Did you know there is a Department of Health (DOH) Medical cannabis program in Washington state? If you didn’t, you are not alone. The Department of Health recently put out some new material designed to help people register as medical cannabis patients. We are providing this information below for anyone that wants to learn how to register as a DOH medical cannabis patient here in Washington.
Now, you may be asking “Where do I find medical cannabis products?” or “Are certain products considered medicinal or are they all the same?” These are great questions and we will try to answer them below.
You can find medical cannabis products at a number of medically endorsed cannabis stores across the state. Find all the Cannabis stores in the state that have a medical cannabis endorsement here. This allows a cannabis retailer to sell cannabis to qualifying patients and their designated providers. It also allows a retailer, at their discretion, to provide marijuana at reduced or no charge to qualifying patients and designated providers. As a registered patient, you are also exempt from the sales tax on any product you purchase and there are changes in the works that will hopefully remove the 37.5% excise tax!
You should know this does not apply to every product because every product is not considered “medical” by the Department of Health (DOH). Additional testing must be done for a product to be considered DOH medical cannabis. This test includes pesticide testing and heavy metal testing, neither of which are required or done on most recreational cannabis products. Most recreational cannabis products on the shelf are not tested for pesticides or heavy metals. Look for this symbol to ensure you are buying a DOH medical cannabis product —
That’s why you choose Skagit Organics products – we have been pesticide testing all of our concentrates since 2017 and we are now testing our of our THC, CBD, and CBG Original Oils for heavy metals as well through the DOH testing program. The addition of DOH medically compliant RSO is not one more reason to join the patient registry. The steps for signing up are below and you can visit skagitorganics.net/locations to find all the stores in Washington that carry Skagit Organics products.
The decision to use marijuana for medical purposes is best made between the patient and their health care professional.
Current regulations define a qualifying patient as someone who is a
Washington resident, who has been diagnosed
with a qualifying condition and has a medical marijuana authorization from their health care professional – RCW 69.51A.010.
The general process to becoming a medical marijuana patient in Washington is outlined below:
• Step 1: Schedule an appointment with your
health care professional.
• Step 2: Obtain a medical marijuana authorization from your health care professional.
• Step 3: Visit a medically endorsed store to
get a medical marijuana card (see store list
(PDF)).
• Step 4: Use the card to purchase products
sales tax-free.
• Step 5: Repeat steps 1 – 3 to renew both the
medical marijuana authorization and card
before expiration.
For additional information and resources, see the
program’s Frequently Asked Questions
webpage for common questions asked by other
patients.
