Doctors and medical marijuana

Voters in California, along with those in three other states, will decide in November whether or not to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Proposition 64, also known as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, is the state's proposed legislation that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana for those over the age of 21 and make it possible to purchase up to an ounce of the substance from dispensaries without a prescription.

The fate of a cottage sector that has drawn entrepreneurs and cast ridicule on the idea of medicinal cannabis might be at stake if Prop 64 passes.

San Francisco Green Evaluations is a "clinic" that provides cannabis recommendations; it is located on the second floor of the Amoeba Music record shop in the city's popular Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. For as low as $45 and in "very rapid" time, as described by many Yelp users, former primary care physician Samuel Dismond III provides suggestions.

Dr. Fnk Lucido is well recognized as a leading advocate for medical marijuana in the Golden State.

Dr. Frank Lucido is well recognized as a leading advocate for medical marijuana in the Golden State. Photo by Frank Lucido, used with permission.

Dismond claims he got into recommending cannabis after being become a wheelchair-bound invalid from two separate vehicle accidents. As he was unable to keep up with primary care, he began devoting one day each week to writing recommendations instead. To get your own medical marijuana card follow the link.

When he first tasted it, he stated, "I was clutching my nose." After that, though, I realized something.

The experience has been described as "fantastic."

Also, there are those like Roger J. Foster, who went by the moniker "Dr. Skype" because he conducted "exams" on patients in Sacramento, California, while sitting in his Las Vegas, Nevada, home. These physicians have found medicinal marijuana to be a lucrative side hustle, earning up to $100 for a few minutes' work and the promise of yearly renewal fees.

Almost all of the doctors who were involved in this, according to Dismond: "had some form of difficulty with their medical license." They were limited in what they could treat patients with. Because they didn't care, their suggestions were being approved with a rubber stamp. That's why weed doctors get a poor reputation.

Law enforcement and conservatives have argued that disreputable "script mills" are dispensing medicinal marijuana just as they dispensing bogus opioid prescriptions.

Because of this, physicians like Lucido have been the target of mockery and ostracism in the medical community, often being grouped along with the "Dr. Skypes" and "Venice Beach clinics" where street hawkers attempt to coerce visitors into visiting their shady offices. South of San Francisco in Santa Clara County, prosecutors claim that a particular medical clinic business, 420 MD, has ties to the mob.

Prop 64's major financier, Spotify millionaire Sean Parker, made sure to hire experienced political operatives who took this into consideration while crafting their campaign strategy. The measure's promoter, Jason Kinney, argued that it will help "decrease the number of unethical medical MJ clinics" and otherwise improve the industry.

In the event of passage, medicinal marijuana would still be legal in California, but patients would be forced to receive a fresh recommendation from a "attending physician" and a state-issued medical marijuana patient ID card.

If they have the card, they won't have to pay state sales tax on cannabis, but they'll still have to pay the 15% excise tax and whatever other city or county taxes are in effect.

Doctors like Lucido are reassured by the fact that there will still be a demand for medical marijuana after legalization because of the tax difference and the allowance for those aged 18–20 to continue accessing medical cannabis (children whose doctors recommend cannabis are allowed in dispensaries if accompanied by an adult).

They are also betting that consumers who have used cannabis for medical purposes, such as those with chronic pain, would be more open to trying non-psychoactive strains and products now that cannabis is legal. Just 5% of the state's population reports regularly using medicinal marijuana.

Just a few % of Dr. Jeffrey Hergenrather's patients in Sebastopol, California, had never tried cannabis when he began issuing prescriptions 16 years ago. Half of his new patients now, he adds, are "kids with autism, kids with seizure disease," and they want to spend $300 on a 90-minute evaluation.

Startups like HappyMD, which target affluent, tech-savvy customers by providing them with advice through mobile applications, may benefit from the transition to telehealth if it is legalized, which involves people videoconferencing with physicians via a secure channel.

According to them "there's a misconception that this market is really just a recreational market." The market for those concerned with their health and well-being, we believe, is substantially larger.

With the passage of Prop 64, Lucido anticipates the loss of "25% to 50%" of his business.

However, "we'll continue meet people who require counseling," he added.

What about his Colorado coworker, the physicians who work in record shops, and the "Dr. Skypes?" But Lucido does defend them, at least partially.

Those people "gave us a terrible reputation" and "delayed legalization by a few years," he claimed. You may think what you want about script mills, but they've never hurt anybody. "90% of the doctors doing that will have to go out and find a job," the article continues.