MEDICAL MARIJUANA LOOPHOLE COULD LET PATIENTS EXTEND DOCTOR RECOMMENDATION

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NORML.ORG US CA: Medical Marijuana Loophole Could Let Patients Extend Doctor Recommendatio

MEDICAL MARIJUANA LOOPHOLE COULD LET PATIENTS EXTEND DOCTOR RECOMMENDATION
by Ashley Mackin, The Eureka Reporter


California
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A loophole in the first-ever medicinal marijuana guidelines issued by California Attorney General Jerry Brown last month opens the door for patients using medicinal marijuana to extend their doctor's recommendation without the doctor knowing it.

A physician's recommendation will grant a patient access to medicinal marijuana, as will a state-issued card. However, the guidelines do not specify that the two must be issued at the same time.

This could pose a problem for medical marijuana dispensaries trying to act in accordance with the guidelines and the law.

"The way I see it, someone could get a doctor's recommendation for 12 months in January, and get the card for 12 months that December," said Mariellen Jurkovich, director of the Humboldt Patient Resource Center. "The card should be issued along with the recommendation, and it's a quirk in the system."

Jurkovich added that she was reluctant to accept state cards, knowing they could be valid after the physician's recommendation expires. "If the card is valid one day after the recommendation expires, then I'm acting outside the law, and I don't want to do that."

In order to obtain a state-issued card, a person must have their physician make a recommendation ( which by itself is enough proof at a dispensary ) and then take that recommendation to the county department of health. From there, the county has 30 days to verify the information about the patient with the physician. That information goes to the state Health Department, which then issues the card and sends it to the county department.

With a recommendation, a patient may go to a medical marijuana dispensary or cooperative to receive medicinal marijuana.

The physician decides how long the recommendation will last, which dictates the amount of a time a person may purchase medicinal marijuana.

To avoid arrest or legal ramifications from possessing medicinal marijuana, Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services recommends patients using medicinal marijuana carry a state-issued card as proof.

The card is valid for one year from the date it's issued, according to Proposition 420, and shows a doctor's recommendation was given. This applies to law enforcement and at dispensaries. However, a patient does not have to apply for the card when they get their doctor's recommendation.

This has raised concerns for people like Jurkovich, who said she does not want to give someone the medicinal marijuana unless they have a legitimate doctor's recommendation, and because of this system, she said she feels the card does not necessarily prove that.

The Attorney General's Office, which issued these guidelines, acknowledged that it is possible to apply for the card any time in the window of a doctor's recommendation, "but we don't recommend that," said Christine Gasparac, of the Attorney General's Office.

She said if a staff member saw that, they would follow up to make sure the person gets their physician to extend the recommendation.

Lea Brooks, spokesperson for the California Department of Public Health, said no one has control over whether someone applies for the card in a timely manner.

While acknowledging that there is probably a good reason why the guidelines are the way they are, Jurkovich said she has some suggestions on how to improve the system.

She suggested developing a system in which doctors could issue the cards directly, with a unified system or seal to put on the card, so it would coincide with the time of the recommendation.

Her other suggestion is to make sure that the card matches the length of the prescription, however long it is. If someone decides to get the card after they get the prescription, the state health department could prorate the cost to accommodate the number of months.

"( The state card and doctor's recommendation ) not matching is the only part I'm not comfortable with," Jurkovich said about the guidelines in general. "I would just really like for the state card to go along with the recommendation."

[sidebar]

In order to qualify for medicinal marijuana, a patient must have a "serious medical condition." According to the California Health and Safety Code, the following are serious medical conditions:

+ AIDS

+ Anorexia

+ Arthritis

+ Cachexia

+ Cancer

+ Chronic pain

+ Glaucoma

+ Migraines

+ Persistent muscle spasms, such as those associated with seizures

+ Severe nausea

+ Any other condition that limits a person's ability to conduct major activities

Cali really needs to make some common sense fixs to the MMJ laws. They basically need to just leave it between the doctor and the patient. No ID cards just a legal written prescription from the doctor. The rest is none of the state's business.

I agree w/ Killer it's not the states business, they don't get notified when the doc prescribes other more harmful and addictive meds... I've been a prop 215 patient for awhile and I'll NEVER apply for the state card, you think I want my name and addy on a list in some government office. hell no they can keep their card

D

it should be decriminalized. not legal, legal would open to many doors for bullshit in the community. decriminalized would allow laws like in Denver, CO. even know they still slightly struggle with law enforcement.

I have a question about all this "written recomendation" and "state mmj card" buisness:

i dont live in cali so i only know things i read... but it seems like every doctor that provides "written recomendation" always charges a shit load of money for a consult, like 180 bucks or something, thats insane they are obviously just charging as much as they can. then they only give you a recomendation for 3 or 6 months... so later that year you have to go back and pay ANOTHER 180 bucks to extend your "recomendation". this is a raquette!!!

these people are licensed doctors, my insurence wont pay for my visit as a "specialist visit?"

the original prop 215 specified that marijuana could be recomended if the doctor thought that it could have a posotive affect on your medical condition. are you saying that the august guidlines are trying to reclassify medical weed so that you can ONLY get the recomendation if you are "seriously ill"?

ok heres the big question: how do i get a doc to write me an indefinate recomendation for marijuana? im not going back every 3 months to pay him 180, thats bullshit. my back is jacked up pretty bad from a car accident and a few snowboard crashes. if i stand on my feet for more than 30 minutes my neck hurts so bad i cant stand anymore.

also, if you become a caregiver, your status as a caregiver expires when your patients recomendation expires too correct? how do you get an indefinate caregiver license?

Yeah cali's laws are still kind of a mess. In washington all you need is one recommendation for life. Still a ripoff for $200 but a lot better than cali. Its the same as anything in America, some people are making a lotof money

D4 makes a very good point. Even with 215, medical cannabis patients are being discriminated against in some major ways. You donâ??t see folks with Vicodin or benzodiazepine prescriptions having to carry anything more than their meds in their prescription bottles. You donâ??t see law enforcement pushing them to get special state issued cards; take your whole bottle of vicodin and it will kill you or at least send ya on a trip to the emergency room to have your stomach pumped.

Geoluv, $85.00 for a year. But then Iâ??m a Marine Corps veteran and my doc gave a discount for that (the doc gives discounts for medi-cal and veterans. I donâ??t know what he does if youâ??re both, heheh).

The banned one, simply â??decriminalizeâ?� cannabis? That does nothing to resolve some of the more negative consequences of the prohibition of the drug particularly as it relates to black market dynamics and the acceptance of users as regular citizens.

Of course, most of my comments should probably go in another thread, but hey, they asked.

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