Medicinal Cannabis Practitioners

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On Seeking Physician Approvals

   Prop. 215 patients should begin by consulting with their own physicians about medical use of cannabis. If you don't have a medical record of treatment for serious illness, you may not be eliigible for marijuana under Prop. 215. To qualify, patients must obtain a physician's "recommendation" or "approval" (NOT prescription) to use marijuana (SAMPLE recommendation form ). No official registration is required. Marijuana can be recommended for ANY serious condition for which it provides relief; over 250 uses have been reported.
   Many physicians wrongly fear that they can be prosecuted under federal law for recommending marijuana medically.  The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a permanent injunction by the U.S. District Court in Northern California forbidding the government from punishing California doctors for recommending marijuana, provided they do not get involved in its distribution or sales. The US Supreme Court has upheld the Ninth Circuit's ruling (Conant v. Walters: Oct. 15, 2003). Physicians are accordingly free to recommend marijuana for their patients, so long as they don't actually assist them in obtaining it (see California NORML's Medical Marijuana Guidlines for Physicians). Over 1500 California physicians have recommended medical marijuana under Prop. 215. None have been federally prosecuted for doing so.

Medicinal Cannabis Specialists

N. Cal. - Central Cal. - S. Cal - Hawaii - Colo. - Nev.- N. Mex. - Ore. - Wash.

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   The following licensed California physicians are available for consultation as medical cannabis specialists. Patients should have a documented medical record of diagnosis and treatment or a physician referral.

CAUTION: Some commercial clinics have been issuing recommendations through physician's assistants rather than directly through M.D.s. The legality of this procedure has been challenged by law enforcement. If your recommendation has not been issued by a licensed M.D. in person, it may not hold up in court. Patients are advised to check and make sure they are seeing a real M.D., not just an assistant.

Patients should be aware that the state medical board has investigated a number of Prop. 215 physicians on account of complaints by law enforcement that they are overly lax in issuing recommendations. Patients should not assume that a single casual recommendation will automatically guarantee them immunity from potential criminal charges. It is important that you establish a record of regular professional care for your illness.

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