Medical Cannabis

Program Overview

The Cannabis Patient Protection Act (SB 5052) (PDF) passed in April of 2015 and went into full effect on July 1, 2016. SB 5052 creates strict regulations for cannabis producers, processors and stores that want to sell to patients. Under the act, the Department of Health is directed to adopt rules with a program scope focused on three main areas:

  • Product compliance: Standards for products that may be beneficial for medical use.
  • A Medical Cannabis Authorization Database and administration and maintenance of the medical database.
  • Training and certification of medical cannabis consultants: Licensing and regulation of the medical cannabis consultant certificate.

Data and Statistics

Updated November 2023

The following statistics are reported by the medical cannabis database administrator and the agency's credentialing office.

Recognition Cards Created from the Database

Total Cards Created: 122,939
Cards Created in 2023: 6,368

Sum of Medical Marijuana Cards issued by year

* Numbers account for each card generated from the database (initial, renewal, replacement, and corrections) and includes both patient and designated providers. 
* System went live in July 1, 2016. With the exception of 2016, all years contain four quarters of data.

Medical Cannabis Certified Consultants with Active Credential

  • Total applications received to date: 2,611
  • Certified consultants with an active credential: 444

Licensed Cannabis Retail Stores with Medical Endorsement

  • Total number of medically-endorsed stores: 234 out of 471** licensed. Of all licensed cannabis retailers, 49% hold a medical endorsement.
  • Total Number of medically-endorsed stores that have issued a card in the last quarter: 151

Contact and Connect

Contact information and resources

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