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In 2016, the medical use of marijuana to treat approved conditions and symptoms was made legal in Pennsylvania. However, there is a process put into place to obtain a medical card, which includes registering for the program, having a physician confirm your diagnosis, and paying for your card. Medical cards then allow people with chronic pain and other conditions to receive marijuana as a form of treatment legally. However, the conditions eligible for receiving a medical card vary from state to state. Keep reading to find out if ADHD is a qualifying condition to receive a medical card in Pennsylvania and the effects that cannabis might have on ADHD.
Qualifying Conditions for Medical Marijuana in Pennsylvania
As of 2024, the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program recognizes 23 conditions that qualify for a medical card. These conditions include:
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Anxiety disorders
- Autism
- Cancer, including remission therapy
- Crohn’s disease
- Damage to the nervous tissue of the central nervous system (brain-spinal cord) causing intractable spasticity and other associated neuropathies
- Dyskinetic and spastic movement disorders
- Epilepsy
- Glaucoma
- HIV/AIDS
- Huntington’s disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Intractable seizures
- Multiple sclerosis
- Neurodegenerative diseases
- Neuropathies
- Opioid use disorder when conventional treatments are ineffective or contraindicated or when medical cannabis therapy is recommended as adjunctive therapy
- Parkinson’s disease
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Severe chronic or intractable pain whether caused by neuropathies or not
- Sickle cell anemia
- Terminal illness
- Tourette syndrome
Although this list is limited, it is growing. The Medical Marijuana Advisory Board reviews petitions to add new qualifying conditions to this list. In 2021, for example, Tourette’s Syndrome and anxiety disorders were added to the list. To obtain your medical card, you must be recommended by a physician who confirms your condition diagnosis.
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So Can You Get a Medical Card for ADHD in PA?
As marijuana has newly become legal in both the medical and recreational sense, there is still ongoing research on its effects on certain conditions. This limited research makes it difficult for some conditions to qualify in certain states. As seen above, ADHD is not among the list of qualifying conditions to receive a medical card.
Since the state requires you to have one of the 23 conditions that are listed, you will be unable to obtain a medical card for ADHD in Pennsylvania, and your doctor is unable to recommend marijuana as a form of treatment for this condition. However, if you have another qualifying condition along with ADHD, you can then obtain a medical card and consult your doctor for further guidance. It is important, however, to consider how cannabis might affect your ADHD symptoms if you do choose to introduce it to your body as a form of treatment for another condition.
The Effects of Cannabis on ADHD
One of the main reasons why ADHD is not a qualified condition to receive a medical card is because of the contradicting research results. Some users express that cannabis helps ease their ADHD symptoms, like lack of focus, hyperactivity, agitation and irritability, and anxiety. In some cases, people with ADHD who took higher doses of CBD were able to decrease their ADHD medication intake. Additionally, marijuana comes with fewer negative side effects than traditional ADHD medications.
This information might sound promising, but it is not the case all around. A study found that people with ADHD who were using medical marijuana as a form of treatment performed worse on memory, verbal, cognitive, decision-making, and response tests than those who didn’t use the drug.
It’s important to note that the ongoing research is considering the different components of marijuana, like CBD and THC. CBD is oftentimes the preferred option for the treatment of conditions, as it provides the therapeutic benefits of cannabis without the psychoactive side effects that are experienced with THC.
Schedule an Appointment with a Medical Marijuana Doctor in Pennsylvania Today!
The limited conclusive research available about the effects of cannabis on treating ADHD has led to it not being a qualified condition for receiving a medical card in Pennsylvania. However, there are many other listed conditions that you can use your medical card to find relief from. If you are struggling with symptoms from any of the qualified conditions listed above, you have the option of exploring medical marijuana as a form of therapy and treatment. Medical marijuana serves as a promising alternative to traditional medications that might have more negative side effects on your body. Schedule an appointment with a medical marijuana doctor in Pennsylvania today to find out if you qualify for a medical card so that you can be on your way to experiencing natural relief.
This article has been reviewed by Dr. Anand Dugar, an anesthesiologist, pain medicine physician and the founder of Green Health Docs. Graduating from medical school in 2004 and residency in 2008, Dr. Dugar has been a licensed physician for almost 20 years and has been leading the push for medical cannabis nationwide.