REASONS TO GET A MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD

Patients frequently question me, “Why should I acquire a medical marijuana card if marijuana usage is legal in Michigan?” Recreational or adult use of cannabis has become legal in the state of Michigan since December 1st, 2019. The medicinal use of marijuana was legalized by our state 10 years earlier to that in November of 2008.

Even though marijuana is available to everyone today, there are still some very compelling reasons to register as a patient and acquire your medical marijuana card, provided you have a qualifying medical condition. To get 420 evaluations Florida visit happymd.org/blog/how-to-get-a-medical-marijuana-card-in-florida

The current list of medical conditions accepted by the state are: agitation of Alzheimer’s, AIDS, ALS, arthritis, autism, cachexia or wasting syndrome, cancer, cerebral palsy, chronic pain, colitis, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, hepatitis C, HIV, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, muscle spasms (persistent), nail patella syndrome, nausea (severe), OCD, Parkinson’s, PTSD, rheumatoid arthritis, seizures, spinal cord injury, Tourette’s, and ulcerative colitis. I’ve been giving medical marijuana consultations for over four years, and I’ve seen that the most prevalent disease processes that patients battle with are ones that induce chronic pain. Pain and inflammation are the underlying causes in many chronic illnesses, and in light of the opioid epidemic, many patients are seeking for safer options. Also, being a board-certified doctor, I feel comfortable serving youngsters as well.

Here are my top five reasons why you should consider acquiring a Michigan medical marijuana license if you qualify:

IT WILL SAVE YOU MONEY

If you have a qualifying medical condition, getting a medical marijuana card may save you a considerable amount of money over time. The cost of acquiring your card via the state of Michigan is $40 (just dropped from $60) and it’s valid for two years. The renewal charge is likewise $40 right now. Then there’s a mandatory physician certification, which entails a visit to a doctor who certifies your qualifying condition and sends the appropriate application form to the state. The charge for this service is varied (from $70-150) based on the level of advice/service supplied.

So, where are the savings? The discounts become noticeable when you start buying things. The state of Michigan charges all recreational or adult-use consumers an extra 10 percent excise tax on top of the 6 percent sales tax – that’s 16 percent in taxes. Medical patients don’t have to pay the additional 10 percent tax. When you examine the real pricing of medical vs. recreational items, you’ll also discover that recreational products are more costly generally (20-30 percent more than medical) (20-30 percent higher than medical). Add this to the 10 percent tax, and you can see that a medical patient saves roughly 30-40 percent on every transaction. This adds up to a large sum of money over the course of two years!

MEDICAL PRODUCTS ARE SAFER AND CLEANER

As a physician, I advocate for my patients, and I definitely don’t want to promote anything that may cause damage. We’re lucky that Michigan has among of the most severe testing and safety procedures in the country when it comes to marijuana products. Cannabis product analysis is vital to the creation of safer goods for customers. It also helps to tell the user about strength and kinds of cannabinoids present, in addition to guaranteeing the absence of potentially dangerous pollutants like as heavy metals, solvents, pesticides, microorganisms, and microbial toxins.

The State of Michigan implements a “seed-to-sale” tracking system called METRC. Plants and plant products are labeled, cross-referenced, and marked with bar codes. The State of Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency prides itself on being a “national model for a regulatory scheme that supports corporate development while protecting safe consumer access to marijuana,” according to the LARA website on Michigan.gov.

The main thing to remember about this is that the testing criteria for medicinal vs. recreational items are different. For example, the threshold for microbiological load is greater for medical-grade items. Recreational items are legally permitted to contain around 10 times the microbiological load that medical products may have. This equates to goods that are around 10 times cleaner on the medical side. People who are concerned about their health value these stricter standards. Just bear in mind that 80 percent of chemicals used in US medications originate from China and India. The US consumer has no access to any data linked to the purity or testing of prescription pharmaceuticals; it’s a leap of faith.

At Apothecare Ann Arbor, we take the dedication to purity a step further. Our in-house flower is the only organically certified marijuana in the state of Michigan. This applies to both medicinal and recreational flower. Most dispensaries don’t adhere to these requirements; we’re lifting the bar, so to speak.

HAVING A CARD LENDS CREDIBILITY AND LEGITIMACY

Many of my patients are seeking natural answers to their chronic health concerns. They’re not wanting to get “high” per per; they’re simply searching for non-pharmaceutical and safer answers to their physical/emotional health difficulties. To put it clearly, cannabis can’t kill you as opiates can (see my series of CBD articles published in BRICK, autumn 2019 ). (see my series of CBD articles published in BRICK, fall 2019 ). Cannabis also doesn’t have any substantial or serious adverse effects for most.

In my experience with helping individuals navigate cannabis medication, I’ve been humbled by the amount of people who’ve been able to wean off of their pain pills or mental meds over the previous few years. Some have even been able to cure their pain with cannabis to the point of recovery; some have seen an end to their unpleasant symptoms. This is very rewarding to me as a traditionally-trained physician. In our medical society, it’s viewed as “normal” to have more medical issues and have to take more prescription prescriptions as we age. The fact that my medical marijuana patients are obtaining relief and using fewer prescription and over-the-counter drugs over time is great and unprecedented.

Having a medical marijuana license may contribute to the credibility/legitimacy of usage for people who are actually utilizing cannabis for medicinal advantages. People are assessed by their physicians, employers, and law enforcement for usage of cannabis. By virtue of having a genuine medical purpose for usage of marijuana, and being able to verify it, you may put part of that judgement to rest.

YOU’LL HAVE MORE CHOICES

There are different restrictions and regulations governing the kind and potency of items. Medical patients have increased access to a range of goods and the real quantity of “medicinal” benefit of items sold in the market. For example, cancer patients wanting a high-potency RSO (Rick Simpson Oil) product may receive a greater potency product with a medical marijuana card (at a reduced price) (at a lesser price). The maximum threshold for edibles in the recreational market is lower than that for medicinal. People who actually require medicinal marijuana for amelioration of approved diseases/conditions are not as restricted.

YOU’LL HAVE MORE ACCESS

There are several dispensaries in Michigan that only take medical patients; the law restricts the number of recreational dispensaries. There are also several states in the country that don’t have adult or recreational usage laws. However, several states recognize out-of-state medical cards. In a state such as Nevada, a medical patient may “skip the line” and get speedier access to supplies. Other states are medical-only. This is restricting to those who may be travelling to or visiting other states for longer periods of time. Access to medicine in the form of medical-grade marijuana may be restricted.

If you have a qualifying medical condition, the argument for acquiring your medical marijuana card is a no-brainer. I’m devoted to providing individuals with natural alternatives for greater health and wellbeing. Medical marijuana obviously provides advantages for people who are searching for better, cleaner, and less costly options.