Medical marijuana is now available in Maryland, more than four years after the General Assembly passed a law legalizing it.

Standing up the industry — with growers, processors, dispensaries and doctors — took longer than expected. The law needed to be tweaked, rules to needed to written and legal battles fought over who won licenses.

Here’s what prospective users need to know about medical marijuana.

Who is eligible to get a prescription for medical marijuana in Maryland?

State law says the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission “is encouraged to approve” medical marijuana prescriptions for:

• Patients with chronic or debilitating diseases or medical conditions who have been admitted to hospice or are receiving palliative care;
• Patients with a chronic or debilitating disease whose symptoms include (or for which the treatment produces side effects that include) cachexia, anorexia, or wasting syndrome; severe or chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures; or severe or persistent muscle spasms; and
• Patients who are diagnosed with any condition that is severe, for which other medical treatments have been ineffective, and for which the symptoms “reasonably can be expected to be relieved” by the medical use of marijuana.
• The commission specifically lists glaucoma and post-traumatic stress disorder as qualifying conditions.

What’s the process to get a prescription?

Consumers first must register online as a patient with the commission. In addition to Maryland residents, non-Maryland residents who are in the state receiving medical treatment are eligible to register.