Legitimate doc to prescribe med card?
April 24, 2023 9:56 AM Subscribe
New to the world of medical marijuana and trying to help my partner get a prescription for her anxiety. Mostly finding scams when we search online and our PCP doesn't prescribe med cards. How does one find a legit doctor for this? We are located in Arkansas.
State-specific doctor recs also appreciated!
State-specific doctor recs also appreciated!
When I attempted to do this in Massachusetts several years ago, I discovered that paperwork made it impractical for legitimate doctors to fill out my forms for medical marijuana. I ended up going to someone who had set up a place called The Health Center (THC), and got certified by him.
To be clear, my doctor was fine with me using pot for my condition, and supported it, but the paperwork was just impossible for someone who wanted to do things like maintain a hospital affiliation, continue to write prescriptions for FDA approved drugs, etc.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:13 AM on April 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
To be clear, my doctor was fine with me using pot for my condition, and supported it, but the paperwork was just impossible for someone who wanted to do things like maintain a hospital affiliation, continue to write prescriptions for FDA approved drugs, etc.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:13 AM on April 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Best answer: In my experience (another state), there's a sketchy separate network for MMJ recommending doctors. I used Leafwell, because I had a Groupon (!) and it was, let's say, efficient and effective but impersonal. If you're in an MMJ state, you might look to see whether there's a subreddit to provide guidance.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 10:28 AM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 10:28 AM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I guess what I'm saying is that the doctor who prescribes this may seem kind of like a pill-mill situation, and may not seem like a "legitimate" doctor, but may get you what you need.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 10:29 AM on April 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 10:29 AM on April 24, 2023 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I ended up going to someone who had set up a place called The Health Center (THC), and got certified by him.
In the places where I have lived that went through medical legalization (prior to recreational legalization), this is how everyone I knew with a medical card got it. There were a few prescribers who entirely specialized in weed cards and would either have their own clinic or would have "office hours" at dispensaries where you would go in, describe your anxiety or chronic pain, and get a prescription. I never, ever heard of someone being turned down. It seemed sketch in the sense that it was clearly a pay-to-play setup (you pay the fee, you parrot the right phrases about your symptoms, you get a card) but it also met the letter of the law and enabled people to access the weed.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:29 AM on April 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
In the places where I have lived that went through medical legalization (prior to recreational legalization), this is how everyone I knew with a medical card got it. There were a few prescribers who entirely specialized in weed cards and would either have their own clinic or would have "office hours" at dispensaries where you would go in, describe your anxiety or chronic pain, and get a prescription. I never, ever heard of someone being turned down. It seemed sketch in the sense that it was clearly a pay-to-play setup (you pay the fee, you parrot the right phrases about your symptoms, you get a card) but it also met the letter of the law and enabled people to access the weed.
posted by Dip Flash at 10:29 AM on April 24, 2023 [8 favorites]
I know several people who have used NuggMD with no problems. One of those folks has been in court the past year, dealing with several cases, and the prescription has held up to scrutiny. Looks like NuggMD is not yet available in Arkansas but you can sign up on a waitlist to be notified (and to get a discount) if/when that happens.
posted by zebra at 10:41 AM on April 24, 2023
posted by zebra at 10:41 AM on April 24, 2023
I agree that the folks at the dispensary either have someone there for some hours per week to do "exam" + authorization, or they will know where to direct you to a licensed doc who will do this. They basically want you to be able to get the card so they can sell to you.
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:32 PM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:32 PM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I just had this conversation with my mom, who was afraid to go to the town's "weed doc", until I explained that's it, that's the weed doc, you won't find anybody else. Regular patients won't go to a weed doc, and regular doctors won't go through the red tape of getting qualified just to be pigeonholed as a weed doc, or they are afraid of federal whiplash destroying their careers and/or putting them in jail. Which is...fair. I don't trust the feds much myself.
Your local (or in AR it is pretty predictably regional) weed doc will be a real med school grad who took the same exams as your GP. There is no scam, except by the state governments who require a prescription. You will have an actual legal weed card in your state, processed by a front office who knows what they're doing and will not screw it up because it is all they do all day. (I doubt the online card mills are actually scams, but while I'm fine getting my adhd meds that way I would also prefer to walk in somewhere in this case.)
