Washington Medical Marijuana Card Cost

How Much Does the Washington Medical Marijuana Card Cost?

The first step to getting a patient medical cannabis card in the State of Washington is scheduling an appointment with a healthcare practitioner. This medical provider will provide the patient with a completed and signed Medical Cannabis Authorization Form. While the Department of Health oversees Washington’s medical cannabis program, it authorizes medically-endorsed stores, or medical cannabis dispensaries, to issue MMJ cards to patients and designated providers (caregivers).

Cost of Physician Consultation

Washington allows the following medical practitioners to authorize the use of medical cannabis to patients:

• Medical doctor (MD)
• Physician assistant (PA)
• Osteopathic physician (DO)
• Osteopathic physician assistant (OPA)
• Naturopathic physician (ND)
• Advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP)

After confirming that a patient has one of the qualifying conditions for medical cannabis in Washington, the provider may issue an authorization form they can present to a certified medical cannabis consultant at a medically-endorsed store. This authorization must be provided annually when the patient renews their medical cannabis card.

Patient assessment for medical cannabis authorization is conducted in person. However, the medical provider may approve a patient for compassionate care renewal on their authorization form if in-person consultation would be difficult for the patient. A compassionate care renewal allows the medical provider to conduct follow-up assessments via telehealth services.

The cost of a consultation leading to obtaining this authorization form varies from practice to practice. On average, patients may expect to pay $100 - $400 for this consultation. All or part of this cost may be covered by a patient’s healthcare insurance but it is likely they will pay out of pocket for the visit.

Washington Medical Marijuana Card Fee

Medical cannabis patients and caregivers in Washington pay medically-endorsed stores to produce recognition cards. Stores must charge a minimum of $1 for this card. However, it is possible for Washington medical marijuana dispensaries to charge higher. Some stores charge as much as $10 for a patient or caregiver card. The annual renewal fee for this card also varies from $1 - $10.