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Survey of Medical Marijuana Recommending Doctors
Dr. Lucido
I HAVE SURVEYED THE PRACTICE STANDARDS OF ABOUT 2 DOZEN of the more visible medical cannabis physicians, and find: The MAJORITY to be knowledgeable, ethical, and credible. (Remember: according to California NORML, over 1500 doctors in California have written at least one recommendation.) Unfortunately, as in any field, whether medicine, politics, business, journalism, there are a few "LOW STANDARDS" practitioners. (As I have pointed out before, cannabis is so safe and effective that even the lowest standard doctor I have heard of has not harmed a patient, and probably never will.) In spite of that, due to the irrational drug war, we will still have inappropriate actions by law enforcement, necessitating patients, caregivers, and physicians to be MORE careful, and MORE thoughtful to patient medical-legal protection, rather then LESS. . . . Findings of my initial survey

I found a VERY wide range of services, fees, and other qualities. Qualities include: ethics, credibility, and time and effort taken by the medical consultant to establish medical-legal protection. . . . Time spent with patient: --from 3-15 minutes "fig-leaf", assembly line, minimalist standards --to those who schedule 45-60 minutes for a first appointment, and 30 minutes for yearly follow-up. . . . Fees: $100-250 (Ironically, the worst and most embarrassing minimalist work was done by those who charged $100, AND by those who charged $250!So cost didn't seem to be the best test of protection. (my sound bite for this level of garbage is "A $50 value for only $100-250!".) Avoid it as all costs, especially if you are a legitimate patient, and/or growing your own medicine for yourself or another patients) . . . Remember, not only is this consultation about your PHYSICAL HEALTH, but also about your MEDICAL-LEGAL HEALTH; that is, legal documentation that shows you havea legitimate illness should you be challenged by law enforcement. . . . Ethics in advertising, and increasing "business": The worst cases of this involve doctors working out of dispensaries. A major "no-no" that loses for physicians, and their employees, and their patients, the full protection of Conant v. Walters. The next worst are the doctors who "no longer do this", pretending they don't, but still have a cross-referring of patients. There is a reason that this is even illegal when one does it with a "legitimate" pharmacy, such as Walgreen's or Long's. . . . I encourage legitimate patients to consult with reputable doctors with good standards, and to avoid the rash of low standards "clinics" that have opened up next to many dispensaries.

posted by LoZo 2:24 PM