Yes, it is a card mill, yes, you will almost certainly only answer perfunctory questions and then be issued a card. Take the card and go to your local dispensary and live your best life.
I would say start from the Weedmaps list I linked above, and then check into the closest listings to you to make sure they still have a doctor there and what hours. That may well be the same person at all those locations, half a day a week.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:33 PM on April 24, 2023 [11 favorites]
Your local (or in AR it is pretty predictably regional) weed doc will be a real med school grad who took the same exams as your GP. There is no scam, except by the state governments who require a prescription. You will have an actual legal weed card in your state, processed by a front office who knows what they're doing and will not screw it up because it is all they do all day. (I doubt the online card mills are actually scams, but while I'm fine getting my adhd meds that way I would also prefer to walk in somewhere in this case.)
Yes, it is a card mill, yes, you will almost certainly only answer perfunctory questions and then be issued a card. Take the card and go to your local dispensary and live your best life.
I would say start from the Weedmaps list I linked above, and then check into the closest listings to you to make sure they still have a doctor there and what hours. That may well be the same person at all those locations, half a day a week.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:33 PM on April 24, 2023 [11 favorites]
Lyn Never nails it. Even here in Canada, where cannabis is fully federally legal, the majority of doctors will not prescribe it. The clinic I work for states very clearly that they will not prescribe medical marijuana cards, and from what I gather, most clinics just don't want to touch this aspect of healthcare.
Most medicinal cannabis users I know have gone through the legal card mills to get their Rx. Some cater strictly to vets, others to anyone with a medical condition, regardless. It's legit to go through an alternative provider. And I can't speak for Arkansas but generally you get more compassionate pricing with medical cannabis.
posted by Kitteh at 2:15 PM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Most medicinal cannabis users I know have gone through the legal card mills to get their Rx. Some cater strictly to vets, others to anyone with a medical condition, regardless. It's legit to go through an alternative provider. And I can't speak for Arkansas but generally you get more compassionate pricing with medical cannabis.
posted by Kitteh at 2:15 PM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Went to 'weed docs' several times before my state went fully recreational, always to a different one, and I'm kinda curious about their shadowy status (although never enough to question them directly). Guessing they're people who've earned their doctorates and completed residency somewhere but for whatever reason can't or don't want to open their own practices.
posted by Rash at 4:15 PM on April 24, 2023
posted by Rash at 4:15 PM on April 24, 2023
The doctor I went to seems to practice in his home state, but his main business seems to be card-mill-style dispensing of prescriptions. He's listed in a number of places as a doctor who will prescribe ivermectin for you off-label. So I wouldn't say this one particular guy is doing the Lord's work. But I didn't refuse to see him, either.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:33 AM on April 25, 2023
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 6:33 AM on April 25, 2023
So many doctors practice through large networks, and those networks don't allow weed prescription, likely for political and bureaucratic reasons. A local shop referred me to a medical weed service, it was perfunctory, I got my card. Weed is now incredibly strong. Most edibles are generic strains, to try to get a strain with specific properties required smoking, or prepping my own edibles, neither was a good plan for me. The generic edibles are a help with pain and sleep on an as-needed basis.
posted by theora55 at 9:20 AM on April 25, 2023
posted by theora55 at 9:20 AM on April 25, 2023
Response by poster: Good info, I appreciate it!
Lyn Never -- just found a good option that's recommended by a dispensary on the weedmaps list, thanks! If that doesn't pan out, I'll call around to more dispensaries and see who else is recommended.
Thanks all! :)
posted by switcheroo at 10:16 AM on April 25, 2023
Lyn Never -- just found a good option that's recommended by a dispensary on the weedmaps list, thanks! If that doesn't pan out, I'll call around to more dispensaries and see who else is recommended.
Thanks all! :)
posted by switcheroo at 10:16 AM on April 25, 2023
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posted by epj at 10:09 AM on April 24, 2023 [1 favorite]