How To Get Medical Marijuana

All of our information comes from, and will direct you to, that state’s specific governing body. We will not direct you to any 3rd party or otherwise externally collected information. We believe that putting patients in touch with information directly from their state is the safest way of helping people obtain medical marijuara. We’ve sorted through those sometimes laborious state run websites and will guide you to the right sections, forms, applications, applicable rules and laws, and anything else you need to get medical marijuana safely and legally.

We’ve all heard about the federal government’s crackdown on medicinal marijuana in California, and they have a particular issue with medicinal marijuana dispensaries that are close to schools.  Over the last few years the federal government has taken a particularly draconian approach to dispensaries within a mile or so of school buildings, making it impossible for a lot of medical marijuana businesses to continue in their present location.

The solution for many medical marijuana entrepreneurs is to abandon their physical locations and turn towards a delivery based service. As more of these delivery dispensaries pop up around the state it has become harder for patients to keep informed about new services in their area.

Doobons.com is a new website that lets medical marijuana users use advanced geotargeting technology to locate the medical marijuana delivery services in their area. The technology instantly pinpoints where the site visitor is surfing from, and graphically displays all local services on a map.

As well as helping dispensaries avoid the federal crackdown, providing a delivery service can have a lot of benefits for medical marijuana users.  Many of those who benefit from medical marijuana the most have illnesses that can either prevent them from leaving the house or make travelling to a dispensary very difficult. A mobile delivery service provides these users with a convenient way to receive their medicine.

There are also a growing number of people who wish to keep their medical marijuana consumption as private as possible. A delivery service provides an exceptionally discreet way to remain regularly medicated.

Doobons.com is designed to be exceptionally user friendly, with an intuitive interface that even those completely new to medicinal marijuana can navigate easily. While directories of dispensaries aren’t a new idea, Doobon.com’s intuitive geotargeting system makes it incredibly easy to navigate.

The technology works on both smartphones and fixed locations. Whether you are out and about or at home, you can find the delivery service that is closest to you.  The website finds your location using either your IP address or your smartphone’s GPS data, and displays the information on an easy to read map. At a glance you can see exactly where your nearest medical marijuana dispensary or delivery service is located.

You can also look at services further afield if you are planning a trip to another area and you want to investigate special deals or local strains.

Delivery services aren’t the only type of dispensaries covered; there are also plenty of opportunities to find traditional dispensaries in your local area.

The website also provides an excellent marketing opportunity for medicinal marijuana dispensaries. For a small monthly fee, dispensaries can enhance their visibility to users. They can also post special deals to the site to attract medical users.

Doobons.com provides a valuable service to medical marijuana users in California. If you are attempting to navigate the endless sea of dispensaries in the state, then Doobons.com should be your first port of call.

Jason Christ, the outspoken medical marijuana activist and entrepreneur has taken his battle for free access to the University of Montana’s Law Library all the way to the state’s supreme court.

Positioning his quest for free access to information as a constitutional matter, Christ stated that his petition “ represents matters of the most fundamental importance.”

Jason Christ gained public recognition though his quest to get as many people as possible a doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana through his travelling “clinics”. These one-day assessments gave hundreds of people throughout the state the right to purchase medical marijuana.

In recent years, Christ has developed a taste for litigation, filing thirteen lawsuits in the Missoula Country District Court. Despite a lack of legal training, he has represented himself in court each time, and it is that lack of training that Christ is citing in his petition to the court.

Christ wrote, “In order to compensate for my lack of legal experience and training, my requirement to the law library is absolute and protected by the US constitution.”

As well as his own lawsuits (mostly against former business partners and his competitors in the medical marijuana industry) there is also a considerable amount of legal action being taken against him. Restraining orders have been filed, including a yearlong order that prohibits Christ from stepping foot on the campus of the University of Montana. It is this restraining order that Christ argues is impeding his right to effectively defend himself in court.

Christ originally filed a petition in the District Court for the order to be lifted, but has now turned towards the state’s highest court in an attempt to access the library.  The District Court recommended that Christ use the resources of the Office of Public Defender to research his cases, but Christ claims that the resources are inadequate for the comprehensive preparation of the lawsuits he is mounting, and his own defense from the legal action taken against him.

