In order to legally participate in the California medical marijuana program, you must be diagnosed with one of the following conditions: cancer, glaucoma, severe pain, anxiety management, or multiple illnesses.
Once you are diagnosed, you must register with the California Department of Health Services (CDHS) and begin your program registration process. Registration can take up to a year and a half as new patients are approved and have their CDHS registration transferred.
At this stage, new patients must find a doctor they trust to check their medical marijuana credentials. They also must find a place where they feel comfortable receiving medicinal cannabis in order to start using it.
This article will discuss the basic steps needed to navigate the California medical marijuana program and get started as a patient or candidate.
Find a doctor who will recommend you for the program
If you don’t have a doctor who will recommend you to the program, then you must find a doctor in the county who accepts the program and recommends it to patients.
It is very important that your doctor knows about the medical marijuana program and has experience treating patients with marijuana. Your doctor can help you find a doctors office in Sacramento, San Joaquin, or San Francisco Counties that will recommend you for the program.
Gather your documents
Once you have your medical marijuana document, the next step is to gather all of your documents together and find a doctor or dispensary to help you get your medical marijuana document.
There are a few things which you will need to bring with you to the doctor or dispensary to get your document. This includes:
Your documentation from your physician describing what pain and symptom treatment you are seeking, the degree of pain that you are experiencing, and the approximate duration of each pain episode.
Your physician’s contact information should be available at the dispensary or doctor’s office, in case someone needs help finding you. This can be helpful if someone is unfamiliar with medical marijuana programs and needs assistance finding a doctor who accepts it.
Submit your application
Once you have decided what medical marijuana program you would like to join, it is time to submit your application. You can do this either by coming into a dispensary or calling the dispensaries at (800) Mahmoud A-Z!
A key part of the application process is being aware of and filling out the Disease Group form. This is where you set your focus in terms of pain, mood, sleep, and other symptoms.
Some diseases are more suited to certain cannabis strains while others are not. As a rule, greener strains are usually healthier than darker strains because they may contain more THC content.
Then, there is the ‘ mortals’ form which asks about past drug use, whether or not they have health insurance, and if so, whether or not it covers medical marijuana.
Get your card
Once you have your medical marijuana card, the next step is to get a marijuana grower or dispensary account. There are two main accounts at dispensaries: buy-and-grow and join-a-club.
Buy-and-grant accounts allow you to create a new account with a dispensary and purchase limited quantities of medical marijuana. You can also join clubs where you can obtain information about cannabis, how your medicine should be administered, and how much to consume.
Growers have their own accounts where they can cultivate their own plants and obtain an order from a dispensary. Of course, this requires hard work and time, since you must be able to stay logged in throughout the process.
Find a dispensary
Once you find a dispensary, it is time to navigate! This is probably the hardest part about getting started with California’s medical marijuana program. You will want to visit all of them in order to learn about each one and how they run their programs!
To start at a dispensary, you must go inside and sign up for a account. This is called becoming a member and receiving a card. Once you do, you can go to any dispensary and ask for an introduction. Many times, people go together just to learn about medical marijuana and where they use it.
When going to a new dispensary, be sure to ask about other programs they may have because it is possible they might know what works and how well it works in California. Find out if they ever had difficulty recruiting or that someone used this program to get started.
Choose your products
Once you’ve picked your products, it’s time to learn about how to use them! There are many ways to use marijuana, so it is not as clear as bullet point that takes us away.
Some people use it for medical purposes as medicine. Others mix it with other drugs or supplements to decrease their side effects. Anyone can buy marijuana, but only those who have a medical marijuana card can purchase product with a card.
To use the product, you must meet the requirements of quality, strength, safety, and consistency. Many people find this part of the process fun and challenging at the same time.
Pay taxes on your products
As a medical marijuana user, you will need to pay a tax on your products at the dispensary you purchase at. This is called a recptation tax or cost of participation in the program.
There are two phase-two dispensaries in California, which are located at LA Live and Orange County Great Park. The second phase-two dispensary is located inside a qualified medical marijuana facility.
To ensure you are paying the correct amount of taxes, it is important to carry up to eight separate receipts for your money. You can also call the dispensary and ask for an extra receipt if needed.
It can be helpful to keep an organized system for paying the taxes as well as learning how to use it through www.californiadispensepagemakevarying.
Keep your medicinals safe
It is important to be aware of the rules and regulations for the California medical marijuana program, which includes keeping hashish, hashish concentrates, and medicinal cannabis products in a secure place.
Most importantly, you should never share any of your medicine with anyone else except your healthcare professional. If you do, it is likely that person was using too much of the medicine and could hurt you or someone else.
You can use a shared computer or smartphone but must use the same email address and phone number. It is also important to keep your medicines in a safe place so that someone who has access to no medicine can purchase some to replace your medication.
Many people find it helpful to create a Facebook page for themselves just for medical marijuana, so they can keep informed about updated information and buy their medications more easily.
