Pubdate: Thu, 15 Oct 2009
Source: Daily Titan (Cal State Fullerton, CA Edu)
Copyright: 2009 The Daily Titan
Contact:  http://www.dailytitan.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4762
Author: Lauren Felechner, Daily Titan Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/dispensaries
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA LICENSE EASY TO OBTAIN

Obtaining a medical marijuana card nowadays is as easy as making a 
doctor's appointment. Dispensaries and doctor's offices are popping 
up all over Southern California to help those in need.

Just like anything else, there is a method to the madness of 
receiving a medical marijuana card and where to buy your weed, said 
Joffran Gonzales, a volunteer in a collective in the Los Angeles area.

"A collective is a group of people, including the patients, where 
everything is donated. There are no transactions. The money is 
donated from the patients, and the marijuana is grown by the 
volunteers within the collective, unlike a dispensary," Gonzales said.

The difference between a dispensary and a collective is that there is 
no salary at the collective for the people volunteering. The 
marijuana and money is "recycled," according to Gonzales. Through a 
dispensary, the employees are able to buy their weed from outside 
sources, bring it to the dispensary location and sell it to their 
patients. A similarity between the two is that both locations require 
a doctor's recommendation from the patient and identification of some 
sort, Gonzales added.

However, patients like Jody Robinson, a mother of three and a 
businesswoman in Costa Mesa, visit a dispensary to buy medicine. 
Robinson, who is going through menopause, suffers from psoriasis, 
acid gas reflux and a lack of sleep. She sought out a medical 
marijuana card to ease her pain and help her sleep better.

After finding a local doctor's office online that aids in the process 
of getting a medical marijuana card, she paid $150 and received her 
card the same day.

"It was a very professional doctor's office; it was like a regular 
office," Robinson said.

Robinson has found a blend of marijuana that is a good balance for 
the symptoms that she was experiencing. She said she buys enough to 
last her a week, at either $20 per gram; however, Robinson also said 
she sometimes stocks up with "quantity discounts" for $60 per eighth.

"It's like street prices but quality marijuana," Robinson said.

The dispensary makes it possible for not only their patients to smoke 
the marijuana by selling pieces and bongs, but they also sell baking 
accessories if a patient wanted to bake their marijuana into food 
instead, said Robinson.

Caitlin Hardesty, 21, an employee of a beauty supply shop and a 
resident of Irvine, needed her medical marijuana card for her anxiety 
and insomnia.

Hardesty found her doctor's office in Long Beach through word of 
mouth. She paid $200 for her license and needed to show proof of her 
symptoms to obtain one.

"I was taking Ambien at the time for my insomnia, so I had to show 
the doctor my prescription I had for that," Hardesty said.

Hardesty also explained that she was told to never come with someone 
in her car to the dispensary to purchase her marijuana and to put it 
in the trunk right when she got to her car to avoid it looking like a 
drug deal if she were to get pulled over.

According to Robinson, after a year, the card will expire, but if a 
renewal fee is paid, much like a driver's license, the medical 
marijuana license will be good for another year.

Both Robinson and Hardesty agree that it is a very easy process to 
obtain a medical marijuana card.

"Any individual that is over 18 and suffers from a myriad of medical 
conditions ranging from asthma to anxiety can be evaluated by a 
licensed physician to receive a medical marijuana recommendation," 
Gonzales said. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake