Please check out the CA Medical Board's Guidelines for Medical Marijuana Doctors... especially the points highlighted below:

Welcome to the Medical Board of California - Medical Marijuana

These accepted standards are the same as any reasonable and prudent physician would follow when recommending or approving any other medication, and include the following:

  • History and good faith examination of the patient.
  • Development of a treatment plan with objectives.
  • Provision of informed consent including discussion of side effects.
  • Periodic review of the treatment's efficacy.
  • Consultation, as necessary.
  • Proper record keeping that supports the decision to recommend the use of medical marijuana.


Here are some important points to consider when recommending medical marijuana:

  • The physician should determine that medical marijuana use is not masking an acute or treatable progressive condition, or that such use will lead to a worsening of the patient's condition.
  • The Act names certain medical conditions for which medical marijuana may be useful, although physicians are not limited in their recommendations to those specific conditions. In all cases, the physician should base his/her determination on the results of clinical trials, if available, medical literature and reports, or on experience of that physician or other physicians, or on credible patient reports. In all cases, the physician must determine that the risk/benefit ratio of medical marijuana is as good, or better, than other medications that could be used for that individual patient.
  • A physician who is not the primary treating physician may still recommend medical marijuana for a patient's symptoms. However, it is incumbent upon that physician to consult with the patient's primary treating physician or obtain the appropriate patient records to confirm the patient's underlying diagnosis and prior treatment history.
  • The initial examination for the condition for which medical marijuana is being recommended must be in-person.
  • Recommendations should be limited to the time necessary to appropriately monitor the patient. Periodic reviews should occur and be documented at least annually or more frequently as warranted.


The important thing to consider is: Medical Marijuana recommendations are only as good as the documentation (patient record/file) and the doctor to back them up!

And as far as cost... what does 1 hour of shitty legal service cost? 2 hours? how much do you want to spend to try to save your ass when the cop sees your Medicann rec, rolls his eyes, and now you've got to defend yourself against criminal charges. Even if dismissed, it's your life, your time, your money that's taken away as you work your way through the process. Spending $150-200 (as a new patient) to do this right WILL pay off in the long run; this $100/$95/$80/$60/(how low will they go?) isn't worth the paper it's printed on... and what happens when one of these low-ball docs shuts down (due to violating CA Med Board guidelines, some sort of relationship with dispensaries, etc) or just disappears? Where will your attorney request your medical record from? Will your doctor even be a licensed doctor (lots of Medicann docs have lost their licenses over their shady practices) when they're subpoenaed to testify in your defense? Buyer bewareâ??you'll always get what you pay for.

Also, the doctor/clinic that you get your MMJ recommendation from should definitely not be giving you information on how/where to obtain your medical marijuana! This is considered aiding and abetting as decided in the Conant Decision (back in 2003!) and this summary at the Drug Policy Alliance outlines what doctors should and shouldn't do.

Medical Marijuana Cases: Conant v. Walters

What does Conant mean for doctors and health care professionals?

Doctors CAN:
  • Discuss, fully and candidly, the risks and benefits of medical marijuana with patients.
  • Recommend (or Approve, Endorse, Suggest, or Advise, etc.), in accordance with their medical judgment, marijuana for patient use.
  • Record in their patientsâ?? charts discussions about and recommendations of medical marijuana.


Doctors CANNOT:
  • Prescribe medical marijuana. This includes writing a recommendation on an Rx form.
  • Assist patients in obtaining marijuana.
  • Cultivate or possess marijuana for patient use.
  • Physically assist patients in using marijuana.
  • Recommend marijuana without a justifiable medical cause.