Pubdate: Wed, 25 Mar 2015
Source: Gazette, The (Colorado Springs, CO)
Copyright: 2015 The Gazette
Contact: http://www.gazette.com/sections/opinion/submitletter/
Website: http://www.gazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/165
Authors: Pula Davis, Wayne Laugesen, Christine Tatum
Series: Special report, 'Clearing the Haze:'

COST MAY BE BIGGEST HURDLE TO RED CARD

Critics of Colorado's medical marijuana program say it's a fraud 
starting with the application process to get a red card, which allows 
a person to buy and use marijuana.

Is getting on the state's Medical Marijuana Registry as easy as 
everyone says? The Gazette decided to see what the process involves.

Applying for a red card was a little more involved than buying cold 
medicine containing pseudoephedrine, but not much. The requirement of 
a doctor's examination and approval, for example, was as simple as 
having a quick cup of coffee with a stranger.

It took $95 and 46 minutes - maybe five of those with the doctor - to 
get a recommendation to use medical marijuana. No stethoscope, no 
blood pressure reading, no checking of the pulse.

Making an appointment was easy: Google "how to get a red card in 
Colorado Springs" to find local clinics, sign up online and you'll 
get a phone call and a text within minutes to confirm an appointment.

Don't have any medical records? Shouldn't be a problem. Applicants 
need only bring an ID, a $15 money order for the state application 
fee and $80 cash to cover the appointment and notary services. All 
application paperwork is on-site.

The waiting room in one Colorado Springs MMJ clinic was packed with 
men and women, from 20-somethings to senior citizens, on a recent 
afternoon. One man worried he wouldn't qualify but was quickly 
assured he should see the doctor to be sure. Office staff members 
were polite, professional and efficient.

Upon arrival, patients were asked for a driver's license, which was 
photocopied and returned, and given a clipboard with a sheet from the 
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment titled "Medical 
Marijuana Registry - Application for Registration Card." 
Instructions: Fill out lines 1 through 12 only, which consists of the 
usual personal data - name, address, date of birth. "Line 8 says 
County, Not Country," each person was instructed. "Please put El Paso."

Two other sheets required signatures, one detailing health privacy laws.

Our diagnosis after explaining our symptoms: severe pain. Advice: Try 
eating a very small amount of an edibles cookie before bed. With 
that, the physician paperwork was signed.

Next step: Hand over $80. A packet was put together with everything 
necessary for a red card, including a notarized copy of the 
application, a driver's license copy, the $15 money order and the 
physician certification sheet, and placed in an addressed envelope to 
the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Final instructions: Send the envelope certified mail and keep the 
receipt. Apparently some dispensaries accept the receipt and a copy 
of the paperwork as a temporary red card.

[sidebar]

Local Red Card Holders

The number of people on the Medical Marijuana Registry has jumped in 
El Paso and Teller counties: Year        El Paso  Teller Dec. 31, 
2014 17,986   936 Dec. 31, 2013 15,320   855 Dec. 31, 2012 
14,888   922 Dec. 31, 2011 10,408   737 Dec. 31, 2010* 12,173   949 
Dec. 31, 2009 2,947   300

* First year after federal memorandum

Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Day 4: MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Medical marijuana sales in Colorado exploded after October 2009 as 
the result of a federal memorandum stating that resources likely 
would not be used to prosecute people involved in the business, which 
remains illegal under federal law. Gazette research confirmed the 
medical marijuana market continues to grow as the result of porous 
regulation and a favorable price differential versus retail marijuana 
sales. The issue is big and complex and may derail legitimate efforts 
to conduct research on parts of the marijuana plant that could 
produce new, clinically proven medicines.

Contact the Gazette:

Email:  Call: 719.636.0291

About the series

The reporting team: editorial board members Pula Davis and Wayne 
Laugesen and local reporter Christine Tatum.

After the first year of recreational pot sales, The Gazette takes a 
comprehensive look at the unintended consequences of legalizing sales 
and use of recreational marijuana.

Day 1: Colorado has a fragile scheme for regulating legal marijuana 
and implementing a state drug prevention strategy.

Day 2: One of the suppositions about legalizing pot was that 
underground sales would be curtailed, but officials say there is 
evidence of a thriving black market.

Day 3: One teen's struggle to overcome his marijuana addiction shows 
how devastating the effects of the drug can be for younger, more 
vulnerable users.

Day 4: Amid the hoopla about recreational marijuana sales, the 
medical marijuana industry is flourishing and has its own set of 
complicated concerns.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom