wooohoo got my doctors recomendation

[Nosmo King]

Most "real" Dr.'s won't get involved w/ MMJ. My primary Dr. can't, as he's affiliated w/ my hospital, which is part of a partnership w/ other hospitals. These places will not jeopardise losing Medicare & such from the Feds for MMJ.

I will not be registering for a "hardship grow".
Ma. wants to take an agri-business approach to MMJ and have nothing to do w/ marijuana culture.
I've got 40+ yrs. of MJ culture ingrained in me, MMJ will not change that.
Keep on keeping on as I've always done, breaking the law everyday.

Swing and a miss

'Real' Doctors are involved in the treating of patients conditions. The reason many Dr's avoid an official WRITTEN rec is because of Federal A-holes.

In San Francisco (birth place of mmj) this situation is occurring. Many low income/fixed income/poor people recieve medical care through Healthy San Francisco. The bulk of initial screening and chronic care is administered through Nurse Practitioners.

The Doctors and Nurse Practitioners do discuss everything with patients mmj, recreational drugs, alcohol and drug addictions. The many clinics will sign a note but will refuse to verify if called (this is good enough for some clubs and most private providers)

Doctors at San Francisco General Hospital will sign an official recommendation. I have epilepsy they always sign mine.

On to the subject of your derision 'real Dr's'

Because of this situation there is an entire field of recommendation Doctors...some are heroes some administer the Visa test

Consider yourself fortunate if you haven't needed to see a doctor I have had multiple surgeries for bike wrecks and I have met many Doctors over the years.

 

[Meesh0108]

I'm at Cannamed now in Mass Ill leave today with my card where do I go to actually get a prescription and a dispensary?

 

[Slip Kid]

I'm going to politely disagree, here in Mass your "Real Dr" meaning your family practitioner or your surgeon at the hospital will not take the risk and give out canna recs.Every person has the same story, you need to go to these canna type clinics that issue recs and the experiences at these places is usually a bit tounge and cheek at best.This is not California by a long shot.Mass General is not giving out recs, the Drs can't do it for insurance reasons or risk the ineveitable peer review which in Mass does not support MMJ in any way at all.We have MMJ here because of a vote by the people not because Dr's here thought it was a wonder drug, far from it.My own family Dr thinks cannabis in any form is a deadly drug that destroys the brain, that's what she told me...That's why we have these "clinics".No capable Dr affiliated with a hospital in this state is giving out recs.Correct me if I'm wrong, please...A good friend who recently was given his rec said it was more like a "Harold and Kumar" movie more than a Dr visit.

 

[Nosmo King]

SlipKid your correct about the Doctors refusal to sign official recs because for Feds. Same thing in California they threatened both funding and Doctors and hospital licenses.

Several courageous Doctors went through investigations and litigation.

Under Protection from First Amendment, Patients Are Free to Receive Information and Discuss Marijuana Use as Treatment
Ashcroft and Walters Banned from Threatening Doctor's Medical License and Interfering in Doctor/ Patient Dialogue
In a unanimous decision, the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals ruled that doctors have the right to openly recommend or approve to marijuana as treatment to their patients. Patients are likewise free to receive this information. The decision upheld a lower court's injunction prohibiting the Federal Government from threatening physicians with losing their licenses to prescribe medications should the doctor recommend, or even discuss, medical marijuana use with their patients.

"The 9th Circuit rebuffed the Federal Government's attempt to gag physicians from speaking with their patients about something that our Drug Czar and Attorney General don't like - medical marijuana" says Daniel N. Abrahamson, Director of Legal Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance. "The Court went on to debunk the Justice Department's claims that marijuana has no medical usefulness - citing a large body of medical research to the contrary."

The Court went out of its way to note the abundance of medical research supporting the medicinal qualities of marijuana. Judge Kozinski cites extensive data from the White House Office of National Drug Control commissioned study put out by the National Institute of Medicine of the national Academy of Sciences (1999) which concluded that "scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation", thereby validating the benefits of marijuana in a medical setting.

This decision gives the green light to physicians across the country to discuss the potential advantages of marijuana for symptom alleviation, and recommend its use where appropriate. Patients residing in any of the eight states that has legalized medical marijuana use can use their physicians' recommendations for medical marijuana to shield themselves from state prosecution. These eight states are California, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Colorado, Maine and Hawaii.

