A Pennsylvania Department of Health–approved physician can certify a serious medical condition — and parents can register as caregivers for children under 18.
Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Program is run by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Create your registry profile with a Pennsylvania driver's license or state ID.
An approved physician confirms your serious medical condition, for up to one year.
Pay the card fee within 60 days of certification. Your card is mailed.
Bring your card and a photo ID to any Pennsylvania dispensary.
Pennsylvania allows minors with a serious medical condition to participate, but a registered caregiver handles the registration and purchases. Here's what the Department of Health requires.
A patient under 18 needs a caregiver who is a parent, legal guardian, or spouse. The caregiver registers on the child's behalf.
The caregiver receives the ID card and is the one who buys at the dispensary.
Caregivers must be 21 or older, pass a background check with fingerprinting, and have no drug-related conviction in the past five years. Approval takes about three to four weeks after fingerprinting.
The caregiver card is $50 a year, or no cost with Medicaid, PACE/PACENET, CHIP, SNAP, or WIC.
Share your child's full medical history and current medications, and ask how medical marijuana would fit with their existing care.
Schools set their own policies. Ask about them before assuming anything about school hours or activities.
Summarized from the Department of Health's Patients & Caregivers page. General information only, not medical or legal advice.
ID card fee for patients and caregivers, each year
If enrolled in Medicaid, PACE/PACENET, CHIP, SNAP, or WIC
To pay after certification, or it expires
Conditions parents often ask about are highlighted. Any condition on the list requires an approved physician's certification.
*Under specific criteria. Traumatic brain injury and Type II diabetes are approved for research purposes only. See the official list.
We couldn't verify a dispensary inside McKeesport city limits. Licensed dispensaries in nearby Monroeville and throughout Pittsburgh serve Mon Valley patients and caregivers, and your card works at any Pennsylvania dispensary.
Find current locations on the Department of Health dispensary list.
McKeesport's beloved park, with a rose garden, arboretum, and shady paths — a favorite for family afternoons.
“Our son's seizures qualified. The background check took a few weeks, so I'm glad we started early.”
— Michelle D., McKeesport“I didn't realize I'd be the one holding the card for my daughter. Having it explained plainly made everything easier.”
— Andre W., White OakYes, with a serious medical condition certified by an approved physician and a registered caregiver who is a parent, legal guardian, or spouse.
No. The caregiver registers on the child's behalf, receives the ID card, and makes purchases.
About three to four weeks after fingerprinting, according to the Department of Health.
$50 a year for the caregiver card, or no cost if you're enrolled in Medicaid, PACE/PACENET, CHIP, SNAP, or WIC. The physician visit is separate.
No. As of 2026, Pennsylvania allows medical marijuana only.
On the Pennsylvania Department of Health's Medical Marijuana Program pages.
McKeesport sits where the Youghiogheny River meets the Monongahela, and earned the nickname Tube City from its steel-tube mills. Today the Great Allegheny Passage trail runs through town, Renziehausen Park draws families, and Penn State Greater Allegheny serves students nearby. McKeesport residents follow the same statewide rules as every patient in Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Program.
The program operates under the Medical Marijuana Act (Act 16 of 2016) and is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, which approves physicians, registers patients and caregivers, issues ID cards, and licenses dispensaries.
Recreational marijuana remains illegal in Pennsylvania, and cannabis remains illegal under federal law. See the Department of Health for current rules.
Appointments with Department of Health–approved physicians.
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