Neko150

Hi all,
I've read so much on docs in So. Cal who will write you a rec with little to no proof/documentation of your existing health condition, which many people get excited about, not realizing that if they're ever in serious trouble with the law they could be left holding a worthless piece of paper with no physician back-up.

How does one go about finding a doctor who will write a recommendation - and who will stand by his/her patients in court? I've heard conflicting stories about MediCann (for example) standing up with their patients, and equal stories of them not offering assistance of any kind in court. It seems perplexing, and honestly, scary. I have no interest in a recommendation if it won't hold up in court. I of course know one's own medical paper trail will assist in a legal bind, but having your doc's office who wrote the rec assist with the process is vital.

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Marijuana Is Only Addictive In The Sense That All Good Things In Life Are Worth Repeating...

Buzzby

If you've got a recommendation signed by a legitimate health care professional, that's all you need. There's no question of legitimacy beyond that.

What sort of legal conflicts are you talking about? I've never heard of anyone's recommendation being challenged beyond determining that it's not a forgery.

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Neko150

Well Buzz, you had mentioned earlier "recommendation mills" that give out recs like candy, that wouldn't really hold up in court. If I were to be cited for MMJ posession, and had a court date, and my rec doc wouldn't do much in terms of working with the court to get me off the hook... That's what I'm talking about.

Neko150

Example: MediCann not working with a majority of dispensaries and MMJ card officials:

Info on MediCann? - 420 Magazine

This may be seen as "Oh, they don't want to divulge private patient information to the gov't" - however, with patient consent to release med records, it shouldn't be an issue, right? From what I've heard from actual officers, the state-issued card is the safest way to assure yourself you will not be arrested (or even cited) for MMJ possession.

Marvin420

They can talk their way out of any trouble they may get in. "He complained of severe back pain. I did an examination and found some soft tissue damage. He expressed a desire to use medical cannabis for his pain. I saw nothing wrong with that course of action so I gave him a recommendation with directions to use as needed. I was unaware that my patient was abusing the substance."

Neko150

No no, my prescription would be completely legitimate, I suffer from anxiety attacks and have medical records to prove it! I'm not trying to get away with anything, I'm trying to make sure that if I AM arrested, that my recommendation will hold up in court.

I'm also thinking of getting a state card after the rec (as I've heard a cop will usually let you go no questions asked with the state issued card). I'm in LA county.

blondie0420

I think you are confused on the laws...?

If you live in a state that recognizes mmj and you hold a valid prescription from a licensed doctor, your state will not pursue you for possession of marijuana. If they did, as long as your prescription was valid, they would drop the charges once you proved that by just showing it to them. If you live in California, you can legally possess marijuana so long as you hold a valid prescription.

If you were to be busted, two things could happen: 1) You show the cops your prescription, they let you go. 2) You don't have your prescription with you at the time or the cops won't take it, you go to court, show it to the DA, and he lets you go. The only place a doctor would have to testify on your behalf would be at a trial. Seeing that possession of marijuana is legal for medicinal purposes with a prescription, it wouldn't ever go to trial.

You seem worried that the State would go after you simply for possessing marijuana when you in fact have a prescription. If you live in a state that has legalized medical marijuana, that would simply not happen. You could be pursued for possession of a controlled substance by the Federal government, but in that case, the Federal government does not recognize marijuana as a medication that can legally be prescribed to anyone (that is, possessed by anyone regardless of a doctor's recommendation). Then, regardless of whether your doctor stood behind you all the way or if he refused to cooperate and shredded any record of you ever being his patient...it wouldn't matter as no "medical" defense would be recognized in Federal courts.

I'm confused as to why you would post this. First, you are concerned about the laws and whether a doctor has to back you in order to get you off the hook for a possession charge. Now, you're wondering about a specific type of card and whether it will work with certain dispensaries? (That's what the people in that thread were talking about.)

I read through the link you provided and there was no mention or discussion of any sort of legal trouble anyone there had been in, nor any discussion of a doctor not standing behind patients being pursued by the government for possession of marijuana.

They were talking about a specific place where you can get a license to use marijuana medicinally and the fact that the license won't work at all dispensaries because a certain third party verification is not on it. That has nothing at all to do with people getting busted for possession by the cops.

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sterbo

Excellent post Blondie.
By way of clarification let me say that, at least in California, if one is stopped by the police while in possession of marihuana and a 'doctor's recommendation' is the only proof of adherence to the State's Med Marijuana law then it will be a toss up as to whether the police let you go or not.
That's because a doctor's recommendation can be easily forged so unless the cop/s are able (and willing) to verify the validity of the paper then it's more likely that detainment and or confiscation of what you possess will follow.

This is why the best means for someone to feel safe translates into obtaining a State issued card.
I understand on some level it seems unfair that Medical Marihuana patients should have to be subjected to such scrutiny but I maintain it's the unfortunate (and small) price we pay to make day by day progress in our fight against Marijuana repression...

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Buzzby

That's where you're wrong. As long as the guy who signed it has the right kind of license, the recommendation is as good as gold. The recommendation mills aren't producing forgeries. The recommendations are signed by licensed physicians.

Neko150

I was under the impression that some recommendations - if not all recommendations - would need to be called in by the courts, and that some of these more "shady" doctors willing to give out prescriptions very freely would not always have a "reasonable" response to give the judge when asked about the nature of the recommendation. That's what I was getting at. If you're saying that - no matter what, if you have a recommendation signed by a legitimate doctor, you will not suffer any consequences, than great. I'd heard from Buzz and others that patients needed to beware of certain doctors that loosely gave out recommendations, because they could have certain legal issues in the future if they were to run into law enforcement (even with the recommendation).

Right, these were two separate questions I had, but I had sort of associated the two together because if MediCann was unwilling to verify the legitimacy of their doctor's recommendation to a co-op (or whatever), what makes certain to the patient that they wouldn't have issues with legal verification, with an officer or judge? Also, if MediCann is a legitimate practice to get a legitimate recommendation from, why on earth would MediCann refuse to offer verification to the co-op so that the patient could purchase MMJ from them? Seems a bit dodgy, unless I've misunderstood the post. Thanks for your help thus far though