Jacob Bell
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A doctor's office specializing in medical marijuana evaluations is set to expand into Calhoun County.
Michigan Holistic Health, the practice of Dr. Dave Crocker, already has offices in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Muskegon.
On Thursday, Crocker will start a one-day-a-week clinic in Emmett Township for people interested in applying for the state's medical marijuana card.
Michigan voters approved the state's medical marijuana law in 2008, and since then local and state officials have grappled with how to regulate the drug, which remains illegal under federal law.
Since marijuana isn't grown, dispensed or used at Crocker's offices, local regulations for medical marijuana don't apply.
Crocker said his patients are evenly split between those who grow marijuana themselves, get it from caregivers or get it through other means such as dispensaries.
He said that since his first office opened in Kalamazoo in February 2010, all his interactions with police have been positive and that local officials have been happy to see the practice open.
"We want to be the ones who do it right," Crocker said Friday during a busy morning of seeing patients at his Kalamazoo office.
He said he now sees about 200 patients every week, double what he was seeing about a year ago.
Medical opinions are split on medical marijuana, and many doctors in the Battle Creek area won't help patients get certified to use the drug. Other doctors called to comment for this story either declined or were unavailable.
Crocker said some doctors refuse to believe that marijuana has health benefits, while others fear legal problems if they start recommending it.
He said centuries of anecdotal evidence have proven marijuana's usefulness, and that if the federal government would relax marijuana's drug classification more research on its medical uses could be done.
The clinics, to be held every Thursday at the Robin's Nest, 16181 10 Mile Road, came in response to the large number of patients Corker said he was getting from Calhoun and Branch counties. A more permanent location could mean more frequent hours.
Crocker, a Tennessee native, runs the practice with his wife, Annette, who is a nurse, and a small staff.
After working for a veterans hospital in Reno, Nev., the couple moved to the Kalamazoo area where Annette was raised.
Crocker, 45, said he was interested in becoming a medical marijuana caretaker, meaning he could grow for legal patients. That's when an attorney, who was also a medical marijuana patient, recommended he start a practice focused on medical marijuana recommendations.
Crocker described his typical patient as a middle-aged "blue-collar veteran" whose body has been worn out from years of tough labor, although he sees people from a range of professions. About 85 percent of Crocker's patients use marijuana to treat chronic pain, he said.
About one-fifth of the people who contact Crocker don't get his recommendation. Many are screened out during an initial phone call because they don't have one of the qualifying conditions and others are turned down during an initial office visit.
In most cases, Crocker said he can make his recommendation based on recent medical records and a single exam, but he may ask some people to scheduled two or three visits and track their condition before he makes a decision.
"Most of our patients, as you might expect, have some experience with marijuana," he said. "Some of our patients have no experience, so they have more questions about what to expect when using marijuana."
Still, the stigma surrounding its use as a medical drug is fading, he said.
"These are people who are trying to help themselves. They're not violent criminals."
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: battlecreekenquirer.com
Author: Barrett Newkirk
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: battlecreekenquirer.com
Website: Doctor offering help with medical marijuana
Michigan Holistic Health, the practice of Dr. Dave Crocker, already has offices in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Muskegon.
On Thursday, Crocker will start a one-day-a-week clinic in Emmett Township for people interested in applying for the state's medical marijuana card.
Michigan voters approved the state's medical marijuana law in 2008, and since then local and state officials have grappled with how to regulate the drug, which remains illegal under federal law.
Since marijuana isn't grown, dispensed or used at Crocker's offices, local regulations for medical marijuana don't apply.
Crocker said his patients are evenly split between those who grow marijuana themselves, get it from caregivers or get it through other means such as dispensaries.
He said that since his first office opened in Kalamazoo in February 2010, all his interactions with police have been positive and that local officials have been happy to see the practice open.
"We want to be the ones who do it right," Crocker said Friday during a busy morning of seeing patients at his Kalamazoo office.
He said he now sees about 200 patients every week, double what he was seeing about a year ago.
Medical opinions are split on medical marijuana, and many doctors in the Battle Creek area won't help patients get certified to use the drug. Other doctors called to comment for this story either declined or were unavailable.
Crocker said some doctors refuse to believe that marijuana has health benefits, while others fear legal problems if they start recommending it.
He said centuries of anecdotal evidence have proven marijuana's usefulness, and that if the federal government would relax marijuana's drug classification more research on its medical uses could be done.
The clinics, to be held every Thursday at the Robin's Nest, 16181 10 Mile Road, came in response to the large number of patients Corker said he was getting from Calhoun and Branch counties. A more permanent location could mean more frequent hours.
Crocker, a Tennessee native, runs the practice with his wife, Annette, who is a nurse, and a small staff.
After working for a veterans hospital in Reno, Nev., the couple moved to the Kalamazoo area where Annette was raised.
Crocker, 45, said he was interested in becoming a medical marijuana caretaker, meaning he could grow for legal patients. That's when an attorney, who was also a medical marijuana patient, recommended he start a practice focused on medical marijuana recommendations.
Crocker described his typical patient as a middle-aged "blue-collar veteran" whose body has been worn out from years of tough labor, although he sees people from a range of professions. About 85 percent of Crocker's patients use marijuana to treat chronic pain, he said.
About one-fifth of the people who contact Crocker don't get his recommendation. Many are screened out during an initial phone call because they don't have one of the qualifying conditions and others are turned down during an initial office visit.
In most cases, Crocker said he can make his recommendation based on recent medical records and a single exam, but he may ask some people to scheduled two or three visits and track their condition before he makes a decision.
"Most of our patients, as you might expect, have some experience with marijuana," he said. "Some of our patients have no experience, so they have more questions about what to expect when using marijuana."
Still, the stigma surrounding its use as a medical drug is fading, he said.
"These are people who are trying to help themselves. They're not violent criminals."
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: battlecreekenquirer.com
Author: Barrett Newkirk
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: battlecreekenquirer.com
Website: Doctor offering help with medical marijuana
