Tips on finding patients who truly need medicine.

[silusbotwin]

I know this is a bit unorthodox for my first post but I have a bit of a gripe. I deal with alot of patients who don't truly need meds to help sickness and pain. Seems like all I know are folks who are just skivvy stoners and do not have a real medical condition that warrants cannabis use. Many people in Michigan got a card way too easy. Don't get me wrong, I think anyone who wants to smoke should have free access to the wonderful gift called cannabis but I feel my skills and resources could go to use much better by helping someone who really needs it.

tl;dr: How do I find patients who are truly sick and not just wanting to get stoned?

 

[cephalopod]

Try the VA or perhaps you could befriend someone who works in an oncology department of your local hospital. This might be a bold move but, support groups for cancer/terminally ill patients. Just a couple thoughts...

 

[stumpjumper]

Donate your meds to the Cannabis Cancer Project.

 

[ozzrokk]

Do lots of interviews and ask lots of questions. That is the best way I know. Good luck my friend

 

[jesus of Cannabis]

I say that if all you see is fake people with fake sickness, then move and find some people that really have a need for your "talents"
and being stoned is a side effect of the cannabis, since i say the true healing property is anti-inflammatory first then stoned 2nd.

 

[bowlfullofbliss]

Your skills LOFL!!!!!!!!! You must be the fucking man to be so picky. Just grow for your sick self, then you don't have to worry about it. You sound like Napoleon Dynamite bragging about your skills. Maybe it'll get you some hot chicks too.

Yawn.

 

[Limosnero]

I caught you a delicious bass

Really though I have had a patient in the past that was questionable and we spilt ways. No big deal, you can usually figure out what's up after a face to face conversation. If it doesn't feel right then keep looking. Lots of people need help out there.

 

[silusbotwin]

Your skills LOFL!!!!!!!!! You must be the fucking man to be so picky. Just grow for your sick self, then you don't have to worry about it. You sound like Napoleon Dynamite bragging about your skills. Maybe it'll get you some hot chicks too.

Yawn.

LOLOLOL You have me cracking up over here

I caught you a delicious bass

Really though I have had a patient in the past that was questionable and we spilt ways. No big deal, you can usually figure out what's up after a face to face conversation. If it doesn't feel right then keep looking. Lots of people need help out there.

My god you guys, I cant stop laughing

Thanks for all of the advice ladies/gents. I just found out about some new compassion clubs opening around here. I think I'll start there.

 

[jesus of Cannabis]

do the chickens have talons?

 

[probo24]

One mans stoner is another mans user of marijuana as preventative medicine.
I leave it up to you which to bestow your benevolent caregiving skills upon.

 

[Dr.Daehtop]

What exactly does "real problems" mean?..and who is making the guidelines?...If a patient has their card, then they saw a Dr. and went through the process. If you are looking for people with cancer and such I commend you, but remember...a lot of really sick people can't afford to buy medicine. So be prepared to use your ninja "skills" to grow free meds.

 

[silusbotwin]

What exactly does "real problems" mean?..and who is making the guidelines?...If a patient has their card, then they saw a Dr. and went through the process. If you are looking for people with cancer and such I commend you, but remember...a lot of really sick people can't afford to buy medicine. So be prepared to use your ninja "skills" to grow free meds.

Real problems means not blatantly admitting and even going as far as bragging to me that they have no valid reason to consume medicinal marijuana, but they just "found a chill ass doctor who hooks up anybody who has 100 dollars". I suppose I really just want a more civil crowd to care for instead of the typical stoner. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of love for the typical stoner and I think cannabis should be completely legalized/unregulated. I think even those who would be considered "stoners" truly do need cannabis as medicine. I think they are simply self medicating since the means to be legally medicated is out of reach due to finances or ridiculous laws. I would rather supply patients who use it because it genuinely helps them, and they have a harder time accessing it than the average stoner who has other avenues to acquire cannabis. I'd like to find people who are truly disabled and/or immobilized and in need of deliveries. I don't mind giving out free meds to my patients when they need them, but on the other side of the token, I'm not going to give it for free EVERY single time either. Once I'm reimbursed the costs of the crop, I'm set and I can freely share the rest with those who need it most.

And BTW, Ron Paul for PREZ! Nice signature

 

[virulient]

This is my 2 cents. If you roll up to my house and go "so whats your medical condition?" I'm going to respond with "none of y our fucking business heres my license to posses cannabis, are you going to "donate" some to me in exchange for my cash "donation"? or am I going to have to call someone else?" I have long black hair, I don't shave much, and I look like a kid that just walked off the Florida beach, but I live in the pacific northwest. Anyone could take one look at me and say I'm a "skivvy stoner" looking to score some pot for the sole purpose of getting high. I'm not.

At the end of the day, you might have a "non-profit organization". That's bullshit, it's a business. If someone tells you they lied about their medical condition in order to obtain a prescription, by all means, tell them you have to go and you will not be providing them any medicine. But, at the same time, you can't just judge people by how they look. I have no medical insurance. If Cannabis wasn't legal, I would be untreated completely. I simply cannot afford real prescriptions. But I CAN afford an eighth every now and then, between harvests or to switch it up a bit.

I'm just saying man, it's good that you not only want to do this legally, but you want to keep hold of your morality. At the same time I wouldn't discriminate against people who "look like hippies". That'll get you a bad rep quick. Business 101.

 

[stumpjumper]

I don't think he's discriminating against anybody. I don't want to provide high quality meds to people who just want to get high and don't really have a medical need either. I want to help people who really need the help. Judging people by their looks is obviously a stupid decision but I guess I missed where he said that.

 

[Murfy]

i wanna provide pot to EVERYBODY-

HOLLER!

to bad THAT"S not legal.

 

[stumpjumper]

i wanna provide pot to EVERYBODY-

HOLLER!

to bad THAT"S not legal.

Yes it is too bad...

If I'm risking growing for someone under the law though, I'd rather them be actual sick patients so leo couldn't try to say my grow was just a scam to provide a pothead with "legal marijuana".. The courts are going to try to twist anything around that they can to prosecute growers. So I choose people who actually need it, for piece of mind that I'm actually giving help to those who benefit from it and piece of mind that a PA can't say I'm just scamming the system.

 

[Cory and trevor]

I can't operate with these fears of being prosecuted while being within the limits of the law we voters passed. I won't judge a medical condition, sickness level or how legit a person getting their card was. I voted, I applied, I got approved and now I lay it on my elected officials to fall in line with what I voted for as a free citizen. CVS doesn't ask me how much I hurt before they fill my legit script, they trust the doctor who wrote it. The liquor store guy doesn't scrutinize my liscense for a fifth aside from real or fake, they give me my poison because I'm over 21. How am I going to look at a man or woman with a card that is valid and say they don't fit my vision of a sick patient- WHO AM I TO JUDGE? With misinformation and politicians attacking us from all sides, why would I add to that? How is it that we both win the vote and immediately after we are tryinig to cause our own failure?

 

[jonnynobody]

This is my 2 cents. If you roll up to my house and go "so whats your medical condition?" I'm going to respond with "none of y our fucking business heres my license to posses cannabis, are you going to "donate" some to me in exchange for my cash "donation"? or am I going to have to call someone else?" I have long black hair, I don't shave much, and I look like a kid that just walked off the Florida beach, but I live in the pacific northwest. Anyone could take one look at me and say I'm a "skivvy stoner" looking to score some pot for the sole purpose of getting high. I'm not.

At the end of the day, you might have a "non-profit organization". That's bullshit, it's a business. If someone tells you they lied about their medical condition in order to obtain a prescription, by all means, tell them you have to go and you will not be providing them any medicine. But, at the same time, you can't just judge people by how they look. I have no medical insurance. If Cannabis wasn't legal, I would be untreated completely. I simply cannot afford real prescriptions. But I CAN afford an eighth every now and then, between harvests or to switch it up a bit.

I'm just saying man, it's good that you not only want to do this legally, but you want to keep hold of your morality. At the same time I wouldn't discriminate against people who "look like hippies". That'll get you a bad rep quick. Business 101.

I'm guilty of skimming over this thread so forgive me if I missed a detail here but if this fella isn't selling his meds but rather acting as a good samaritan and simply donating his meds to patients in difficult situations then I see nothing wrong with his desire to assist those with the greatest need over the more fortunate. When my wife went through 35 radiation treatments for her cancer, we were fortunate enough to find a caregiver for her through RIU to assist with her needs and he did exactly as this fella is trying to do and I don't know what position we would be in at this point had we not found this person.

He listened to what I had to say in regards to my wife's condition and our situation and then shortly thereafter this incredibly unselfish person was at my wife and I's door offering to not only pay for her registration but also offering to provide her a monthly allowance of meds at no charge. This person has changed the way I think about life and I aspire to do for others exactly as this person has done for us and I fully intend to do so as this experience has been one of the most life-changing sequence of events in my entire life. If more people in this world were like my wife's caregiver and the OP on this thread, the world would be a far better place to hang out.

If every caregiver picked up just 1 pro bono patient....imagine....the world can be better if we try.

 

[jonnynobody]

I can't operate with these fears of being prosecuted while being within the limits of the law we voters passed. I won't judge a medical condition, sickness level or how legit a person getting their card was. I voted, I applied, I got approved and now I lay it on my elected officials to fall in line with what I voted for as a free citizen. CVS doesn't ask me how much I hurt before they fill my legit script, they trust the doctor who wrote it. The liquor store guy doesn't scrutinize my liscense for a fifth aside from real or fake, they give me my poison because I'm over 21. How am I going to look at a man or woman with a card that is valid and say they don't fit my vision of a sick patient- WHO AM I TO JUDGE? With misinformation and politicians attacking us from all sides, why would I add to that? How is it that we both win the vote and immediately after we are tryinig to cause our own failure?

Doesn't CVS charge you for their meds? If CVS gave them to you for free, I don't think I'd have a problem with them asking some probing questions to determine the need. I have no problem with anybody smoking pot but when there are patients who are literally being brought within a half inch of their life ending through the course of their medical treatment (i.e. chemo, radiation, aids, etc..), you'll have to excuse me if I choose to pass a joint their way before the a-hole who broke his pinky toe 10 years ago and has chronic pain. Hope that clarifies my stance....

 

[jonnynobody]

What exactly does "real problems" mean?..and who is making the guidelines?...If a patient has their card, then they saw a Dr. and went through the process. If you are looking for people with cancer and such I commend you, but remember...a lot of really sick people can't afford to buy medicine. So be prepared to use your ninja "skills" to grow free meds.

As should be done with any successful caregiver for at least 1 single patient of their 5. Is decency really too much to ask of those pillaging the new law?