Pubdate: Sun, 21 Feb 2016
Source: Orange County Register, The (CA)
Copyright: 2016 The Orange County Register
Contact:  http://www.ocregister.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321
Author: Brooke Edwards Staggs

SO I GOT MY MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD ...

My husband and I didn't know quite what to expect as a petite woman 
in neon green scrubs escorted us to a small tent.

Waiting at a folding table was a gray-haired plastic surgeon from Los 
Angeles in a white lab coat. Large headphones covered his ears, and 
he was snacking on nuts.

"What is your condition?" he asked without making eye contact. His 
pen was poised above a medical marijuana referral form.

I was about to experience firsthand a process the state is working to 
reform: how Californians get medical marijuana cards.

I didn't intend to test the system, which has remained largely 
unregulated in the 20 years since voters approved medical marijuana. 
But it was my first week on the job as the Register's first "pot 
reporter," and I was intent on covering High Times magazine's Cannabis Cup.

I knew going into the San Bernardino festival that a "medicating 
area" would be restricted to medical marijuana cardholders. Within 
minutes, however, we discovered that all 300 vendors showing off the 
latest cannabis industry products and even the food trucks were in 
that cordoned-off area. The rest of us were limited to attending a 
concert that wouldn't start for hours and a sparsely populated seminar room.

Then we noticed The Green Doctors, a Venice-based business that had 
set up a mobile clinic just inside the festival.

Out front was a sign suggesting ailments that might merit a medical 
marijuana referral. It included migraines, which I've suffered from 
since high school, and insomnia, which my husband battles after 20 
years in the nightlife industry.

We asked a clipboard-wielding man who was buzzing around the entrance 
how much it cost to get a card. He said $20 for the exam and $25 for the card.

We handed over our driver's licenses and each received a two-page 
form. It had some biographical questions. Then there was space to 
list health conditions we've had for six months that we felt might be 
helped by the use of cannabis.

Soon, we were at the table with the doctor. Within a minute, he had 
signed referrals for us both.

He didn't ask follow-up questions about our conditions. And the 
doctor didn't offer advice as to how we might treat those maladies, 
such as what type of cannabis would best ease my migraines or how 
much my husband should consume to help him sleep.

Broader concerns about the industry's vetting procedures inspired 
portions of Senate Bill 643, authored by Sen. Mike McGuire, 
D-Healdsburg. The bill, one of three being rolled out as part of the 
Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, requires the state 
Medical Board to prioritize discipline of physicians who have 
repeatedly recommended "excessive cannabis" or cannabis without a 
"good faith examination."

My husband and I didn't realize when we left the doctor's table that 
our "exam" was over.

We were ushered to a second roped-off area in front of another tent. 
We expected more medical questions or maybe a physical check. We 
waited. Then we waited some more.

The crowd of mostly young men in the holding area was getting 
restless. The scent of marijuana and lure of music from the 
medicating area kept reminding those still on the outside what they 
were missing.

After nearly two hours, it was our turn to head into the second tent.

Lucy Khalil, general manager of The Green Doctors, was waiting with a 
white lab coat on. She told us it was $80 for a three-month referral 
or $160 for a year. She also encouraged us to splurge for a $25 photo 
ID card, assuring us it would be the best thing to show police if we 
were ever stopped.

We told her we had been quoted a price of $45 out front. She insisted 
we must have misunderstood the man with the clipboard due to his accent.

My husband decided it wasn't worth it and asked for his ID back. 
Khalil said fine, but it would still be $40 for the exam.

Dozens of online Yelp reviews and a Better Business Bureau complaint 
by people claiming to have been customers of the Venice Beach shop 
raised "bait and switch" concerns, claiming sidewalk hawkers quoted 
them a price of $40 that more than doubled before they had cards in hand.

Khalil later told me The Green Doctors has never engaged in 
misleading pricing or promotion practices.

McGuire's bill, which took affect Jan. 1, includes a ban on deceptive 
advertising.

Khalil pointed out that her clinic has to pay to participate in 
events such as Cannabis Cup. She declined to share the cost or how 
much money The Green Doctors made during the five-day festival.

My husband and I had a choice. We could each be out $40 and two hours 
or spend another $40 and step into the heart of Cannabis Cup.

We forked over our debit card. Khalil handed us our driver's 
licenses, a list of potential cannabis side effects and certificates 
with gold foil seals. She quickly secured paper wristbands and set us 
free to enter the medicating area.

Inside, dispensaries were offering free bong hits and 
marijuana-infused gummy bears. I didn't partake, instead collecting 
quotes and story ideas.

A Santa Ana dispensary owner I spoke with later laughed when I told 
him how much we had paid. He showed me the website HelloMD, where a 
video chat with a doctor can get you a 12-month card for $49.

He also chuckled about the exam process, saying it's essentially just 
a formality at this point. Whether California voters approve 
recreational marijuana use as expected in November isn't as big a 
deal as some suggest, he added. "It's basically already legal."

Khalil noted that state law leaves referrals to a physician's 
discretion. "This is just about a doctor's opinion," she said.

And to be fair, patients share similar stories about how easy it is 
to get prescriptions for painkillers and other drugs that can be much 
more addictive.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom