Although I would still suggest you attempt to talk to your primary physician/oncologist, etc first — Sometimes those doctors, who do not deal with cannabis evaluations daily, can be unclear on the legality of what you are asking them or, in the case of Kaiser Permanente, have their legal managers forbid them from writing the note properly (Kaiser Dr.’s cannot use the word “recommendation” even though the law explicitly asks for it) – even for the terminally ill.
Mother Jones recently published an article titled How to Get A Pot Card (Without Really Tryng). Mother Jones magazine recently published an article entitled See Here How to Get a Pot Card (Without Really Trying).
Do you know who was the first to become a patient of a doctor? Her rheumatologist, and the doctor she visited later, refused to give her a recommendation letter for cannabis therapy. This author was able to obtain a letter of recommendation from his rheumatologist for writer’s pain, but it cost him about $70. His insurance did not cover the treatment.
Most Medical Cannabis Doctors provide a system that allows dispensaries and doctors to communicate at any time. This may be a 24 hour number, e-mail address or specialized website. California NORML’s list of local medical cannabis evaluators can be found here. Google will help find more.
Verification is sometimes more challenging for patients whose physicians are hard to reach or keep fewer hours. To help these patients, we suggest obtaining a verified patient I.D. Patients can obtain a Patient ID card from the Patient Identification Center. Oakland Patient Identification Center (suggested). Or a patient identification card from the Public Health Department of your county. The Public Health Department for your county will also accept your recommendation. Theses ID cards can help stream-line the registration/verification process when you visit dispensaries for the first time because you have been pre-verified by one of these agencies. As a rule, the dispensary that you go to will confirm your letter when you sign up for patient status and every year at renewal.
A medical cannabis dispensary is the place to go if you do not plan on cultivating your own medicine. Berkeley Patients Care Collective aims to make the experience of visiting our dispensary for the first time as pleasant and informative as possible. Each day we welcome new patients that have changed their minds about cannabis due to changes they’ve experienced in health. Patients often find that the cannabis from their youth is not the same as the high-quality cannabis dispensaries offer today, with a wide range of choices.
The security staff will guide you to the front desk where you fill out our registration form. Also, you will receive information about our operating hours and guidelines. Front desk staff then leads you to an individual consultant. This person will guide you throughout your experience, providing information, recommendations and answering all questions.