In repudiating the Justice Department's attempt to sanction physicians, the court emphasized that it is the job of physicians to treat their patients, and it is the role of the State, not the Federal Government, to regulate the practice of medicine. The court noted that it falls within the State's power to regulate the doctor-patient relationship, as well as to permit patients to use medical marijuana under state law: the federal government cannot "commandeer" this power from the states.

The ruling in the Conant case is in response to the zealous efforts of Attorney General, John Ashcroft, and the Drug Czar, John Walters, to prevent patients from learning about or using medical marijuana as part of the federal government's "war on drugs."

In 1996, by popular vote, Californians passed Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act, declaring that laws against marijuana possession and cultivation "shall not apply to a patient, or to a patient's primary caregiver, who possesses or cultivates marijuana ... upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician." The Federal Government, however, threatened to punish physicians who recommended medical marijuana pursuant to state law.

Yes many Doctors/Nurses don't like mmj one iota and the ones that do recognize any benefits or potential benefits will tell you that smoking anything is harmful.

So as a result there are many recomendation mills, sad ones in Venice Beach that have homeless runaways handing out fliers and humorous TV references like 'Two And A Half Men's
10 second Skype mmj exam.

Very Harold And Kumarish but it is part of the unintended consequences of this program

So far every State that has voted for mmj has implemented their programs differently

California's mmj program is FAR from perfect, but it's much better then the way it was (even though prices are cut in half)

 

[Over The Hill]

.

 

[Highlighter]

As Slip Kid mentioned, this is only in place because the people voted it in. It's nothing but a headache to the State unless they can make $ from it, and that's just how the Department of Public Health have set it up.
Here's a link to the final Massachusetts regulations.

http://www.mass.gov/eohhs/docs/dph/regs/105cmr725.pdf

Meesh, welcome to ICMAG!

I'm at Cannamed now in Mass Ill leave today with my card where do I go to actually get a prescription and a dispensary?

Hope you got your card alright. Did you get an actual card or a certificate? That will act as your prescription.
Cannamed never replied to several e-mails so I took my business elsewhere.
I'm sure it will take yrs. before we see dispensaries here, just like R.I.
Most towns around me have tried to put a moratorium on MMJ dispensaries until they zone for it, as well as approving bylaws
that would ban the consumption of marijuana in public places.
Again, this is just a big headache to town gov't unless they can profit.
Your best bet is to grow your own or find a caregiver at this point.

 

[Blaze 12]

yea but can he grow his own until a spot opens up or what.. how does this go ?

 

[Highlighter]

It's all within the regulations listed in the link. Of course, that's another fee to register for a Hardship Cultivation.
Anyone willing to comply?

725.035: Hardship Cultivation Registration
(A)
A qualifying patient registered with the Department pursuant 105 CMR 725.015
may apply for a hardship cultivation registration if such patient can demonstrate that his or heraccess to a RMD is limited by:
(1)
Verified financial hardship; or
(2)
Physical incapacity to access reasonable transportation,
as demonstrated by an inability to use public transportation or
drive oneself, lack of a personal caregiver with a reliable source of transportation, and lack of a RMD that will deliver marijuana to the patient’s or personal caregiver’s primary address; or
(3)
Lack of a RMD within a reasonable distance of the patient’s residence and lack of a RMD that will deliver marijuana to
the patient’s or personal caregiver’s
primary address.

