Dunsta.....welcome and thanks for your service!

You will have to become a resident of NM in order to be able to participate in the Medical Cannabis Program (MCP).

As far as becoming a resident, I got my NM driver's license and that should suffice for determining your residency in NM. You can also register to vote when you apply for your NM driver's license as well! (I did!)

Here is a link to the MCP website if you have not already been there.....

NM Medical Cannabis Program Website

From the website you can get a ton of your questions answered. Many of us are relatively new to this program (I know I am!) and sometimes it is hard to get answers. I have found that emailing the NMDOH has been very helpful and they have responded to my emails fairly quickly. It seems to be much easier to have questions answered through email vice leaving a phone message for them. Dominick Zurlo, the director of the program, indicated to me when I visited them a couple of weeks ago that email is a quicker way to get a response to any questions you may have. It is much easier for them to respond via email as they do not have a big staff.

From personal experience, documentation of your conditions is very important. Several folks here can help you with doctors that may be able to help you with a recommendation. CoolSlayer frequents the site regularly and has contact information in a thread about seeing a doctor for a recommendation. Here is a link to that thread:

http://boards.cannabis.com/new-mexic...mmend-mmj.html

John Monad is also someone who you may want to contact as well.

From what you indicated in your post, you would probably considering the "Severe Chronic Pain" category. Currently you need TWO recommendations, one from a pain specialist and another from a primary care provider. If you look at the NM DOH site I provided earlier in this post, you can see what they require under this category.

I hope this helps and I am sure others will chime in on this as well!