A private video appointment with an Ohio-licensed physician is all it takes to find out if you qualify — and the state doesn't charge you to register.
A driver's license or state ID confirms residency when you register.
Diagnosis notes or specialist letters help your physician decide quickly.
Phone, tablet, or laptop — somewhere quiet enough to speak freely.
Each step unlocks the next. Most people finish all three within a few days.
A video evaluation with an Ohio MD or DO who holds an active Certificate to Recommend.
If Ohio's criteria are met, the physician records a recommendation in the state system.
Follow the state's email to the Patient & Caregiver Registry, confirm your Ohio ID, and you're done.
Now that adult-use is legal, a medical card is pointless.
Registered patients don't pay Ohio's 10% adult-use excise tax, and 18- to 20-year-olds can only buy legally through the medical program.
You need an in-person exam at a clinic.
Ohio permits certified physicians to complete the evaluation over secure video.
The state charges a yearly registration fee.
Ohio eliminated its patient registration fee in 2024. Registration itself is free.
Any licensed clinician can sign off.
Only MDs and DOs with a Certificate to Recommend from the State Medical Board may issue a recommendation.
Your physician confirms whether your diagnosis applies.
“I'd been living with sickle cell pain for years and thought this would be complicated. It turned out to be one conversation and one email.”— Tanya J., Glenville
Only the physician's evaluation fee, which is displayed before you confirm your booking. The state registration that follows is free.
Once your physician enters a recommendation, the state emails you instructions. Many patients finish registration the same day.
You need an Ohio driver's license or state ID to register, because the program serves Ohio residents only.
Every twelve months. Book a renewal evaluation before your registration expires.
Yes, once they're registered as your caregiver. A parent or guardian must fill that role for patients under 18.
The Ohio Division of Cannabis Control publishes current requirements.
West of Glenville in neighboring St. Clair–Superior, this dispensary serves registered Ohio medical patients as well as adult-use customers.
The park's historic stone bridges and gardens run along Glenville's edge — a calm place to take a walk after your appointment.
Glenville was incorporated as a village in 1870, named for the shaded glens and small streams that cut through the area, and joined Cleveland in 1905. Once a resort area with a harness-racing track, it later became home to Jesse Owens and to Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman. Residents here follow the same statewide medical cannabis process as all Ohioans.
Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3796 reserves recommendations for MDs and DOs with an active Certificate to Recommend. Patients then register through the Division of Cannabis Control using Ohio-issued ID, and there is no state registration fee.
The medical registry still matters: it's the only legal route for adults aged 18 to 20 and removes the 10% excise tax from patient purchases. See the Division of Cannabis Control for current rules.
Video appointments with Ohio-licensed physicians.