To obtain a hardship cultivation registration, a registered
qualifying patient shall, in a form and manner determined by the Department, submit the following:
(1)
A non-refundable registration fee,
unless waived pursuant to 105 CMR
725.015(A)(7);
(2)
Information supporting a claim that access is
limited due to one or more of the
circumstances listed in 105 CMR 725.035(A);
(3)
An explanation including lack of feasible alternatives to mitigate the limitation claimed under 105 CMR 725.035(A);
(4)
A description and address of the single location that
shall be used for the cultivation of marijuana, which shall be either the registered qualifying patient’s or one personal caregiver’s primary residence;
(5)
A written explanation of how the qualifying patient will cultivate marijuana inaccordance with the requirements of 105 CMR 725.035;
(6)
A description of the device or system thatwill be used to ensure security and prevent diversion of the marijuana plants being cultivated;
(7)
Written acknowledgement of the limitations on his or her authorization to cultivate, possess, and use marijuana for medical purposes in the Commonwealth; and
(8)
Any other information required by the Department.
(C)
The Department shall review and approve or deny an application for a hardship cultivation registration within 30 calendar days of receipt of a completed application.
(D)
A registered qualifying patient with a hardship cultivation
registration, or his or her personal caregiver(s), may cult ivate only at the location specified in the application approved by the Department.
(E)
At any given location, cultivation may occur pursuant to only one hardship cultivation registration, absent proof that more than one
registered qualifying patient resides at the location.
(F)
A hardship cultivation registration will be valid for one year from the date of issue, and may be renewed, in a form and manner
determined by the Department, on an annual basisby meeting the requirements in 105 CMR 725.035(B).
(G)
A hardship cultivation registration shall allow the registered qualifying patient or his orher personal caregiver(s) to cultivate a limitednumber of plants sufficient to maintain a
60-day supply of marijuana solely for that patient’s use, or
as further specified by theDepartment.
(H)
Cultivation and storage of marijuana shall be in
an enclosed, locked area accessible onlyto the registered qualifying patient or his or her personal caregiver(s),
subject to 105 CMR 725.650.
Marijuana shall not be visible from the street or other public areas.

(I)
A registered qualifying patientor his or her personal caregiver(s) cultivating marijuana pursuant to a hardship cultivation registration shall adhere to industry best practices in the cultivation of marijuana plants and storage of finished product, and any standards
specified by the Department.
(J)
A registered qualifying patient and his or her personal caregiver(s) is prohibited from selling, bartering, giving away or distributing in any manner marijuana or paraphernalia.
(K)
The Department may inspect the cultivation site of a registered qualifying patient with a hardship cultivation registration, or the cultivation site of his or her personal caregiver(s),
at any time. Acceptance of a hardship cultivation registration by a registered qualifying patient constitutes consent for such inspection of the cultivation site.
(L)
A registered qualifying patient who received written certification of a debilitating medical condition from a physician prior to enactment of 105 CMR 725.000,
or prior to the Department accepting applications for hardship cultivation registration, and who used that written certification as a
limited cultivation registration, must apply for a hardship
cultivation registration according to the
procedures set out in 105 CMR 725.035(B) no
later than January 1, 2014, if
he or she intends to continue to cultivate marijuana;
however the initial limited cultivation registration will remain valid until the application for the hardship cultivation registration card is approved or denied by the Department.
(M) After obtaining a hardship cultivation registration, a registered
qualifying patient is responsible for notifying the Department,
in a form and manner determined by the Department, within five business days after any change to the information that he or she or his or her personal caregiver(s) was previously required to
submit to the Department.
(N) A registered qualifying patient with a hardship cultivation registration, or his or her personal caregiver(s) if applicable, must have the registration available at the site of cultivation. Such registration must be made available upon request of the Department or other government agency acting within their lawful authority.
(O) A registered qualifying patient with a hardship cultivation registration, or his or her personal caregiver(s) if applicable, is prohibited from purchasing marijuana from a RMD, provided however that such individuals may purchase seeds.

 

[Slip Kid]

See that, easy as 123.

 

[Highlighter]

The state has scheduled a public hearing on the draft fee regulations for Friday, June 14 at 1 p.m. at the Department of Public Health offices at 250 Washington St. in Boston.

Get up, stand up.

 

[Bowb Aandweeve]

Those "California style" MMJ licenses are going to be frowned on heavily by Mass State law enforcement and are exactly what the state itself is attempting to legislate against. Massachusetts lawmakers are absolutely committed to making the process as strict and as tightly regimented as humanly possible. This is not going to be a "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" state.

It's entirely possible that this was a huge mistake, if only for the reason it forced the state government to make a much more politically charged statement then it wanted to at this point in time. Cannabis remains against federal law and the will of the people has forced the feet of clay crowd to reluctantly make a federal offense legal on the state level, so they will accede to the will of the people while making it as difficult as possible to actually put the MMJ providers in the loop. It will also, in most likelihood crease the penalties for non-compliant users and providers.

 

[Highlighter]

From the Boston Globe:

Several groups vying to open dispensaries that sell marijuana for medical use are urging Massachusetts regulators to require prospective purveyors to provide substantial proof, including sworn affidavits, that they have raised the mandated $500,000 application fee.

