MPP launches financial assistance program for Nevada medical marijuana patients

Nevada law has allowed the medical use of marijuana since 2001. However, patients must go through a long and complicated process with the Department of Agriculture to obtain the registry ID cards that protect them from arrest and imprisonment. The two-tiered registration process and $200 in fees make Nevada one of the most complicated and expensive places to obtain a patient ID card.

While other states ' such as Montana and Oregon ' have lowered their fees as more patients joined the program, the cost of becoming a registered Nevada patient recently rose by $50. Patients shouldn’t risk arrest because they cannot pay a department’s fee. So, last Friday the Marijuana Policy Project launched a financial assistance program for low-income patients; patients qualify if they are below 150% of the federal poverty line or can otherwise demonstrate financial need.

Medical marijuana patients must first pay $50 for the application materials, and once those arrive, send them back in to the Department of Agriculture with another $150. Nevada is the only medical marijuana state that charges for a medical marijuana application. Almost all other programs provide the application online. But the Department of Agriculture’s Web site doesn’t even tell readers how to request an application. And after more than a month of inquiries, MPP hasn’t gotten answers to the basic questions to help guide patients through the process, such as to whom checks should be made out or to whose attention they should be sent.

Patients can click here to learn how to apply to the program. MPP will review your application and will get back to you within eight days of receiving it. And if you are on the other side of the spectrum and can afford to donate to this program, please do so, so that no patient will risk arrest because he or she cannot afford Nevada’s expensive fees.

Please click here to make a donation that will be used for the Medical Marijuana Financial Assistance Program. MPP is hopeful that this will be the first step toward making the medical marijuana program more accessible.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this on to patients who may need assistance, or to generous individuals who may wish to donate.