Will I have Trouble Qualifying?

[4fingerlid]

I'm 56 years old and have arthritic neck and shoulder pain. I went to see my regular doctor today hoping he would write me a prescription for some pain medication. He told me to take between 6-8 tylenol pills a day. You can buy these at any drug store. The only other prescription I have is for cholesterol medication. When I mentioned medical mj, he just laughed it off.
My question is: will this be sufficient to see a mmj doctor and get a recommendation or do I really need proof of pain medication?

4fingerlid Reviewed by 4fingerlid on 01-13-2010. Will I have Trouble Qualifying? I'm 56 years old and have arthritic neck and shoulder pain. I went to see my regular doctor today hoping he would write me a prescription for some pain medication. He told me to take between 6-8 tylenol pills a day. You can buy these at any drug store. The only other prescription I have is for cholesterol medication. When I mentioned medical mj, he just laughed it off. My question is: will this be sufficient to see a mmj doctor and get a recommendation or do I really need proof of pain Rating: 5

[BuzzBob]

Yes, it should be enough. Most pot doctors will take you at your word. If you say you have arthritis pain and that you would rather not take Tylenols, they're not going to adopt an adversarial attitude and make you prove that you really do have pain.

Someone said that you can get a pot recommendation for writer's block. Well, not quite. I'm sure most doctors would suspect they were getting pranked if someone literally asked them for a pot recommendation for their writer's block. But any kind of pain or depression is on firm ground.

It will help if you bring copies of your medical records. If you've mentioned pain to your doctor several times, that's even better (well, no, it's not better that you've been in pain longer, but it makes your case stronger). A strong case also helps the pot doctor. Doctors are not in the business of saying no to people, so of course they're going to see cases where the patient has no documentation but the doctor believes the patient is legitimate. But every case they see that does have good documentation goes towards proving (if it ever came to that) that the doctor wasn't just handing out recommendations like after-dinner mints.

And if I can get on my soapbox a bit, it's too bad that so many doctors won't touch medical pot. The original idea was that people would talk to their doctors, the doctors who had seen them over the years (one hopes), and so there could be an informed discussion about pot and a determination of "medical need" that would be beyond question.

Instead, people have to go to doctors who "specialize" in pot recommendations, and the people who see them aren't even referred by their own doctors. Anybody can see that even the most scrupulous pot doctor simply doesn't have enough information to screen in only cases of legitimate "medical need."

And it's doubly bad because, on the one hand, it creates the impression that pot docs are sort of fly-by-niters (like doctors who did abortions in the 50s), and on the other hand, it puts an enormous burden on pot doctors, who are expected to be stingy with the recommendations, yet who by their very nature are not stingy people.

I mean, if you say that pot just makes you feel happier in general, that should be good enough reason! But anyway, until that day, we work with the system we got. Ask your doctor's nurse or office manager for a copy of your records. By law they have to give them to you, but if they make a big production about it, just go to the pot doctor as you are. The pot doctor can call your doctor, and since he (the pot doctor) is a legitimate, licensed medical practicioner, your doctor can't just blow him off.

Alright, my friend, good luck, and don't feel "questionable." If pot helps you in any way, you should be able to use it, and anyone who yammers on about "legitimate medical need" had better start explaining how Botox and Viagra bring people back from the brink of death. :S2:

[ShastaCoMan]

Yes, it should be enough. Most pot doctors will take you at your word.

YEA, and thats exactly why alot of people are starting to question MMJ and the decisions that they made in the past about passing legislation. IMHO, i think its to easy for anyone to go in and get a recommendation, and thats not only my opinion.i think that if you need it, fine, you should be able to get it without issues, if you can PROVE you need it. it wouldnt suprise me that if AB390 doesnt go thru that the state seriously re-examines the whole issue. all one has to do is go to any emergency room, and tell the dr they have this pain or that pain, and 99% of them will write you a script on the spot for vicodin or something similar, and there ya go, off to the MMJ dr who will gladly write you up for as much as you want, and even over limits if you ask. i personally think that to many people abuse the system, and that a person should be required to present actual DR records detailing medications, exactly whats wrong with you,ect for at LEAST 6 months back before the MMJ dr even considers writing a recommendation. as a MMJ patient, ive gotten my reccomendation twice ( 3 major back ops, left arm and shoulder artifical bones, right arm severed and re-attached,left cheek rebuilt,orbital socket on left rebuilt,ect,ect.....4-5 80mg oxycontin pills a day, 4-5 15mg oxy IR for breakthru, vicodin and norco as needed) . the first time i got it dr. toy, grass valley) i ddnt have to show him a single thing. i walked in, told him what was wrong with me, and without somuch as an examination, he wrote me up for like 2 1/2 times the county limit. the second time i went in, the dr i saw actually looked at my records ( i have them all for the last 20 yrs) and told me that it was actually refreshing to see someone that actually had something wrong wit them that was verifiable, and that i had more stuff wrong with me that qualified me than any 4 of his patients combined. the problem is that when 215 hit, everyone who smoked it for recreation before now came up with all of this shit wrong with them, and ran down and got the rec. now, alot of people who were for 215 are now having second thoughts, because anyone who wants it can get it, without so much as a shred of proof. alot of counties are getting fed up with everyone wanting to open all of these dispensaries up and sell,sell,sell......thats why there getting CLOSED everywere now.

nothing personal, but i think eventually, all of the BS is going to run MMJ into the GROUND for everyone.

[BuzzBob]

Yes, you have a point, Shasta. There shouldn't even be pot doctors. All recommendations should come from the person's usual doctor, but this is how it's worked out. However, before a backlash against medical pot builds, I think people will realize that there is no real dividing line between "recreational" and "medical."

I know that sounds really radical, especially to someone with a serious medical problem, but if pot makes someone "feel better," why should it matter whether the person has broken bones or just a bummer of a day at work? As long as the side effects don't outweigh the relief, that's exactly what "medical" is all about -- or should be.