WARNING - Notice to Patients of Dr William Ortiz - DIRECT YOUR QUESTIONS TO DHHS -

Dr William Ortiz has been writing 4 month paperwork for many of his patients. It has been brought to my attention by DHHS that these medical marijuana reccomendations are not valid. Any questions should be directed to DHHS Medical Marijuana Program. Patients should call Dr Ortiz and ask him to update their current paperwork for the one year period required by the Medical Marijuana Program so they are in compliance with the Maine Law.

I wonder if it's a racket to get more dr visits or he's just afraid to write one for a year. Or just stupid.
Think I'll go with door #3.

Mr. Oritz will not take responsibility for his errors (more than likely scam). If you attempt to call him a women will answer who by the tone of voice you can tell she's dealing with a boatload of calls.

"He is talking to his lawyers and trying to find a solution" --my solution would be to send out legitimate paperwork and call it a day.
"our lawyers had originally stated that the 4mo certificates were legal" -- YOUR LAWYERS WERE WRONG

DHHS created this mess. Maybe they should fix the information on their website. I'm just sayin'

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/dlrs/mmm/application-material/Program-Bulletin.pdf

Medical Use of Marijuana Program
OVERVIEW OF 9/28/11 CHANGES
(A Layperson’s Guide)

The physician, in his or her discretion, shall determine how long the certification will be
valid, not to exceed 12 months. At that time, a new physician certification is required.

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Nice catch. We've been hashing this out over at the CCM forum and nobody came up with that clause...

CAPTAINJOINT said:

Dr William Ortiz has been writing 4 month paperwork for many of his patients.

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Rumor has it that Dr. O has also developed a habit no-showing for pre-paid patient consultations, leaving the patient hanging with no recommendation and no money.

jujubee said:

DHHS created this mess. Maybe they should fix the information on their website. I'm just sayin'

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/dlrs/mmm/application-material/Program-Bulletin.pdf

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I'm just sayin I completely agree.

CAPTAINJOINT said:

Dr William Ortiz has been writing 4 month paperwork for many of his patients. It has been brought to my attention by DHHS that these medical marijuana reccomendations are not valid. Any questions should be directed to DHHS Medical Marijuana Program. Patients should call Dr Ortiz and ask him to update their current paperwork for the one year period required by the Medical Marijuana Program so they are in compliance with the Maine Law.

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Just a troll from the CCM

Ortiz advertised and posted on CCM but - since he's not a caregiver (in any sense of the word) - he never joined the organization.

pan4gold49 said:

Just a troll from the CCM

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Give it a rest Pan... Go back to Cali. Don't you have some teeny plants growing in Kitty litter containers to tend to? The adults are talking here... and this alleged doctor has really screwed some people over. The Mass hospital that he "works" at fired him 10 years ago and the hospital in Maine that he "works' at never heard of him. His license to practice in Maine has been pulled and he is literally on the run. Don't let the facts get in the way of your argument jackalope.

jujubee said:

DHHS created this mess. Maybe they should fix the information on their website. I'm just sayin'

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/dlrs/mmm/application-material/Program-Bulletin.pdf

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Look at the date on ^^^^^ it's from 2011! Try reading the current regulations. From mid2012 the present, all certificates have to be issued/written for a 12-month period. Anything else is illegal. DHHS, the Maine Board of Medicine and the Attorney Generals office all agree on this point.

OnThePond said:

Look at the date on ^^^^^ it's from 2011! Try reading the current regulations. From mid2012 the present, all certificates have to be issued/written for a 12-month period. Anything else is illegal. DHHS, the Maine Board of Medicine and the Attorney Generals office all agree on this point.

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I think you are missing the point. That is the current information on the DHHS website.

http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/dlrs/mmm/









But it was wrong, even when they posted it in Sept, 2011. If you look at the statute that talks about expiration of a certification form, you will see that it took effect in 2011.


http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/22/title22sec2423-B.html



3. Expiration. A written certification form for the medical use of marijuana under this section expires one year after issuance by the qualifying patient's physician.
[ 2011, c. 407, Pt. B, §17 (NEW) .]

I'm not arguing with you - it's bad info and it shouldn't be listed. I was just reiterating what the law is and that all parties involved agree with the 12-month certificate requirement. No getting around it.

A lot of patients got caught up in this, some probably still don't know that they're illegal.

It was nice of CaptainJoint to start this thread and let people know.

Nice of captain joint!?!?! they're the ones who set me up with him...! Im disabled with a ridiculously low fixed monthly income. I had to beg, borrow and scourge to come ipod with the money to pay this "DR", Then when I went in for my 4 month follow up to get my "permanent" recommendation, they tried to charge me AGAIN..!!! Whitch I was in NO position to do (being on a fixed income)Never mind the fact that the dispensery charges street prices for my medicine. Now I've made a SIGNIFICANT investment in an illegal gro op. Thank you so much Judy brunn and"captain joint" for totally fucking my shit up...YOU SUCK!!!