You don’t have to live with constant pain or struggling with chronic illnesses. A cannabis patient identification card can offer you a chance for a new life. The Puerto Rico Health Department’s Medicinal Cannabis guidelines make it legal for patients of medical conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, fibromialgia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries, chronic pain, muscle spasm and severe nausea to have access to this safe alternative therapy. If you suffer from any of these conditions, here’s what you need to do to get your patient cart.

The first step to get your cannabis patient identification card is to consult with a physician authorized to recommend medicinal cannabis. You can consult the full list of authorized physicians here. Remember, only a physician certified by the Puerto Rico Health Department can authorize a patient to apply for a cannabis medical patient identification card.

Once an authorized physician has certified your condition can be managed with this alternative treatment, you need to fill out a patient application for. You may find and download the form here. If you are unable to get to the dispensaries on your own you may need to add a patient companion form. For example, if you have a mobility limitation or if the patient is a minor. This form serves to authorize a second person to accompany you to the dispensary. Only certified patients and authorized companions may enter a dispensary. You may find and download the cannabis patient companion form here.

Along with your form, you need to include the following documents: a copy of your driver’s license or passport, your doctor’s recommendation and a $25.00 check or money order payable to “Secretario de Hacienda”

Once you have assembled all the necessary documents, place them inside an envelope. You may send them via mail to Oficina de Sustancias Controladas y Cannabis Medicinal, PO Box 70184, San Juan, PR 00938-8184. You may also hand them in personally at Oficina de Sustancias Controladas y Cannabis Medicinal, 1506 Avenida Ponce de León, third floor.