Getting Your Medical Marijuana Card

Getting your medical marijuana card isn’t difficult, but it can still be confusing.

Medical Cannabis Patient Prcess Overview

Step 1

Patient schedules an appointment with their physician.

Step 2

A determination is made by the physician whether the patient would benefit from the therapeutic or palliative use of medical cannabis for their qualifying condition. If yes, a medical certification is issued through the on-line portal for the patient. Physicians must create an account at medcannabisapplication.sd.gov to provide written certifications.

Step 3

Patient receives email to create account on medcannabisapplication.sd.gov. Once complete, the patient must wait for DOH approval.

Step 4

(If Applicable) Some applications, including minor patient applicatins, require caregivers to be registered. Caregivers will receive an email to create an account on medcannabisapplications.sd.gov. Once complete, the caregiver must wait for DOH approval.

Step 5

Once the patient or caregiver gets DOH approval, a medical cannabis card will be mailed to the patient or caregiver. The cardholder may then purchase cannabis from a certified dispensary.

Please Note: Patients can NOT start the medical cannabis application process until their physician creates a certification, which will automatically create a patient account on medcannabisapplication.sd.gov. In south Dakota, dispensaries, not pharmacies, sell cannabis. Medical certification is not a prescription.

Need more help? Download the detailed Step by Step Guide to getting your medical marijuana card.