My first post @ 420. great website you all have here.
I'm a new (California) mmj patient and I wanted to share a couple things I've seen in my short time being a mmj patient.
In Jan 09 I was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Three weeks later I under went surgery to remove a large tumor in my left hand. The surgery completely removed two fingers and part of my thumb.
Prior to having cancer I suffered with chronic pain for damaged ulnar nerves (7 years). My pain doctor prescribes both MS C*ntin (180mg 3x daily) and D*xedrine (45mg 1x daily), it does help the pain however, it's very expensive.
Both chemo and radiation therapy were prescribed after hand surgery. For those of you that have been through chemo or radiation.. You know how terrible it is. The treatments ended 12 weeks ago today. so far, I'm cancer free.
After reading an article on the California medical marijuana laws, I decided to find a doctor willing to prescribe mmj, I figured if the Dr. thought marijuana might help my chronic pain, I would give it a try.
Immediately upon entering the doctors office, I noticed fifteen to twenty five other people waiting to be seen. Looking around at the other people I noticed that most of them looked like total losers.
None used crutches, canes or even looked as if they were sick. All of them were laughing and wisperering about chronic this and chronic that.
70% were young (under 30), all were males. A few wore baggie pants with stupid looking tennis shoes, you know the kind, the laces are never tied and there all puffed up. A few looked as if they just got out of prison.
I bet most of them didn't have a job, nor were any of them interested in working. Most probably lived at home with their parents.
It took 4 hours to get completly through the process. During that time, I never heard anyone mention they took the day off work or they left early from work to be there.
To be fair, unless you are looking directly at my hands, you would never know I was recovering from cancer. You would notice that I was dressed nice (office style clothing) and I took off early from work for the doctors appointment.
An hour or so after I arrived, I was seen by what I thought was the doctor. I presented three 2" thick envelopes with my medical records i.e xrays, doctors diagnosis and two prescription bottles, both as large as coke cans.
An office questioner that I filled out during my wait was sitting in front of the examiner. I was asked general questions about my health. I opened one of the folders I brought with me and was ubruptly told that she didn't needc to see any of the information, she didn't even bother to look at the prescriptions I brought in.
5 minutes in the examining room (never got examined), I was told to wait with everyone else in the patient lounge, a doctor was going to review my information and they would call my name if and when the doctor approved my use of mmj. So, this person in the examining room wasn't even a doctor although, she did have a stethoscope around her neck (what a joke).
After everyone was seen in the initial consultation, a doctor appeared from the back. In his hands was everyones prescription for mmj along with a little 5minute speech he gave about how to properly use the drug and what to do if you become sick or ill from smoking.
We were handed our perscriptions and i remeber being stunned!
What a joke the last 4 hours really were.
These people didn't care whether you were sick or if mmj would even help you. No, they cared about the $200 office fee they charged you when you walked in the door.
My local dispensary was a little better but not much. A couple old ladies buying medicine to relieve a stomach ailment but other than that, most looked just like the people in the doctors office.
Look, every doctor gets the occasional faker that just wants a prescription to get high but this was above the norm. I thought I was going to see a doctor that would review my medical problems (so far the mmj has really worked) and help me make the decision whether mmj would help relieve the pain. Instead I felt cheapened by the whole thing, it was as if I was part of something shady or even illigal.
I've read many posts @ 420 that helped me realize that there are a lot of folks in the same situation as me. For that, I'm truly thankful. But for those folks who use the system just to get high or grow a few plants are pathetic.
If you want sit around and get high everyday as an adult, then go fight to change the law. The peole using the law illigally are ruining it for those that really benefit from it, and that's why people continue to get busted and sent to jail even thoguh they have a medical card.
I hope they legalize marijuana across the board very soon. I fear the law will be reversed if they don't. They have to get a handle on the corrupt doctors offices and patients, that use the law to benfit their pocket books and life styles rather than helping those that could really benifit from it.
