for medical marijuana via telemedicine are prohibited

Debilitating medical conditions

  • Only physicians with an MD or a DO are able to recommend medical marijuana for debilitating conditions.
  • A medical marijuana registry identification card issued for a debilitating medical condition will be valid for one year.

Debilitating conditions include:

  • Cancer
  • Glaucoma
  • HIV or AIDS
  • Cachexia
  • Persistent muscle spasms
  • Seizures
  • Severe nausea
  • Severe pain

Disabling medical conditions

  • MDs, DO, dentists, and advanced practice practitioners with prescriptive authority are able to recommend medical marijuana to treat a disabling medical condition.
  • The recommending provider will decide how long the medical marijuana registry card will be valid based on the patient’s medical needs.

Disabling medical conditions include:

  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • An Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Any condition for which a physician could prescribe an opioid

Recommending for minors

  • All minor applicants must submit two certifications from two different providers.
  • Minor patients diagnosed with a disabling medical condition, which includes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorders, and any condition for which a physician could prescribe an opioid,no longer need to provide a certification from a physician who is a board-certified pediatrician, child and adolescent psychiatrist, or family physician who attests to being part of the patient’s primary care team.
  • If you are a provider recommending medical marijuana for a minor patient who is diagnosed with a disabling medical condition and you are not the patient’s primary care provider, you must review the records of a diagnosing physician or a licensed mental health provider acting within his or her scope of practice.For more information please refer to C.R.S. 25-1.5-106 and House Bill 19-1028.​

Applicants aged 18-20

  • Applicants in this age group that did not have a registry card before age 18 and applied for the first time on or after Jan. 1, 2022 will need provider certifications from two different providers at different medical practices each year when they apply. If the applicant in this age group is homebound, the providers do not need to be from different medical practices.