Twenty-four conditions, built up over time
Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Program lists 24 serious medical conditions. The list did not arrive all at once. The original 2016 act named 17. On May 17, 2018, additions took effect that included cancer including remission therapy, neurodegenerative diseases, terminal illness, dyskinetic and spastic movement disorders, opioid use disorder and a broader definition of severe chronic or intractable pain. Anxiety disorders and Tourette syndrome followed on July 20, 2019. Chronic hepatitis C is on the current official list; we could not confirm the date it took effect.
That history explains why some entries read like legal definitions rather than diagnoses. Each one was written, or rewritten, to say exactly how far it reaches.
There is no catch-all clause
Some programs let a physician certify any condition he or she believes would benefit. Pennsylvania's does not. The Medical Marijuana Act allows only the listed conditions, plus new ones that the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board recommends and the Secretary of Health approves. In practice, your diagnosis has to fit an entry on the list, and the physician who certifies you is the one who decides whether it does.
The full list, with plain-English notes
The left column uses the Department of Health's wording. The notes are ours and are meant to help you find your entry, not to predict a physician's decision.
| Condition (official wording) | What to know |
|---|---|
| Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis | Often called ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. |
| Anxiety disorders | Added July 20, 2019. The entry is plural, a category rather than one diagnosis. See our anxiety guide. |
| Autism | Listed by name. Patients under 18 take part through a caregiver; read the autism and caregiver guide. |
| Cancer, including remission therapy | The wording took effect May 17, 2018 and expressly covers remission therapy. |
| Chronic Hepatitis C | On the current official list; effective date not confirmed by us. |
| Crohn's disease | Listed separately from inflammatory bowel disease. |
| Damage to the nervous tissue of the central nervous system (brain-spinal cord) with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity, and other associated neuropathies | Requires objective neurological signs of intractable spasticity, not symptoms alone. |
| Dyskinetic and spastic movement disorders | Added May 17, 2018. |
| Epilepsy | Listed separately from intractable seizures. |
| Glaucoma | Listed by name. |
| HIV / AIDS | Listed by name. |
| Huntington's disease | Listed by name. |
| Inflammatory bowel disease | A broader digestive-disease category; the physician decides whether your diagnosis falls within it. |
| Intractable seizures | "Intractable" generally describes seizures that have not responded to standard treatment. |
| Multiple sclerosis | Listed by name. |
| Neurodegenerative diseases | Added May 17, 2018. A category, not a single diagnosis. |
| Neuropathies | Conditions involving nerve damage. Pain of neuropathic origin also appears in the pain entry. |
| Opioid use disorder for which conventional therapeutic interventions are contraindicated or ineffective, or for which adjunctive therapy is indicated in combination with primary therapeutic interventions | Added May 17, 2018. Qualifies only under the stated circumstances; see our opioid use disorder guide. |
| Parkinson's disease | Listed by name. |
| Post-traumatic stress disorder | Listed by name; our PTSD guide covers raising it with a physician. |
| Severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin or severe chronic or intractable pain | Broadened May 17, 2018 so that it is not limited to pain of neuropathic origin. More in the chronic pain guide. |
| Sickle cell anemia | Listed by name. |
| Terminal illness | Added May 17, 2018. |
| Tourette syndrome | Added July 20, 2019. |
Two conditions approved only for research
The Department has approved two more conditions, moderate to severe traumatic brain injury with chronic symptoms and type II diabetes mellitus, but only for Chapter 20 research purposes. They do not support a general patient certification. If either is your main diagnosis, ask the physician whether another listed condition also applies to you.
What if your condition is not listed
A diagnosis that is not on the list does not qualify by itself, however serious it is. Sleep problems are a common example; our guide to insomnia and the Pennsylvania list explains the honest answer and what is on the list instead. The route for adding a condition runs through the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board and the Secretary of Health, not through an individual physician.
Need a physician certification?
Online evaluations are available for Pennsylvania residents. Code DRWDY85872 takes 5% off. The physician, not the booking service, decides whether you are certified.
Book my PA evaluation →Bringing it up with a physician
Only an MD or DO registered with the Department of Health can certify you. Bring records that show the diagnosis and the treatments you have tried, and say plainly which listed condition you think applies. The physician may agree, may pick a different entry or may decline. Each of the condition guides in our guides section covers a specific entry in more depth.
Your next step: once you know which entry fits, the application guide takes you through the registry, the certification and the payment.
Questions people ask
Can a physician certify me for a condition that is not on the list?
No. Pennsylvania's law has no clause allowing certification for any condition a practitioner considers appropriate. Only listed conditions count, plus any new ones the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board recommends and the Secretary of Health approves.
How many conditions can go on one certification?
Up to 10. The Department of Health says practitioners may select up to 10 serious medical conditions on a single certification.
Do traumatic brain injury or type 2 diabetes qualify?
Not for a regular patient certification. The Department approved moderate to severe traumatic brain injury with chronic symptoms and type II diabetes mellitus only for Chapter 20 research purposes.
Worth reading next
Sources
- Register for the Medical Marijuana Program, PA.gov (official condition list)
- Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program, PA Department of Health
- Patients and Caregivers, PA Department of Health
- Medical Marijuana Act (Act 16 of 2016), PA General Assembly
- PA DOH Office of Medical Marijuana Report, July 2022 (PDF)
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This page explains Pennsylvania law and Department of Health guidance in general terms; it is not medical or legal advice, and only a registered physician can certify a patient.