MMJ In Maine...

Daxus

Daxus

Active Member
Does anyone have experience with this? I'm wondering how hard it'll be for me to get it or if I qualify. Here's the deal:

About a year ago or so I severely injured a muscle in my lower back while lifting on something far heavier than I should of been. I went to my family doctor and he sent me to physical therepy and put me on Vicodin and Flexeril which needless to say I can't work on or do much of anything else on, even when the dose was lowered. But it does do the trick. After I completed physical therepy I was more or less fine but occasionally it continued to act up. As needed my doctor continued prescribing the medications and I was told to continue my physical therapy exercises and if it got really bad to call him.

Well after the first refill I just flat out stopped taking them having been introduced to Marijuana and finding it much more useful and safer. Specifically most Indica varieties for me where one or two hits relaxes everything but leaves me able to go about my day. A few days ago I woke up with some serious pain randomly and it's only gotten worse and my source for mj is out of town.

I called my doctor who set up and appointment and called in a prescription for me temporarily until he can see me, at which point he'll assess if I need more therapy or tests or whatever. I tried taking the Flexeril and it just makes me weird and sleepy as hell. The vicodin makes it feel like I have bugs crawling all over me. Both do WORK but I don't care much for the side effects or popping pills in general.

I'm in my early 20's and I feel like an old man sometimes, but other times I'm absolutely fine. I'm not going to lie and say I don't enjoy the high occasionally but it's not the primary reason I smoke (or more often now Vape, thanks to my MFLB)

So when I go to see my doctor in a week or so I want to ask him about a recommendation, and I'm wondering how I should go about mentioning it to him. The whole idea makes me terribly nervous about how he'll react or what he might do.

A friend of mine gave me a business card for a doctor that specializes in MMJ but I'd rather go through my own doctor first, since we have a good longstanding relationship and he's never steered me wrong in the past.

Any tips, advice or thoughts? Do I even really qualify?

Thanks!
 
Maine Brookies

Maine Brookies

Active Member
You do qualify. It's unlikely that you primary care Doc would do the recommendation. If your primary care provider works for a Community Health Center (one of the local offices affiliated with a nearby hospital) then your Doc cannot do a recommendation without putting a large of their funding at risk.
 
budwich

budwich

Well-Known Member
gotta agree with MB here, your much better off finding a Dr. that is already recommending, pay the fee and be done with it. A good caregiver will guide you through this process. Be open if need be with your Primary , but you are going to have alot less hassle if you go to a Dr. specializing in MMJ. More and more of them are popping up. Sorry to hear about the daily pain you have to go through, welcome to RUI
 
Daxus

Daxus

Active Member
Thanks for the friendly and helpful advice! I posted this at Grass City and it was almost instantly locked without even getting any response and I got a scolding about reading the stickys (which I did, and I'm still not sure what rule I broke). I know where I'm hanging out from now on. I think I'll tell my doctor about it, make sure it's clear this is off the record before I do, and if he won't make the recommendation I'll call the number on my business card and go for it. I don't think my doc works for a community health center he has his own practice/nurses/etc in his own office building exclusive to him.
 
M

Maine Strain

Member
Yo Dax - I was in the SAME boat as you. I am also in my very early 20's, and I too have a bad back lower back (different reasons but same injury). I did physical therapy, just like yourself, and I was also on flexiril, and percocet. (basically the same thing as vicodin, just a little stronger). 1 trip to the MMJ clinic in falmouth (also has a practice in hollowell) and 2 weeks later I had my reccomendation.
 
Daxus

Daxus

Active Member
Maine Strain said:
Yo Dax - I was in the SAME boat as you. I am also in my very early 20's, and I too have a bad back lower back (different reasons but same injury). I did physical therapy, just like yourself, and I was also on flexiril, and percocet. (basically the same thing as vicodin, just a little stronger). 1 trip to the MMJ clinic in falmouth (also has a practice in hollowell) and 2 weeks later I had my reccomendation.
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That's awesome to know I'm not alone! I hope everything goes well, just one more week and I go to see my doctor. I'm either coming back with a recommendation or a copy of my medical records. My biggest issue is I get this weird guilty nervous feeling about even talking about it, though I don't know why, I guess because of all the legal issues. Fortunately my girlfriend is very supportive.
 
cerberus

cerberus

Well-Known Member
its funny how this is the case for so many, nervous like they are doing something wrong.. yet we don't feel odd at all asking the doc for opiates.. what kind of education and conditioning have we been recieving? You know we live in a fucked up place when people feel wrong asking about herbal remedies and feel right talking about synthisized opiates..


this is not at all a knock on you good sir, its more common than you may know.. ALL of my patients had the sme concern, most never even put 2 and 2 together and relized they were not getting "high" they were medicating before bed.. our vocabulary has been hijacked!

good luck with your quest and supportive significant others is KEY.
 
