State of 420 in California

Hi Billie,

True, smoking MJ would be very bad and every piece of advice I get is to avoid that option. There are several other methods including vaporizing it where vapor is generated by heating it just to the poing it starts to release the chemical but below the point where it smokes. This is captured in an attached bag and you breathe the clear and cool vapor gas collected so no harsh feelings or any of the extra chemical generated when it is burning. Other way is to ingest orally a couple ways. One is to mix the herb into other things such as brownies or candies; the other to use the extracted forms: oils and hash style condensed form and mix into other things to ingest. Some will just take some drops of oil and directly apply in mouth but I understand that it takes quite nasty but with taste buds gone any way maybe that is a viable option as well.

"T",

Clearly this crowd leans toward the Happy Days set of songs rather than the Stones, Dillon, Hendrix crowd. What a difference just a few years makes. Of course the entertainment crowd has always has a leaning toward recreational proclivities. :-)

As to the ID card issue, I called a couple dispensaries to get more scoop on this. Apparently, there is near universal paranoia about registering your name with any authoritative body such as the county and state. I do think the percentage of those who have truley valid reasons for using medical MJ is a small percentage of the total use consumed under this legal umbrella is quite low and maybe they are the ones who officially register as there really is nothing to fret about.

Does not bother me to even have some narc some banging on my door; I could care less. I just show him my bald head and vomit on him and say piss off; "you want to trade places, I got cancer and need to eat." No disrepect to any law enforcement individual or agency, just stating I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of.

What I did learn is by registering, the dispensary has an online way to just punch up your ID card number and it will verify you have registered and are official. This protects them as they need to server only those who are officially in need. You can also just bring your signed recommendation letter in and they can just call your doctor's office and verify the note that way.

Lastly, I learned about an alterative authorizing body that is adopted and accepted by all dispensaries at least regionally if not state wide. It is called the patient ID center http://www.patientidcenter.org/mission-statement and offers its own ID program. The primary advantage is your personal information is directly shieled from the authorities and I suppose they could gain access via court order to open up the books but for most it seems to offer at least one level of obfuscation from the authorities.

There are significant cost differences. The state ID program is expensive at $120 annually while the Patient ID card is only $40. The Patient ID program has online verification, similar to the state system so same ease of use for patients and dispensaries.

So, there are three options to gaining access to dispensary. First is to bring your signed recommendation to each dispensary you visit and that letter needs to be manually verified with doctor office. Second is the Patient ID card that costs $40 but you have to apply and wait for turnaround. Then the state ID card which is $120 and requires the most paperwork to file with the county Public Health office and takes some number of days to turnaround.

One advantage of the state ID card is you can posses the approved amounts and show your card if authorities ask you about your status. If you have the Patient ID card or just the recommendation letter to show, they probably could hassle you at their discretion. I suspect may people have the Patient Id card which the local authorities know about and could and might accept this as a valid substitute; howver, the only official form of program participation is the state ID card.

State of dispensaries on NorCal -- Recently, there has been a continued push by the Feds to supress dispensaries and many have closed or gone underground. On what grounds some remain open and other felt the need to close, I have no clue at present. Some of those who closed and those that remain open offer home delivery services. Again, just what loophole they exploit is all unknown to me but supply seems fine and geographic proximity to prime growing regions like Humbolt and Mendicino as well as the local grow houses only ensure we here have easy access to all the green desired.

My next step is to start researching the main strains and selecting the ones that offer the most desired effects for cancer patitents. For me, I am looking for stimulating appetite, lessen pain, lessen anxiety, aid for better sleep control and better quality of sleep. Look for my next installment.

"P"

There are many digestible options and it seems like ingesting via liquid orally, eating the product orally, or sending through a PEG are equally effective methods of getting the active ingredients into your system. Stay tuned as I explore and report on the daily musing of a MJ consumer here in herb rich country like SF Bay Area. lol

Here are some links that I found interesting and relevant. Recording here for myself as well as other interested parties.

Medical Marijuana Patient Population in CA
http://canorml.org/news/cbcsurvey2011.html

Maybe I need to to go to school
http://www.oaksterdamuniversity.com/seminars.html

or buy some gifts
https://oaksterdamgiftshop.com/index.php

Too lazy to drive - home deliveries
http://www.canorml.org/medical_marijuana/delivery-services-in-California.html

Time to eat some goodies
http://berkeleypatientscare.com/2011/05/18/beginners-guide-to-medical-cannabis-using-edibles/

And lets's not forget 4/20 as in April 20 celbrations
http://berkeleypatientscare.com/2012/04/18/bay-area-events-for-420-weekend/

And the Yelp of MJ - menus locations prices deliveries etc star ratings
https://legalmarijuanadispensary.com/

Sample menu from one of the local dispensaries - Amazing variety of edibles
http://berkeleypatientscare.com/menu/

The more I dig the more I am amazed at the subculture that exists around here. I guess it is sheer luck to be a few miles from the mecca of it all - Oaksterdam. I thought Richard got shut down and quit but it appears like the Phoenix, arisen from the ashes, so all is well both above and underground.

