WINDSOR HEIGHTS -- MedPharm Iowa is set to open its five medical marijuana dispensaries across Iowa on Saturday.
But according to WHO Channel 13, not everyone can apply for a medical marijuana license. The Iowa Department of Public Health said that a patient must have one of the nine qualifying conditions to be eligible for a medical marijuana registration card.
The conditions include:
- Cancer (if the illness or its treatment produces severe or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, cachexia or severe wasting)
- Seizures
- Crohn’s disease
- Untreatable pain
- Multiple Sclerosis with severe and persistent muscle spasms
- AIDS or HIV (as defined in Iowa Code, section 141A.1)
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Any terminal illness with a probable life expectancy of under one year (if the illness produces severe or chronic pain, nausea or severe vomiting, cachexia or severe wasting)
Once a doctor signs off that a patient has a qualifying condition, the patient can apply for a registration card through the Iowa Department of Public Health. When that application is approved, the patient can pick up a registration card at an Iowa driver’s license station before they can make a purchase at a dispensary. This process must be repeated every year.
Iowa’s first medical marijuana products will come as either a tincture, a cream, or in capsules.
MedPharm will be using four formulas for their products, each with a different ratio of CBD to THC. They say a ratio of 20-1 CBD to THC will be more effective at treating inflammation.
Where a ratio of 20-1 THC to CBD will be better for people in extreme pain. Every MedPharm product is limited to three percent THC or 20 milligrams of THC per pill.
There are five MedPharm Iowa medical marijuana dispensaries opening in Iowa Saturday, the closest to the metro is in Windsor Heights.
Other Iowa cities with locations include Davenport, Waterloo, Council Bluffs and Sioux City.