Peripheral Neuropathy and the Georgia Medical Cannabis Card

“Peripheral neuropathy, when symptoms are diagnosed as severe”

Qualifier to note: This condition carries a severity qualifier. A peripheral neuropathy diagnosis alone is not what the statute names — the law requires that the symptoms have been diagnosed as severe. The documentation needs to reflect that severity.

Proof of a qualifying diagnosis is required. Certification is a clinical decision by the physician, and no outcome is promised. Certification is not a prescription.

Neurology notes describing symptom severity, EMG and nerve conduction study reports, and skin biopsy results in small fiber cases.

• Peripheral neuropathy is documented objectively by electrodiagnostic testing. EMG and nerve conduction studies are the central records, showing the distribution and severity of nerve involvement. In small fiber neuropathy, where nerve conduction can be normal, a skin punch biopsy measuring intraepidermal nerve fiber density is the equivalent document. Both are read by neurology or physical medicine and rehabilitation.
• Because the statute requires severity, the notes matter as much as the testing. Clinical documentation describing severe symptoms, functional limitation, gait instability or failed treatment trials with gabapentin, pregabalin, duloxetine or topical agents is what speaks to the qualifier. Records identifying the underlying cause — diabetes with hemoglobin A1c history, chemotherapy exposure, autoimmune workup — complete the picture.

The process is the same for every qualifying diagnosis: you book and pay on the telehealth platform, complete your intake forms, and upload your diagnosis documentation and identification. Once that is complete your appointment is confirmed. You join by video, Dr. Shri Parimi verifies your identification and reviews your documentation and history with you, and makes a clinical decision. After a successful visit the State of Georgia emails you, you pay the state fee, and the card is mailed to you. See the six steps in detail or review the two separate fees.

Many patients do not have their documentation in hand, and that is workable. You can ask Dr. Shri Parimi to request records from your treating physician with your written permission, or bring what you already have — a discharge summary, a portal printout, a laboratory result — and discuss the rest at the visit. Proof of a qualifying diagnosis is required before any certification can be made, so the earlier you start gathering records, the smoother the visit.

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• Hospice Care

See all 18 qualifying conditions