Most states in the US that legalize cannabis, only approve of it for medical use. This means you'll need to bring a doctor's prescription to a dispensary in order to get in and make your purchase. However, keep reading before you contact your regular physician.
If your usual doctor is willing to write your script, wonderful! However, a dispensary will need to verify prescriptions the first time you visit one, so your doctor's office would need to be open when you visit the shop. That being said, most standard physicians won't authorize a cannabis prescription. This is for a few reasons, including the pharmaceutical industry's competition with cannabis. The more direct reason is due to most doctors being employees, working for businesses that are insured by nationwide companies. Those insurers are then required to follow federal law, which does still list cannabis as illegal. Some of these doctors are even required by their contracts to speak negatively about cannabis. So do not worry if this happens to you.
The good news is, some doctors now specialize in cannabis recommendations. The prescriptions they provide are also logged onto online databases, so dispensary verifications become an easy process. Note that this database will not share your personal information, these prescriptions are verified usually through an ID number, and maybe your initials. Doctor patient confidentiality is still the law, and sharing your personal information is illegal. So no, nobody is tracking your cannabis prescription.
If you are looking for a doctor that specializes in cannabis, take a look at my previous post titled, "Where's the weed at?" I go into detail about using Weedmaps, which is an extremely helpful tool for finding dispensaries and cannabis products. The app/website also has a section specifically for doctors, allowing you to find one nearby.
Thank you again for reading. If you have any questions relating to anything about cannabis, please sign up and submit your questions through the home page. If it matters to you, it probably matters to someone else too, and I take it as my job to help you navigate your experience with confidence and comfort.
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