Christ’s most high profile lawsuit argues against a 2011 state law that prohibits people under state Corrections Department supervision from obtaining medical marijuana. Christ claims that thousands of worthy recipients of medical marijuana are stopped from obtaining the medicine that they require by this law.

If convicted of criminal felony intimidation, a charge that Christ faces for allegedly calling in a bomb threat to a Verizon cell phone store, then he will be among the recipients who are denied their medical marijuana. Considering he will also lose his livelihood as a medicinal marijuana distributer, it is a charge he has a vigorous interest in defending.

However, despite his extremely vested interest in beating the charge, Christ will be defending himself in that case too, albeit with public defender Katie Green on standby.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike McGrath has ordered the District Court to respond to Christ’s petition within 20 days. If the judgment is still not to his liking, then one assumes that he will ask the state Supreme Court to overrule the verdict.

Bakked Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats are one of the new medical marijuana products from BAKKED, a cannabis confectionary company from Colorado that has recently gained a license to run a medical marijuana business.

As a proud supporter of the medical marijuana movement, I was overjoyed at the new relaxation in the medical marijuana laws in Colorado, and I wanted to celebrate by devouring one of the state’s most lauded marijuana laced snacks. Bakked Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats have a heady reputation among medical marijuana users in Colorado, so I wanted to apply my own exacting standards against this medicinal treat.

Bakked make a ridiculously large selection of medical marijuana treats. From chocolates to lollypops to more savory treats like Wake and Bake Burritos. However it’s their Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats that are gaining such a great reputation around medical marijuana users all over the state of Colorado for their deliciousness and pain relieving properties, so I thought it wise that I review them first.

The first thing I noticed is that they look incredibly delicious even before I opened the package. They are absolutely densely packed with chocolate goodness, and I was looking forward to devouring them so much that I practically ripped open the package in anticipation.

The potency is definitely admirable, with 85mg of THC in each package. Hopefully they will turn out to have the epic pain relieving medical marijuana properties that such a high THC content promises.

I decided to start with half of the package, in order to gently ease myself into the medical marijuana effects. The chocolate wasn’t just delicious. It was also surprisingly rich. The crunch of the crispiness went very well with the soft, yielding chocolate. It truly was a delicious treat. While there was no strong smell of marijuana from the treat, there was a delicious taste of marijuana gently tingling on my tongue as I ate it. The taste really held no disappointments for me.

The medical marijuana effect was equally satisfying, with some truly profound pain relieving effects to go with the delicious crunch. Obviously when you buy a medical marijuana treat, the taste is really a secondary consideration to the great pain relieving qualities, and this treat really didn’t disappoint on any count. Make no mistake, the Bakked Chocolate Rice Crispy Treat is a potent pain reliever!

It seems like half the treat was good for around an hour and a half of blissful pain relief, and after it started to wear off I was more than ready to eat the other half. The medical marijuana pain relieving qualities continued for another two hours, and I slowly drifted into a wonderful reverie absolutely free of pain.

All in all, I think that the Bakked Chocolate Rice Crispy Treat is an undoubtedly an absolutely great medical marijuana treat, not only for pain relief but also for the delicious flavor.  The reputation is well deserved, and I would recommend it to any medical marijuana user who is also a fan of crunchy chocolate delights!

Guest Poster: COWeedMan

Colorado has recently relaxed their laws on medical marijuana significantly. By issuing state medical marijuana business licenses, they have effectively legalized medical marijuana entrepreneurialism, and opened the doors for many medical marijuana businesses to start operating without fear of federal action being taken against them.

Eleven licenses have been granted to medical marijuana businesses, including dispensaries and makers of medicinal marijuana products such as medicated brownies or chocolate bars. Seven other businesses have been told that they can expect to get a license before the year is out. There are another 467 medical marijuana related enterprises in the state, and they are beginning the first step towards approval, with state officials contacting local authorities to determine whether they object to cannabis related businesses operating in their area.

Medical marijuana is an incredibly contentious issue in Colorado, with many differing opinions between advocates and anti-medical marijuana activists. A petition by Colorado’s Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, a pro-marijuana pressure group, gathered 86,000 signatures on a legalize marijuana petition earlier this year.

