Having the talk with a Dr.

Hello all, thanks for stopping by. Its a semi long read, stir those bowls, friends.


Im lucky enough to live in a newly voted medicinal state.

for the past few years I have been self medicating for social anxiety disorder with great success. Now that I have obtained a professional position in society, id like to make my self medication legal.

My doctor knows about my marijuana use. He is not against it and I explained what a vaporizer is and all the rest. I did not however, specify that I was using medicinally, as well as recreationally.

I worry that when I approach the question of medicinal marijuana that he will assume im looking for a free pass. Not only because I have admitted to use in the past but for a few other reasons Im firm about...

1. I do not want to talk to psychiatrist or anyone but him about it. Because of the stigma associated with mental illnesses, mostly. I have it under control.
2. I do not want to try pharmaceuticals. They're 100% out of the question.

I plan to explain all of this to him. I also plan to tell him that I understand how to medicate and I am responsible enough to be recommended. Going through life stoned is no way to live, and that is not what im looking for. I want him to know that I know that too. Dosage is a sensitive part of anxiety disorders also, too much can make it worse.


Am I going about this in the right manner? Does anyone have any advice to offer?

I wouldn't say you're going about it wrong. I'm assuming you're in MA being the only recently voted medical state, so I can tell you if you are worried about your regular physician, both CannaMed and Integr8 are setting up recommendation centers in the state. They charge $200 to $300 for the recommendation as long as you have sufficient medical records of what you need it for. But that of course depends on how you feel a out your doctor and how your doctor feels about cannabis.

thanks for the reply. i have heard of that option, but to do that I need a diagnosis Id assume?

Or could a physician recommend someone to one of these centers, without putting themselves on the line writing a medicinal marijuana prescrption?

You do need history of some sort, but they tend to be a bit more liberal than the average Doc. I do not know if these places are the same, but the equivalent in RI only takes your appointment if you are going to get a recommendation, they check your history first and if they see enough of a reason then they will set up an appointment. I think you need your records, but their doctors do not need a refferal from yours, just your history.

I could be wrong, I will try to find more info for you. I do know that CannaMed plans on being open in the first week or two of January from what I have read.

IMO most Famiily Docs are not going to be very helpful in MMJ states that is why referral Docs are set up. Until the Feds change their tune most Docs will shy away since it is their medical license and lively hood that can easily be taken away. Hopefully MA will be speedier then NJ has been with their joke of medical marijuana.

I am interested in other personal experiences with this topic. I will be moving to Maine in 8 months, and I have been self medicating for a few years now, for depression and monthly migraines. However, I have not been seeing a doctor for either of these issues. Right now I live in Puerto Rico and it's complete hell to see a doctor so I avoid it if I can.

I guess my question is this - How much of a record does a doctor need to justify medicinal use? When I get stateside I will try to start seeing a doctor my my migraine and depression, but I DO NOT want to use pharmaceuticals. For the migraines, I've tried practically every OTC medication I could find and nothing works except marijuana. I've never tried anti-depression meds.

I grew up watching most of my family members struggle with anxiety and depression and I swear most of the prescriptions only made them medicated zombies, or stopped working after a year, or made them gain weight or become forgetful. I refuse to try those medications. I know what works for me.

What am I looking forward to, anyone know? Am I going to have a hard time since I have no treatment history?

I have heard cads of doctors being sympathetic to patients without insurance as a reason for not having records, so if you focus on the bad medical state of Puerto Rico they may give you leeway.

I'm also in MA getting ready to act ASAP. I am planning on seeing CannaMED in Boston to avoid dealing with someone who is uninformed. What kind of records do I need, and more importantly, how do I go about obtaining those? I'll start getting them now if I can. Is anxiety going to be covered by cannamed most likely at all? That is well documented on my record, but also I have some on going physical issues on there as well, but the reality is it is most beneficial to my anxiety.

I need to know EXACTLY what to do to get this done asap to mentally and physically prepare for the trip to Boston (not my favorite of places to visit).

Dark, nice to see some MA love up in here.

I was on cannamed's site and theyre schedule to open 1/7 in framingham. Ill probably give them a call that week and talk with someone to see if its worth going in.

I dont think Ill qualify though. I hope that you can get the help you need though.

Why do I feel like it is much easier to qualify with cannamed than you think? The law was worded as "any debilitating disease as documented by a dr" or something similar. Most diseases are debilitating.

i dont have any records. been self medicating and doing my own research with success.

i just want to make my medicine legal because of my profession.

i hope youll have a much easier time, dark.

Thanks, but IMO you are giving up too fast. I don't want to be mosey, but whatever you are using it for, just go see a doctor and complain of that a few times. Then you'll have at least that on record.

If you REALLY can't get a card there is always insomnia. You can claim insomnia and they will have no way to prove it. They might throw some ambien at you, but it wouldn't exactly be lying to say you'd prefer a healthier way to sleep.

I hope you don't give up before you try!

I'm starting to freak out about this the more I read this list.