Seems like the edible route on sativa strains is a solid path for true medical relief. Will post again once I have some real world reports.

George_Baltimore said:

Don

I think your medical oncologist is blowing a little smoke of his own.  Since when can't a doctor prescribe narcotics?  Or did I misunderstand you in your opening post?

Hi George,

I googled dea doctor license and came up with quite a few hits on DEA doctor verification. Clearly, there is some sort of DEA registration process as it is recognized on the DOJ and the California Medical Board website as well as references on a few others.

Why a bonafide DEA registration program for doctors exists, who the hell knows? I certainly did not press the issue as it seemed valid rationale as he described it. Of course I could have gotten it all wrong but the general drift was he has some sort of registration with the DEA and he was not comfortable signing a California acceptable but not USA acceptable recommendation for medical MJ. I totally respect him so no need for me to question it, just go down the line to the next doctor who will sign. 

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drugreg/faq.htm

http://www.justice.gov/dea/resource-center/how-do-i.shtml

http://www.mbc.ca.gov/licensee/dea_reporting.html

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/fed_regs/rules/2012/reg_csa_fees/dea_registrant_letter.pdf

http://www.ehow.com/how_5801501_out-doctor_s-dea-number.html

OK. Found this one and it appears that this whole issue has to do with authorization to e-prescribe Schedule II-V drugs. Schedule II-V prescribing is allowed with optional DEA license but Schedule II narcos require the DEA license to prescribe electronically. At least that is how I read it.

http://www.mbc.ca.gov/board/meetings/materials_2011_05-06_quarterly-23.pdf

phrannie51 said:

WOW....look at all this research!!

The government sure does know how to complicate things.  After reading all about State ID cards, local ID cards, sign ups, finding a place to buy it (hoping they still exist in a month)....I know what I'd do.  I call my nephew and say..."Tay, get me some pot"...make myself a quart of tea, and pour it down the tube.  No fuss, no muss.

The oil form sound interesting....and I've heard you can use that also in a nebulizer...at least a nebulizer looks medical, unlike a bong...hahahahaha.

Medical MJ is legal in Montana, too....however the Feds went crazy a couple of years ago, and like Ca., where there was once Pot shops everywhere (with ads in the newpaper....I never thought I'd live to see that!!), I have no clue these days where the ones that stayed open are located.  A number of the legit shop's owners faced Fed charges and went to prison....  Pretty crappy deal I think....If the Feds wanted the shops closed then just close them, but don't jail the owners!!

p

 

"P"

time to start cooking, I think the ingesting delivery route is the way to start. All guideance is to start off slow and small, you can always add but taking away is a bit harder to do once it is down the gullet! lol 

Out here in Calif there was a recent big wave of feds thumping around and managed to create quite a few waves, some I guess a tsunami of sorts as it finally wore out Richard Lee, the founder of Oaksterdam, who finally succumbed to the added attacks by the IRS who hunted him down on tax evasion charges. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/obama-war-on-weed-richard-lee-oaksterdam-raid_n_1427435.html

Interesting as Oaksterdam seems to have come back to live under new stewardship and the mention of harborside health is doing fine with two open dispensaries.

How does that childhood rhyme go about blowing the house down on the three piggies? Looks like the piggie survived and the poor wolf got boiled up and went away.  LOL

I do know that the last set of raids made all left standing to get in line and run their operations totally by the book and follow all the typical business rules including hiring employees and making all tax payments by the books. It must be a large part of why they are all sprouting back up as perennials do each spring. Long live 420! lol

katenorwood said:

MJ 4-20

Don,

Good research on this one.  Thank you !  My mom was MaryJane born on 4-20.....no kidding.  I think that anything that could be 100% natural.....not manufactured in some stupid lab would benfit anyone suffering from any serious illness.  I had to laugh at your remarks on the music....not always true to assume hunh ?  Zepplin, Aerosmith, Nazareth....Hendrix, Joplin was my music.  (and more)  I worry about abuse, not from the patient but from the sellers.  Money maker for sure....back in the day a nickel bag was $5.  Hmmmm.....betcha no more.  And then yeah let's throw the government in there....that's always a good idea.  I wish you luck, and I pray that your journey comes out the otherside into the sunshine my friend.  And if you find something that works for you who in the h..ll am I to tell you.....no you can't.  Katie

Weed is like cars. They cost a lot more than they used to but the quality is far greater as well. All the new strains and vastly improved science and cultivation methods now produce weed that would blow your head off if you smoked it like the old dooby days. Most now is one or two hit stuff so a joint is a multi-dosage experience. Cost sounds crazy but since you consume so much less to get medicated, it really is not all that bad. $10-$20 per gram, $350 an ounce. Altneratively, you can go to pot grow school, get yourself some good seeds, and be the MJ farmer of the block. LOL