The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (36-2801.01) directs us to accept and review applications to add new debilitating medical conditions that qualify folks to hold patient registration cards.  We outlined the requirements and review procedures in the Rules we adopted (R9-17-106)- which say that we’ll accept applications every January and July.  We’re planning to accept applications during the last week of January (January 23-27th).

Here’s the process: Once we receive an application, we’ll notify the requester that the application was received, and we’ll begin our review.  In order for an application to be successful, the submitters will need to provide evidence as outlined in the R9-17-106 Rule, including: 1) evidence that the medical condition impairs the ability of the individual to accomplish activities of daily living; 2) evidence that marijuana provides a therapeutic or palliative benefit for the condition; and 3) whether conventional medical treatments provide a benefit for the medical condition.  Applicants need to include data from peer-reviewed scientific journals to support the application.

We plan on partnering with the U of A’s Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and Biomedical Campus teams to review the requests. They’ll be providing us with valuable support, including researching the applications and providing us with summary reports and recommendations using students, faculty and their extensive public health and medical expertise.

If the information provided by the applicant meets the requirements, we’ll schedule a public hearing to discuss the request and provide a date for the hearing.  If the information provided doesn’t meet the requirements, we’ll notify the requester with reasons and provide for a process for requesting judicial review.  You can see more information about the process in our Fact Sheet on submitting petitions.