Have an appt. tomorrow...

[quackquackboom]

I have an appointment tomorrow with the MM Doc. to see if I can get a recommendation for my frequent headaches/migraines. I've tries marijuana once when a friend with back problems let me try some and it seemed to work but to make sure I tried it again on another day and it seems to help more than pills.

Since I'm very new to marijuana use, I have SO many questions but I think I will take it step-by-step and see if I can get the recommendation first. The problem is I don't have any real records of my problem. Since I don't have medical insurance I go to my family doctor and she will not charge me for the visit or I pay with cash with a discount.

When I was getting the appt. the lady asked if I had any records and I explained to her what I just said above, she put me on hold, came back and said it will be $125 cash.

Since I forgot to ask her, my question is: If I don't get the recommendation, will they still charge me the $125? Also if anyone has any tips for me, that would be greatly appreciated.

PS: I'm 22, live in LA county and I'm going to Alternative Medical Solutions in Pacoima, CA.

quackquackboom Reviewed by quackquackboom on 10-02-2008. Have an appt. tomorrow... I have an appointment tomorrow with the MM Doc. to see if I can get a recommendation for my frequent headaches/migraines. I've tries marijuana once when a friend with back problems let me try some and it seemed to work but to make sure I tried it again on another day and it seems to help more than pills. Since I'm very new to marijuana use, I have SO many questions but I think I will take it step-by-step and see if I can get the recommendation first. The problem is I don't have any real Rating: 5

[leadmagnet]

The money is for the evaluation. No guarantee you'll get the recommendation.

[quackquackboom]

Thanks leadmagnet :thumbsup:

[mrburkes]

marijuanamedicine.com charge $150.00

The offcie visit is actually free and you only have to pay "IF" the doctor gives you a recommendation. That fee is only $150.00 which will cover you for a full year and allow you to visit any dispensary in California. You get a certificate and ID card included in price.

[leadmagnet]

marijuanamedicine.com looks interesting. Looks like they do a kind of pre-certification screening before you do your office visit. I wonder how comprehensive the pre-certification process is.

[medpotcrisis]

marijuanamedicine.com charge $150.00

The offcie visit is actually free and you only have to pay "IF" the doctor gives you a recommendation. That fee is only $150.00 which will cover you for a full year and allow you to visit any dispensary in California. You get a certificate and ID card included in price.

Unfortunately, this kind of practice is illegalâ??by doing the office visit for "free" and then charging based upon the issuance of a recommendation, Marijuana Medicine is basically selling recommendations; a big no-no with the Medical Board (not to mention all that physician's ethics stuff and/or their California License agreement oath, etc.)

If they're screwing up on such a basic thing like this, I'd wonder about the rest of their policies... do they comply with the California Medical Board's guidelines for physicians who do MMJ recommendations? If not, don't expect your recommendation (or med recordâ??if they even have medical records) to hold up in court... but of course, I'm sure you'll appreciate it's value as a 'pot club entry ticket' (and nothing more) when you really need the legal protections you were conned out of.

Its sad that 12 years into Prop 215 and we still all suffer from the blatant disregard for the law of the shady characters that are all out to grab some quick cash at the expense of their patients, the community, and the medical marijuana movement as a whole. I mean, I'm surprised the situation in LA hasn't gone nuclear: with all the pot club/dispensary craziness, back-room (or up the street) docs, or perhaps worst of all, the sleazy-and-proud-of-it script mill docs peddling their worthless $70-100 recs. I guess the Docs must be making a few $, but they're really just the enablers, 'legalizing' customers for the skankier pot clubs (where the owners are making $100k-$1mil(plus!) now who's the smarter ones?)

If voters were to decide on Prop 215 this November 4th, do you think it would pass? If it did, it would be on the barest of margins; even with all the many people that MMJ has helpedâ??the seriously ill who suffer less; the hard-working parent with chronic back pain who still has to sacrifice to provide for their family but at least now gets some respite from the pain and is able to sleep through the night; that person with Chrons' who has finally found one of the few treatments for their condition that is both effective and without negative side effectsâ??all of the hundreds of thousands of Californians that have seen relief from cannabis is likely negated by the rampant abuse of Prop 215... from all sides.

Just who have we to blame? Look around; all around:

• Scamming docs and their slick medical chains, abusing our public trust in the medical profession, criminally fraudulent abuse of their patients (including conning them out of the 'legal protection' of a Prop215 rec that these phonies pawned off on them)...
• then the unbelievably greedy drug-dealers (oops, 'compassionate... blah blah blah' that have come along for the ride on the patient's backs (no mention of pot clubs or dispensaries or any of that in Prop 215) charging sky-high rates out of "compassion" to the sick and ill and dying MMJ patients - at least the ones who are able to afford these quasi-legitimitized drug-dealers with 800 #s, websites, advertising and storefronts (just don't mind the thuggish bouncer or mind the violence outside that these types of establishments provide).
• of course, the 10-15 "good" dispensaries out in the State that attempt to approach AG Brown's excellent guidelines are excluded from this rant... can you imagine what a more sustainable movement we'd be a part of at this time if we had pursued a more rational, patient-focused model from the get go?
• And finally, I end up with the patients (expanding out to the broader 'stoner'/pot-culture/marijuana lobby folks too; if you want to ride in our parade to gain a toe-hold of legitimacy, we have the right to tell you when you've been out of line and kick your free-loading asses off before you overwhelm what little respectability we still have.
• Plenty of blame goes to anyone who abuses the spirit of Prop 215 "the compassionate use act." you know... the folks that say "well, it's just pot, it should be legal anyway." to encourage the already shady bottom-feeder doctors to churn out recommendations with no records, no medical file, no ongoing care, (in some cases, no actual in-person visit; let alone an actual physical examination!), and always justified with the "well, I feel..." line. GARBAGE! The law doesn't care about what you feel; the law is very simple, the guidelines are very simple, the qualifications are very simple; YOU DO NOT HELP the success of medical marijuana with the amazingly large numbers of non-legitimate 'patients' who have a pot card. Each one of you spits in the face of a REAL medical patient in REAL medical need.

Make no mistake about it, folks, the world of Medical Marijuana in California will be very different one year from now; I know the legitimate patients will likely survive; all those labor to do this right, whether it be the good docs, the actual compassionate caregivers who provide for those who can't, our hard-won allies in law-enforcement and government who have now see that this does work - that it can be done right - that we can help people suffer less. Much of the pot-club landscape will be VERY different; I just hope that it's AG Brown doing the cleanup and not the DEA/Feds... something tells me "Gov. Moonbeam" will be a little nicer and encourage these folks to move to legitimate endeavors (and hopefully decide to work with our community and movement.

Sorry for the rant folks, it at least began on topic. But rant or not, this is something that needs to be said if we want medical marijuana to survive and flourish.

[Neko150]

^^ This doc (MMEC) says that they stand by their patients, have 24 hr verification services, and will support patients in court, according to their website. Sure, this could be false, but it seems as if they do appear to be fully law-abiding and willing to stand by their customers.

What other way do us potential MMJ users have of evaluating these docs, to make sure that we have a physician we can count on if we ever get in trouble with the law?!