The Florida Department of Health is streamlining the medical marijuana identification card application process to ensure qualified patients have safe, reliable access to low-THC cannabis and medical marijuana.
The department’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use has made changes to the Medical Marijuana Use Registry that eliminate the need for patients to submit a passport-style photograph if they have a Florida issued driver’s license or identification card. Instead, when a qualified ordering physician enters a patient into the Medical Marijuana Use Registry, the registry will automatically access the patient’s Florida Driver’s License or Florida identification card photograph directly from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (HSMV) system. This photo will be populated in the patient’s online identification card application. Passport-style photographs will still need to be submitted for those applicants who are not in the HSMV system.
The department has identified photos as being a common area of error in the application process and as a priority issue for streamlining. The approval process for patient identification card applications can be delayed due to the submission of photographs that do not meet the statutory requirements. Currently, the processing time for paper applications is 26 days, and the processing time for online applications is 18 days. This patient-centered upgrade will make the application process more efficient and easier on patients and caregivers.
For more information about the Office of Medical Marijuana Use and the Medical Marijuana Use Registry, visit www.flhealth.gov/ommu
