In its first week of operation, business as been potent at Michigan Holistic Health.
Southwest Michigan's first full-time medical marijuana clinic, which opened Monday at 500 W. Crosstown Parkway in Kalamazoo, saw about 100 people come through the doors this week, said Annette Crocker, wife of Dr. David Crocker, the physician who runs the clinic.
More than 90 percent of those who came through the doors hoping to receive a medical marijuana recommendation were OK'd by David Crocker to use marijuana to treat a debilitating physical condition, Annette Crocker said.
"It's been a great week," Annette Crocker said. "We've been very busy."
The clinic had to add another phone line to keep up with a barrage of phone calls this past week, she said.
Michigan's medical marijuana law allows those with a recommendation from a doctor to use marijuana to treat conditions ranging from chronic pain to symptoms associated with HIV/AIDS and cancer, among several other conditions.
Under the law, a registered patient can possess up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana and up to 12 marijuana plants. The clinic does not furnish patients with marijuana.
A consultation at Michigan Holistic Health costs $200, but if a patient is denied a recommendation, the fee is waived. After a patient is given the recommendation, the state of Michigan charges a $100 fee to register him or her as a medical marijuana patient, with the fee dropped to $25 for low-income applicants.
Patients traveled to the clinic from Muskegon, Grand Rapids and Detroit, Annette Crocker said. One patient even came from as far as Illinois, a state that doesn't have a medical marijuana law on its books.
Most of the patients who were turned down were those who needed additional medical documentation describing their debilitating condition, Annette Crocker said. Only two patients were turned down because they simply didn't have a qualifying condition.
"Will they (the number of patients) level off? I don't know," Annette Crocker said. "All we know is whatever the need is, we'll be here."
To keep up with what David Crocker believes will be continued demand, he has interviewed a doctor from Nevada – where he worked as an interventional radiologist in Reno – who is interested in joining the clinic. Other health care professionals from the area have also stepped forward to express interest in being affiliated with the clinic, he said.
David Crocker said he is thrilled with the response so far.
"Thank you to the community," he said. "Everyone has been very supportive of us."
A community policing officer from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety entered the clinic last week to introduce himself, Crocker said.
"He just said, 'If there's anything we can help you with, just let us know,'" he said.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: MLive.com
Author: Chris Killian
Copyright: Michigan Live LLC
Southwest Michigan's first full-time medical marijuana clinic, which opened Monday at 500 W. Crosstown Parkway in Kalamazoo, saw about 100 people come through the doors this week, said Annette Crocker, wife of Dr. David Crocker, the physician who runs the clinic.
More than 90 percent of those who came through the doors hoping to receive a medical marijuana recommendation were OK'd by David Crocker to use marijuana to treat a debilitating physical condition, Annette Crocker said.
"It's been a great week," Annette Crocker said. "We've been very busy."
The clinic had to add another phone line to keep up with a barrage of phone calls this past week, she said.
Michigan's medical marijuana law allows those with a recommendation from a doctor to use marijuana to treat conditions ranging from chronic pain to symptoms associated with HIV/AIDS and cancer, among several other conditions.
Under the law, a registered patient can possess up to 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana and up to 12 marijuana plants. The clinic does not furnish patients with marijuana.
A consultation at Michigan Holistic Health costs $200, but if a patient is denied a recommendation, the fee is waived. After a patient is given the recommendation, the state of Michigan charges a $100 fee to register him or her as a medical marijuana patient, with the fee dropped to $25 for low-income applicants.
Patients traveled to the clinic from Muskegon, Grand Rapids and Detroit, Annette Crocker said. One patient even came from as far as Illinois, a state that doesn't have a medical marijuana law on its books.
Most of the patients who were turned down were those who needed additional medical documentation describing their debilitating condition, Annette Crocker said. Only two patients were turned down because they simply didn't have a qualifying condition.
"Will they (the number of patients) level off? I don't know," Annette Crocker said. "All we know is whatever the need is, we'll be here."
To keep up with what David Crocker believes will be continued demand, he has interviewed a doctor from Nevada – where he worked as an interventional radiologist in Reno – who is interested in joining the clinic. Other health care professionals from the area have also stepped forward to express interest in being affiliated with the clinic, he said.
David Crocker said he is thrilled with the response so far.
"Thank you to the community," he said. "Everyone has been very supportive of us."
A community policing officer from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety entered the clinic last week to introduce himself, Crocker said.
"He just said, 'If there's anything we can help you with, just let us know,'" he said.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 Magazine - Cannabis Culture News & Reviews
Source: MLive.com
Author: Chris Killian
Copyright: Michigan Live LLC