Mr. B
I'm a new (California) mmj patient and I wanted to share a couple things I've seen in my short time being a mmj patient.
In Jan 09 I was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Three weeks later I under went surgery to remove a large tumor in my left hand. The surgery completely removed two fingers and part of my thumb.
Prior to having cancer I suffered with chronic pain for damaged ulnar nerves (7 years). My pain doctor prescribes both MS C*ntin (180mg 3x daily) and D*xedrine (45mg 1x daily), it does help the pain however, it's very expensive.
Both chemo and radiation therapy were prescribed after hand surgery. For those of you that have been through chemo or radiation.. You know how terrible it is. The treatments ended 12 weeks ago today. so far, I'm cancer free.
After reading an article on the California medical marijuana laws, I decided to find a doctor willing to prescribe mmj, I figured if the Dr. thought marijuana might help my chronic pain, I would give it a try.
Immediately upon entering the doctors office, I noticed fifteen to twenty five other people waiting to be seen. Looking around at the other people I noticed that most of them looked like total losers.
None used crutches, canes or even looked as if they were sick. All of them were laughing and wisperering about chronic this and chronic that.
70% were young (under 30), all were males. A few wore baggie pants with stupid looking tennis shoes, you know the kind, the laces are never tied and there all puffed up. A few looked as if they just got out of prison.
I bet most of them didn't have a job, nor were any of them interested in working. Most probably lived at home with their parents.
It took 4 hours to get completly through the process. During that time, I never heard anyone mention they took the day off work or they left early from work to be there.
To be fair, unless you are looking directly at my hands, you would never know I was recovering from cancer. You would notice that I was dressed nice (office style clothing) and I took off early from work for the doctors appointment.
An hour or so after I arrived, I was seen by what I thought was the doctor. I presented three 2" thick envelopes with my medical records i.e xrays, doctors diagnosis and two prescription bottles, both as large as coke cans.
An office questioner that I filled out during my wait was sitting in front of the examiner. I was asked general questions about my health. I opened one of the folders I brought with me and was ubruptly told that she didn't needc to see any of the information, she didn't even bother to look at the prescriptions I brought in.
5 minutes in the examining room (never got examined), I was told to wait with everyone else in the patient lounge, a doctor was going to review my information and they would call my name if and when the doctor approved my use of mmj. So, this person in the examining room wasn't even a doctor although, she did have a stethoscope around her neck (what a joke).
After everyone was seen in the initial consultation, a doctor appeared from the back. In his hands was everyones prescription for mmj along with a little 5minute speech he gave about how to properly use the drug and what to do if you become sick or ill from smoking.
We were handed our perscriptions and i remeber being stunned!
What a joke the last 4 hours really were.
These people didn't care whether you were sick or if mmj would even help you. No, they cared about the $200 office fee they charged you when you walked in the door.
My local dispensary was a little better but not much. A couple old ladies buying medicine to relieve a stomach ailment but other than that, most looked just like the people in the doctors office.
Look, every doctor gets the occasional faker that just wants a prescription to get high but this was above the norm. I thought I was going to see a doctor that would review my medical problems (so far the mmj has really worked) and help me make the decision whether mmj would help relieve the pain. Instead I felt cheapened by the whole thing, it was as if I was part of something shady or even illigal.
I've read many posts @ 420 that helped me realize that there are a lot of folks in the same situation as me. For that, I'm truly thankful. But for those folks who use the system just to get high or grow a few plants are pathetic.
If you want sit around and get high everyday as an adult, then go fight to change the law. The peole using the law illigally are ruining it for those that really benefit from it, and that's why people continue to get busted and sent to jail even thoguh they have a medical card.
I hope they legalize marijuana across the board very soon. I fear the law will be reversed if they don't. They have to get a handle on the corrupt doctors offices and patients, that use the law to benfit their pocket books and life styles rather than helping those that could really benifit from it.
Mr. B