More than 70 people packed a state Department of Public Health hearing Tuesday, with several offering suggestions about how regulators can improve the licensing process.

A ballot initiative approved by voters last fall legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes and charged the department with crafting rules to implement the law. Department officials have said they will take applications starting this summer, but have not yet announced a date.

“Having been through the process in Arizona, we saw major problems in that system,” said Kris Krane, managing partner of 4Front Advisors, an Arizona-based consultant that has helped businesses open marijuana dispensaries in other states.

Krane told regulators that at least one Arizona applicant borrowed that state’s required $150,000 application fee, then submitted paperwork showing the company had the funds, but in reality it was heavily in debt.

The company was awarded a license, he said, because the state didn’t adequately check applicant’s finances. Arizona has a lottery system to award licenses.

The Massachusetts system will be merit-based, but regulators have not detailed precisely what factors they will consider to award the licenses. They said that Tuesday’s hearing would help them decide.

Some groups at the hearing suggested the state consider applicants’ ability to create jobs and other opportunities in the communities where they want to open their store.

“We want to be scored on what we can give back to our community,” said Dawn Blake Souza, a retired New Bedford elementary school principal who hopes to open a dispensary in New Bedford.

She said her dispensary aims to donate some of its revenue to local education and community groups that serve children and military veterans.

Souza said the dispensary board would include her husband, who is a retired military psychologist, and Alice Fernandes, a retired MBTA recording secretary who worked on contracts at the transportation system.

State regulators said they will accept written suggestions about the application process until June 28 at 5 p.m.

Suggestions can be e-mailed to [email protected].

They can be mailed to Medical Use of Marijuana Program, Department of Public Health, 250 Washington Street, 2nd floor, Boston, MA, 02108.

Big Business, Baby!

 

[Otto Flour]

http://www.mikecann.net/2013/07/patients-protest-ma-dph-medical.html

"Mike Cann, The King of Pot and Other Medical Marijuana Patients Will Protest on Thursday, August 1st from 2-4pm we picket with signs on the sidewalk out front of DPH headquarters. Join us!

250 Washington St., Boston, MA 02108"

 

[D. B. Doober]

so what's the deal? From what I've gathered I can have all my records sent to Integr8mass and get a recommendation from them, but it doesn't say how many visits you need to mke and how much they are a pop. Then there's something with the doctor registering you for the online mmj system and then you have to go online also and order a card as well. Anyone?

 

[D. B. Doober]

I'll be going to Casco Bay, will report back

 

[D. B. Doober]

It's all within the regulations listed in the link. Of course, that's another fee to register for a Hardship Cultivation.
Anyone willing to comply?

725.035: Hardship Cultivation Registration
(A)
A qualifying patient registered with the Department pursuant 105 CMR 725.015
may apply for a hardship cultivation registration if such patient can demonstrate that his or heraccess to a RMD is limited by:
(1)
Verified financial hardship; or
(2)
Physical incapacity to access reasonable transportation,
as demonstrated by an inability to use public transportation or
drive oneself, lack of a personal caregiver with a reliable source of transportation, and lack of a RMD that will deliver marijuana to the patient’s or personal caregiver’s primary address; or
(3)
Lack of a RMD within a reasonable distance of the patient’s residence and lack of a RMD that will deliver marijuana to
the patient’s or personal caregiver’s
primary address.

