When asked about medical cannabis cards in a postlegalization state, cannabis-friendly doctor Rahul Khare said there are two different stories to be told: before the coronavirus pandemic and after.
Now that recreational adult use of cannabis is legal in Illinois, he’s seen people emboldened to finally get their medical cards. “I hear that a lot. It’s like, ‘Oh, I know I’ve been using this medically but I just never wanted to get my card. But now that it’s legal, I feel it’s OK to,’” Khare said.
“For me, I was like, I really want this card but I don’t want to have to pretend that I have something,” Swopes said. She arranged a video call with a therapist at Innovative Wellness to see if she might qualify for a medical card. After discussing a lifetime of experiences that contribute to her present-day anxiety, Swopes was prescribed cannabis to help with post-traumatic stress disorder.
For medical patients dissatisfied with what dispensaries have to offer, Illinois has another option for getting bud that’s open exclusively to them: home growing. Medical marijuana patients can grow up to five plants at home under Illinois law. Datrianna Meeks, a product designer who budtends part-time at MOCA and has a medical card herself, said this unique aspect of Illinois’s medical cannabis program allows patients to take control of their own medicine.
Someone who is able to book an online consultation with a physician could visit a medical cannabis dispensary just a few days later, Khare said. Since February 1, the online application has been streamlined so patients receive a printable, temporary medical card the morning after they apply.