Basically here is what I'm wondering. I DON'T want to ask my regular dr for a recommendation. I have severe anxiety and bulging disks in my back being the 2 major reasons I should qualify IMO.

Can I simply take my medical record and nothing else to cannamed and have their DR get me a recommendation and card? Or does my doctor need to say "he should use cannabis". I thought that was the whole point of cannamed?

I really can't be turned down. I literally can not. I need specific strains that are just not profitable on the black market. This is really stressing me out over the fear that they will reject it because it is not on the VERY short list of about 5 conditions. It does say "or any other debilitating medical condition".

I need more info/reassurance here. I don't know what to do. They are scheduling as soon as Jan 7th, and I requested my medical records today. I should have my records within 1-2 weeks tops.

Hey dark, from my understanding you just need your records. Cannamed is providing the doctor for the recommendation, they just need records to provide reason for as much. I don know cannamed, but the RI equivalent only sets up your appointment after they have decided you do have enough reason for it, so if you can get the appointment you should have almost no chance of not getting recommended.

Also, I suspect a lot of people will be trying with no medical records at first, so having your info together early may be a big helper.

Today and tomorrow being kinda holidays I can not contact them, but on wednesday I will try to give CannaMed and Intergr8 a call to see if I can get a bit more clarity.

Well I got the appointment set for the very end of Jan. My records are on the way. They never asked my condition, but I guess if you don't qualify for the card you don't pay the $200 fee. I'm guessing that they want that $200 badly since they don't want to work for free. Should help people's odds right?

Also it seems like I'll be able to grow once I get the card? Their site indicated that I'd be able to grow a 60 day supply.

I don't post here much, but I couldn't help but feel I'm in the exact situation as you darkrom. I live North of Boston, and am considering trying to get a mmj recommendation. I have partial seizures, which aren't really debilitating when I medicate at least once every 24 hours with a high CBD strain. The problem is I can only get high CBD strains from one friend, who isn't always around. I find when I have sativa I use for recreation because the treatment lasts only 2-4 hours versus the 12+ hours of relief I get from a strong Kush or Harlequin. I have never gotten properly diagnosed with epilepsy. Since I started using cannabis I have found no need/didn't want to have a condition like that on my record.

I was wondering if anyone knows if epilepsy will be considered a condition covered by the Mass medical mj laws. It's not really debilitating in the sense that I'm not dying from it, but the episodes can cause some serious negative afterglows and depression. They also cause temporary amnesia and can make it very difficult to concentrate on tasks following an episode. The reason I think it might be is just that there is no prescription anticonvulsant that has fewer side effects than cannabis.

Epilepsy WILL be an easy card trust me, but you do need a diagnosis for it. You can't just come in and say you have it :/

Epilepsy is debilitating man don't trivialize it. I'd say EASY card for you. Call cannamed. Hell you can even email them with a form on the site. I too will be traveling south to them to get this done.

Emailing/Talking with them was VERY reassuring and they scheduled me nice and easily.

Epilepsy is stated outright in the list of conditions, it is one of the most likely to be prescribed conditions. If you have records of seizures, even if not openly declared epileptic, you will almost certainly be good for a recommendation.

Just as a side note, I live with an epileptic, and have seen the financial support this person recieves from various epileptic foundations. It is a serious condition, and if things ever get worse for you do not be afraid to seek help, it is out there. It is very good to hear it is not bad and you've seem to have found a successful treatment

Yesterday as I was shaking violently from panic attacks and hyperventilating I couldn't help but think "boy it'll be nice having an indica around..." because I'm pretty sure if I vaped a sativa during that, things would have only gotten WORSE. Not always, but enough so that its not worth the risk. Ironically, I believe indicas also offer better pain relief if I'm not mistaken. EVERYTHING around here (my dealers anyway) is sativa. Its been a long time since I got a good indica. Fortunately sativa still helps with the pain, but I can tell when it is an indica strain. My back spasms stop rapidly and stay away for many hours.

I guess I can't complain now that it is all falling into place finally, but I'm hoping at least one dispensary opens up shortly after I get my card (IF I can even get it). I'll travel anywhere and I'm ready to drop a months pay if it means having medicine that will actually help, and will last a long time.

i emailed cannamed to see if they had any advice to offer. ill post back to see what they say. not sure if they can respond to emails just yet? they arent "open" until the 7th

Best of luck to you DR and CB ... getting my license has changed my life in many ways (I don't feel guilty about my use anymore, at least I have some support and it's not just me saying "this helps me ... really" ... it lends some credibility somehow).

It's good to have support in your corner as opposed to constant questioning and doubt for a change (especially when your bipolar ... I'm sure with panic attack type issues it would be similar ... often all you want is a little empathy while waiting for things to pass ... the last thing you need is to be criticized or questioned about the one thing that helps when criticism and questioning only compounds the problem ... ahhh ... mental illness ... so much fun ... they have no more clue about which/why/what pharmaceuticals work and yet they are rampantly prescribed until one finds something that works and yet there is huge opposition to trying something relatively harmless like cannabis when there is a chance it might work ... strange world we live in ... anyways ... I'm really ranting now )

Good luck!