To obtain a hardship cultivation registration, a registered
qualifying patient shall, in a form and manner determined by the Department, submit the following:
(1)
A non-refundable registration fee,
unless waived pursuant to 105 CMR
725.015(A)(7);
(2)
Information supporting a claim that access is
limited due to one or more of the
circumstances listed in 105 CMR 725.035(A);
(3)
An explanation including lack of feasible alternatives to mitigate the limitation claimed under 105 CMR 725.035(A);
(4)
A description and address of the single location that
shall be used for the cultivation of marijuana, which shall be either the registered qualifying patient’s or one personal caregiver’s primary residence;
(5)
A written explanation of how the qualifying patient will cultivate marijuana inaccordance with the requirements of 105 CMR 725.035;
(6)
A description of the device or system thatwill be used to ensure security and prevent diversion of the marijuana plants being cultivated;
(7)
Written acknowledgement of the limitations on his or her authorization to cultivate, possess, and use marijuana for medical purposes in the Commonwealth; and
(8)
Any other information required by the Department.
(C)
The Department shall review and approve or deny an application for a hardship cultivation registration within 30 calendar days of receipt of a completed application.
(D)
A registered qualifying patient with a hardship cultivation
registration, or his or her personal caregiver(s), may cult ivate only at the location specified in the application approved by the Department.
(E)
At any given location, cultivation may occur pursuant to only one hardship cultivation registration, absent proof that more than one
registered qualifying patient resides at the location.
(F)
A hardship cultivation registration will be valid for one year from the date of issue, and may be renewed, in a form and manner
determined by the Department, on an annual basisby meeting the requirements in 105 CMR 725.035(B).
(G)
A hardship cultivation registration shall allow the registered qualifying patient or his orher personal caregiver(s) to cultivate a limitednumber of plants sufficient to maintain a
60-day supply of marijuana solely for that patient’s use, or
as further specified by theDepartment.
(H)
Cultivation and storage of marijuana shall be in
an enclosed, locked area accessible onlyto the registered qualifying patient or his or her personal caregiver(s),
subject to 105 CMR 725.650.
Marijuana shall not be visible from the street or other public areas.

(I)
A registered qualifying patientor his or her personal caregiver(s) cultivating marijuana pursuant to a hardship cultivation registration shall adhere to industry best practices in the cultivation of marijuana plants and storage of finished product, and any standards
specified by the Department.
(J)
A registered qualifying patient and his or her personal caregiver(s) is prohibited from selling, bartering, giving away or distributing in any manner marijuana or paraphernalia.
(K)
The Department may inspect the cultivation site of a registered qualifying patient with a hardship cultivation registration, or the cultivation site of his or her personal caregiver(s),
at any time. Acceptance of a hardship cultivation registration by a registered qualifying patient constitutes consent for such inspection of the cultivation site.
(L)
A registered qualifying patient who received written certification of a debilitating medical condition from a physician prior to enactment of 105 CMR 725.000,
or prior to the Department accepting applications for hardship cultivation registration, and who used that written certification as a
limited cultivation registration, must apply for a hardship
cultivation registration according to the
procedures set out in 105 CMR 725.035(B) no
later than January 1, 2014, if
he or she intends to continue to cultivate marijuana;
however the initial limited cultivation registration will remain valid until the application for the hardship cultivation registration card is approved or denied by the Department.
(M) After obtaining a hardship cultivation registration, a registered
qualifying patient is responsible for notifying the Department,
in a form and manner determined by the Department, within five business days after any change to the information that he or she or his or her personal caregiver(s) was previously required to
submit to the Department.
(N) A registered qualifying patient with a hardship cultivation registration, or his or her personal caregiver(s) if applicable, must have the registration available at the site of cultivation. Such registration must be made available upon request of the Department or other government agency acting within their lawful authority.
(O) A registered qualifying patient with a hardship cultivation registration, or his or her personal caregiver(s) if applicable, is prohibited from purchasing marijuana from a RMD, provided however that such individuals may purchase seeds.

What the fuck? You can't grow unless you do this? What??????

 

[kakaman]

The bullshit games the Mass State gov is playing will have unintended consequences. People will get pissed and just put an outright recreational legalization question on the 2016 ballot that will have provisions to keep the state gov from playing games with the license restrictions.

 

[TheCrusher]

The bullshit games the Mass State gov is playing will have unintended consequences. People will get pissed and just put an outright recreational legalization question on the 2016 ballot that will have provisions to keep the state gov from playing games with the license restrictions.

Let's hope. It's amazing that MA has a liberal reputation, when in reality it's just had more time for the holier the thou crowd to enact more rules to protect us from ourselves.

 

[jmk18]

"The Department may inspect the cultivation site of a registered qualifying patient with a hardship cultivation registration, or the cultivation site of his or her personal caregiver(s),
at any time."

So the DPH can pop in ANY time they want???? WTF

 

[jmk18]

(J)
A registered qualifying patient and his or her personal caregiver(s) is prohibited from selling, bartering, giving away or distributing in any manner marijuana or paraphernalia.


So if my friend asks me for a rolling paper or bowl I can't give it to him???
ROFLMAO