Medical Marijuana FAQ

Getting Started With Medical Cannabis

Okay, so you for one reason or another are curious about using medical marijuana for your particular medical condition. This guide has been created to help answer some of the questions that you might have about how to get medical marijuana.

Step 1: Dispelling the Rumors

People with medical marijuana prescriptions end up on a secret government database: FALSE

Signing up for a medical cannabis card will not put you on any secret government database and flag you as a “pot smoker” Because you are being prescribed marijuana for a medical condition. It is illegal for people to share your medical information.

This is all in thanks to the Health Informat ion Privacy Accountability Act (HIPAA). This law states that it is illegal for any entity to share your protected health information (PHI) without your consent.

What is PHI? Anything contained within your medical records (evaluation forms, doctors notes, prescriptions, x-rays, blood tests, etc)Thanks to HIPAA it is difficult to share the fact that you have a medical marijuana prescription.

However, It is this authors opinion that the government can find out if you use marijuana legally or illegally by means of the patriot act and illegal wire taps. So, the fear of being on a “secret” database is a moot point.

Step 2: Talking To Your Doctor

Read more: Getting Started With Medical Cannabis

Your First Trip To A Collective

Medical Marijuana FAQ

Written by Administrator

So you have your prescription! Now it is time to head out to a medical marijuana collective. What should you expect? Here are some guidelines that will help make your experience more enjoyable.

Bring your original prescription and your doctors recommendation. 99% of the collective operators I spoke with do not accept the plastic prescription cards or the State ID card. You will only need these originals your first visit to any collective as a new patient. Each collective registers patients differently some issue member cards, others do not.

Watch your language/behavior. Many collectives are leery of any actions that would give the federal government a reason to harass them. This is medicinal cannabis. It is not intended for recreational use. Even though the majority of patients will smoke their cannabis in order to relieve their medical conditions, avoid using the following language during your visit to a collective.

Don’t get overwhelmed. Like most other medical cannabis users, prior to getting your prescription you probably attained your medicine illegally. You had little choice as to the quality or type of medicine you would receive. Get ready for big change!

Read more: Your First Trip To A Collective

Storing Your Medicine

The marijuana that you receive from a collective is ready to be used. Follow these guidelines to keep your medicine as fresh as possible. Remember you are dealing with an organic plant here, not a man made drug. So just like foods marijuana is susceptible to rot and decay (Mold)

Short Term Storage

If what you purchased to medicate yourself will last only a few weeks or less store it in a cool dark place. I prefer a plastic bag or bottle inside a wooden box.

Long Term

If you purchased enough cannabis to last a month or so you can refrigerate it. Be sure to use some kind of airtight container (Tupperware or glass jar).

If you have enough medicine to last more than a month, freezing is the recommended storage method for some. As with refrigeration, you want to use an airtight container. Vacuum seal bags are terrific storing for large amounts of medicine. But they do crush the buds.

Accessing the freezer each time you need to medicate can have an adverse effect on your medicine. You know what happens when you freeze, thaw and refreeze food. The same will happen for cannabis. Freezing also causes the trichomes to become brittle and fall off. Make sure you limit the number of times you defrost your meds by taking out enough to last more than a couple of weeks. Avoid hitting the freezer each time you want to medicate.

However, some people don't recommend freezing at all as the theory is that freezing does too much damage to the the cell walls and the trichomes. Resulting in less potent bud. You can read more about the freeze debate here or on any forum. Personally I haven't noticed a difference, and am more concerned with preventing mold than losing trichomes. But with most things it all just boils down to preference.

Things To Avoid

Some people swear by adding an orange or lemon peal to their stash in order to keep it fresh and flavorful (I have heard of adding a piece of potato). I highly discourage this practice. Orange peals, lemon peals, and potato are all organic matter. They will decompose. Decomposition inevitably attracts molds. Mold is one of the main things we are trying to prevent when we store our cannabis in the first place.

Following these simple storage guidelines will ensure that your medicine is as potent as when you first purchased it.

Medicating

There are three different ways that you can medicate yourself with marijuana; Smoking, Vaporizing and Ingesting.

Smoking

Smoking is by far the most common way medicate due to the fact that a person will feel the effects more rapidly, smoking is more practical, and when compared to edibles smoking allows a person to more easily adjust their dosage. However like all smoke, marijuana smoke is harmful to the respiratory system.

People usually smoke from bongs (AKA “water pipes”), pipes and joints. Many people prefer bongs due to the fact that the water filters and cools the smoke. Thus they believe that it is the healthiest way to smoke marijuana

Yet a report (1) that was conducted by CaNORML and MAPS may encourage you to put your bong down. It found that a water pipe produced 30% more tar per cannabinoids than an unfiltered joint. The study found that any device, which involved filtration of the marijuana smoke, did worse than a joint when comparing the THC to tar ratios.

“Researchers speculate this is because cannabinoids are exceptionally sticky and adhere to other solids.”

Then again, a 1991 study seems to contradict these findings (2). It found,

“marijuana smoke that has been passed through sufficient water will have less impact on the immune system than marijuana smoke that has not been water-filtered.”

CaNORML/MAPS also indicated that in their study the quality of the marijuana provided was rather poor. Maybe this had effect on their tests.

**Bong Tip For Newbies** Place ice in the bong chamber for a nice soothing effect

Vaporizers

The same CaNORML/MAPS study (1) states that vaporizers are 25% more efficient than a joint. The study al so goes on to explain that while efficient, vaporizers release higher amounts of CBN than THC and that a user might consume more. CBN and THC are both cannabinoids. While CBN is another type of cannabinoid, it does not get you "high", that's the TCH's job

Read more: Medicating