(AZ) Small core of doctors write vast majority of medical marijuana recommendations

[Jesus Malverde]

Last edited Sun Nov 10, 2013, 03:14 PM - Edit history (1)

ust 25 doctors are responsible for allowing more than 25,000 Arizonans to legally obtain marijuana, according to a report released Friday.

State health director Will Humble said the evidence shows development of “certification mills” since voters approved a law in 2010 that allows those with a doctor’s recommendation to obtain up to 2½ ounces of marijuana every two weeks.

Those 25 doctors — out of more than 27,000 licensed in Arizona — are responsible for 70 percent of the recommendations issued in a one-year period.

Humble said he is troubled by the findings. But he said there may not be much he can do about it.

He said it may be that all of the 36,346 recommendations issued during that one-year period are justified. But he said it would be better if the patients actually worked with their regular primary-care physicians who are familiar with them and can offer ongoing treatment.

He acknowledged, though, that many family doctors have been reluctant to recommend marijuana, possibly because they lack information about the drug. Others, Humble said, don’t want to deal with what they see as an administrative hassle of certifying patients, a process different from simply writing a prescription.

That “pushes the patients to the certification-mill physicians,” he said.

Overall, the state found just 472 doctors statewide issued the more than 36,000 medical marijuana recommendations. Of that, 27,275 came from naturopaths, who make up fewer than 7 percent of all physicians in Arizona.

“It’s unfair to say this is a problem with naturopaths,” Humble said. “It’s a problem with about 20 to 25 naturopaths.”

http://azstarnet.com/news/science/health-med-fit/small-core-of-doctors-write-vast-majority-of-medical-marijuana/article_e7f5a1c7-7956-5eb2-9790-230afd0eb31d.html

[Bennyboy]

1. See, and here's the thing....

A primary physician, bound by HMO, Hospital rules CANNOT give out Cannabis reccos. ONLY doctors that are free from that (independent) can do that. They don't have the various boards, and such to deal with.

It also creates stories like this where it looks like NO Doctors except these sleezebag drug guys, are giving out scripts. It even says to go to your regular physician.. but the reality is that you can't.

Here in CA it is the same thing, there is NOT ONE DOCTOR who is in any type of insurance program giving out reccos because they will lose their jobs.

every Doctor who does give out reccos is not connected to an HMO or other corporate medical structure... and you cannot pay for the recco with your insurance card.

Here's the other thing...... My cannabis doctor spends time with me every year. Yes he gets paid like doctor for that, but we talk about my ailments, what kind of cannabis I should be using and options. He even (Gasp!) talks about YOGA and (GASP!) holistic healing alternatives as well as other plant based remedies (GASP! GASP!). He is an expert in cannabis and has now spent 15 years in the cannabis doctoring business, so he knows his shit. "This does this here and you need to do this here".

I'm not saying that my Doc is the model for everyone, mostly around here here are script mills. Go in tell em your story, where it hurts and out you go with a script. 50 bucks or so. But how else you gonna do it? even then the patient time with the doctor is about the same (or more) as it is with a HMO Physician, who, if you tell them the right story, are going to give MUCH MUCH MUCH Stronger and dangerous medications than cannabis.

On the other hand, my regular doctor sees me for less that two minutes per visit (he ruined my life with a 30 second diagnosis for depression) and tells me I should eat some pills for whatever in the fuck I tell him. My dentist, after I had a tooth removed a month ago, was stupefied that I did not take him up on a script for Vicodin when he offered. So much so, that he offered a script to me two other times after I turned down the offer the first time. (It's just a fucking tooth, you know?)

[kestrel91316]

2. BFD. As long as they are licensed physicians, no one should care one bit.

[tridim]

3. Neo-Reefer Madness.

FUD by the same groups who have kept Cannabis illegal since the first days of prohibition.

[CanSocDem]

4. Dealers are easier to find than "doctors".

Plus, you don't have to explain to them why you need it....every month. Of course, if someone introduced The Affordable Buzz Act and took away my dealer it would probably make me angry enough to denounce the whole socialistic scheme.

Just sayin'....


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