Colorado’s moves towards decriminalization of the drug are in stark contrast to the stance being taken by California’s lawmakers. Once the most liberal state in the union towards medical marijuana, Californian authorities have taken the unprecedented step of telling medicinal dispensaries to stop selling marijuana within 45 days. Perhaps this is sign of the tide of the liberal view of medical marijuana turning towards the east.

Colorado officials are allowing decisions about dispensaries to be made at the local level. Not all localities are happy to allow medical marijuana to be sold in their neighborhood. Fort Collins, in Larimer County, already has a dispensary ban on the ballot, with the local Sheriff Justin Smith coming down hard on medical marijuana.  Fort Collins isn’t the only location where such a ban is being proposed. Many communities will be asked to decide whether they feel medical marijuana has a place in their back yard at the November 1^st elections.

Dan Hartman, the state’s Medical Marijuana Regulator, has already come under fire for appearing to encourage communities to vote against any ban at the local level. He has written an open letter explaining to communities that, due to the state’s constitution permitting patients obtaining medical marijuana from a registered caregiver, voting against regulated dispensaries in their neighborhood wouldn’t eradicate medical marijuana. Instead it would merely stop the State Medical Marijuana Enforcement division from ensuring that medical marijuana sales in their community are regulated, monitored, safe, secure and taxed.

Hartman came under a huge amount of pressure as a result of this letter, and state Attorney General John Suthers deemed the letter to be unethical. Stan Hilkey, Sheriff of Mesa County, said the letter was “highly inappropriate” and could appear to advocate against a ban.

Whatever way local communities choose to vote on the ban propositions that will be put before them on November 1^st, the law at the state level has been changed irrevocably. Colorado’s lawmakers have sent out a clear message of tolerance towards medical marijuana.

A Californian medical marijuana advocacy group is taking up a civil case against the federal government in an effort to stop federal raids of medical marijuana dispensaries in California. The group is taking the unusual move as a result of frustration and despair of the Justice Department’s unwavering attack on medical marijuana growers and dispensaries all over California.

The group, called Americans For Safe Access, is taking US Attorney General  Eric Holder to court, with the justification that the Justice Department raids go against the 10^th amendment of the US constitution. While marijuana remains an illegal substance in the US, even for medicinal purposes, state governments are ostensibly free to legislate medical marijuana as they see fit. Medical marijuana dispensaries and growers have been licensed and permitted in California since 1996 with relatively minimal intervention from federal authorities.

However, of late the US Justice Department has instigated a sustained campaign of attack against medical marijuana businesses, and the Californian state legislature has failed to protect these dispensaries and growers from federal intervention.

The lawsuit brought by Americans For Safe Access against Attorney General Holder (as well as northern California federal prosecutor Melinda Haag) alleges that this federal aggression violates the 10^th amendment, which states that the federal government cannot compel state authorities to contravene state law.

While federal raids do not violate the constitution in principle, Americans For Safe Access allege that federal prosecutors and the Attorney General have sent letters threatening local officials if they go against federal laws and implement state law. They claim that the federal government has become increasingly more aggressive and draconian in their quest to uphold federal law, and the situation has become untenable in the state.

Americans For Safe Access cites a federal communiqué delivered to the city of Oakland, California. In this letter, local officials were warned of federal prosecution if they failed to enforce federal law. The legal precedent is that this action is unconstitutional.  While federal authorities are completely within their rights to enforce federal law, they are unable to compel state or city authorities to do the same.

On the surface, it seems like a pretty clear case. While Americans For Safe Access will do well to win this lawsuit against the legal might of the federal government’s prosecutors, there is no doubt this will draw attention to their plight in the local and national media.

This will undoubtedly cause the federal government’s prosecutors and the Attorney General to be very careful how they address local officials in future. The federal marijuana enforcement program would be put in jeopardy by further unconstitutional acts, and there is no doubt that they will seek to preserve the integrity of this program by stopping the threats against officials working at the state and local level.  Whether this will be a good thing for medical marijuana in California as a whole remains to be seen.

In Nova Scotia, Canada, Sam Riley recently made headlines due to his audacious bid to get the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to recognize his need for medical marijuana growing equipment as a special need worthy of government funding.