Daxus

Daxus

Active Member
It is very fucked up I have to say and even I recognize this but I still FEEL this way sometimes. It's ridiculous and I'm definitely educating my kids myself and very differently.
 
Daxus

Daxus

Active Member
Maine Brookies said:
As a former junkie i still fel guilty anytime i ask for opiates. I have no intention of getting strung out again but i still feel like i'm doing something wrong asking for the stuff.
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The illusion of power can be as efficient if not more efficient than actual power. I think because Doctors hold so much control in the realm of prescriptions, health care, and what they can let you do it always makes me feel bad asking them for pain meds that have the stigma of being abused often (especially in Maine). When in reality they're there to help you and are working FOR you (after all you pay for their time) and if you're doing nothing wrong there's no need to feel that way even if they disagree with you.
 
cerberus

cerberus

Well-Known Member
Maine Brookies said:
As a former junkie i still fel guilty anytime i ask for opiates. I have no intention of getting strung out again but i still feel like i'm doing something wrong asking for the stuff.
Click to expand...

only becaue your eyes were (painfully) opened to what opiates really are.. It's to bad, that pain, either first hand or viceriously through our loved ones is the most common way people start seeing the truth.. The more opiate addicts i know and meet (and their are a lot) the more it proves to me how right what i am doing is.

stay strong brother
 
Daxus

Daxus

Active Member
Opiates always take me to heaven for a little while then drag me to hell while wearing off. Can't wait to be rid of them completely officially so I can let a kinder plant take their place.
 
Maine Brookies

Maine Brookies

Active Member
Daxus said:
Nice! I really need to watch that show, everyone keeps telling me about it. I think that rings true though.
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Don't start watching in the middle. Start at Season 1 Episode 1 or you'll be overwhelmed. But, yeah it's an awesome series, especially if you have any interest in fantasy fiction.
 
Daxus

Daxus

Active Member
Maine Brookies said:
Don't start watching in the middle. Start at Season 1 Episode 1 or you'll be overwhelmed. But, yeah it's an awesome series, especially if you have any interest in fantasy fiction.
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Love fantasy fiction! Sounds good to me.

So four days before I go to see my doctor. Here's a question: In Maine the recommendation has to be on tamper proof paper. Assuming I get lucky I doubt my doctor has some just lying around short of his Rx pad. Now I know they can't PRESCRIBE MMJ, but can he write my recommendation on his pad and make it clear it's not a Rx? I noticed on some websites it says they can't, but the actual laws on the books and the guidelines on the MMJ website don't specify other than it has to be tamper proof paper.

Just a curiosity, I have a feeling I'm going to end up going elsewhere anyway.
 
Daxus

Daxus

Active Member
Maine Brookies said:
You need the recommendation form printed on tamper resistant paper. A note on a prescription pad is not sufficient.
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It's strange though because the law itself states:

"Written certification" means a document on tamper-resistant paper signed by a physician , that expires in one year and that states that in the physician's professional opinion a patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the medical use of marijuana to treat or alleviate the patient's debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the debilitating medical condition.

The Agency Rules states:

Physician’s written certification. Physician’s written certification means a document signed by a physician stating that in the physician’s professional opinion a patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from the medical use of marijuana to treat or alleviate the patient’s debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the debilitating medical condition.

It doesn't specify it has to be a special recommendation form that has to be printed. So where does that come from??
 
tet1953

tet1953

Well-Known Member
I believe the state provides them. I do not know if there is a charge to dr offices for them. A call to John Theile would probably answer it quickly. I always seem to get him when I need to.
 
M

mdanforth

Well-Known Member
I have about 490 sheets of RX watermarked paper. I have provided them to patients all printed out with the state approved form. All they have to do is let the doc fill in all the info....I got em off amazon...freaked out a couple of docs, they pay $500 for their paper I paid $35.....
 
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