In Canada, the Department of Community Services considers funding applications for medically necessary equipment and healthcare supplies that fall outside the boundaries of standard medical equipment for standard medical needs.  The appellant, Sam Riley, felt that medical marijuana growing equipment fell within the definition of a “special need” that must be funded under provincial legislation. His claim was that he needs medical marijuana in order to medicate a multitude of medical conditions, and to alleviate his suffering.

Upon being denied his request for funding, he took it to his local court of law to protest against the decision. When he was denied, he took it all the way to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. The Supreme Court also found that marijuana growing equipment did not fall under the “special need” category under provincial regulations in this case.

The major factor in Judge Cindy Bourgeois’ decision was the lack of a medical marijuana production license.  While Judge Bourgeois was very careful not to set a legal precedent, she made it clear that in Riley’s case funding was not required due to his lack of a production license.

The Judge also ruled that the government would be unable to fund growing equipment as a special need if the actual marijuana that the growing equipment produced could not also be designated as a special need. As Sam Riley is without a license to produce medical marijuana, in this case the government would be unable to provide funding.

The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has a reputation for strict interpretation of legislature, so it is no surprise that Judge Bourgeois was unwilling or unable to relax the rules in the case of Sam Riley. His lack of a medical marijuana growing license from Health Canada made the decision a particularly easy one.

While the government of Canada and Nova Scotia’s provincial government both have a relatively relaxed attitude to medical marijuana growing, this decision comes as no surprise.  As soon as public funding requests come into play, decisions and interpretations of guidelines often become much stricter. The fact that Riley wasn’t the holder of a medical marijuana license makes the court’s decision even more inevitable.

While this decision might seem like a blow to medical marijuana in Canada, it shouldn’t be taken as such. Sam Riley was simply a man who over extended himself in his litigation. While it is sad that Mr. Riley will not be able to grow medical marijuana with the aid of state funding, Canada’s medical marijuana laws ensure that if he does indeed have a genuine need of medical marijuana he will be able to receive it, despite the courts ruling against him in his legal bid to receive public funding.

Medical marijuana has been tolerated in California since the Compassionate Use Act, proposition 215, was passed in 1996. Supporters of the act wheeled out a large number of very sick people who could benefit from the use of medical marijuana to support their proposition. In recent years, however, many people (including law enforcement agents from the federal government) have criticised medical marijuana dispensaries in the state for focusing too much on their own business interests, and too little on the welfare of their patients.

There is no doubt that the medical marijuana trade in California has been vastly commercialised. While officially medical marijuana dispensaries are only supposed to act as non profit organisations, the marketing efforts put forth by the dispensaries serves to disprove that notion. While of course many medical marijuana dispensaries are focused purely on the care of their patients, many dispensaries seem to be running more of an enterprise and less of a charity.

While even medical marijuana has a clandestine feel, in recent years operations have become more blatant. A gigantic medical marijuana growing operation earlier this year applied to the City of Oakland for permission to run a massive 50,000 foot square grow room inside an enormous warehouse. The federal government stepped in to remind local officials that there is no way an operation of that size could be tolerated, even under California’s relaxed medical marijuana laws.

The federal government has justified their recent crackdown against medical marijuana operations in California with this argument. They claim that medical marijuana dispensaries are basically legally tolerated drug dealers, gaining the same amount of massive tax free profit as drug dealers are usually accustomed to.

When proposition 215 was originally passed, many voters believed that medical marijuana would be dispensed by doctors in white coats from behind heavily regulated pharmacy counters. This couldn’t be further from the case, and the federal government aren’t pleased about how things have turned out in California.

One medical marijuana dispensary is prepared to take full advantage of the clause in proposition 215 that states that medical marijuana can be provided for “any illness for which marijuana provides relief.” They are prepared to dispense marijuana for 258 conditions, including obesity and writers cramp.

The sad thing is that the unscrupulous medical marijuana dispensaries are causing problems for those with a genuine need for medical marijuana, the cancer patients, AIDS victims, and suffers from Multiple Sclerosis that the Compassionate Use Act was intended to help. Those with severe and complex illnesses that require medical marijuana for pain relief will be forced to seek their medicine elsewhere as a result of federal raids.

While the federal government are obviously largely to blame for this due to their intolerant and backwards stance towards the use of medical marijuana, they are only being inflamed by the blatant profiteering of a minority of large dispensaries in California. It will only be after the commoditisation of medical marijuana stops that the federal government will step back again.