“There is no way that this guy is seriously ill and needs medical marijuana.  Just look at him.”  I can not tell you how many times I hear people say that medical marijuana is being handed out to a bunch of pot heads just based on how they look.   My question to you is this:  What does someone in chronic pain look like?   Everyone expects to see someone in a wheelchair or hobbling along on one leg and a cane with a seeing eye dog leading the way.   Today I had a patient in my office that literally looked like this.

99% of people would look at this guy and say “You see. That is what is wrong with medical marijuana in California.  Any punk that can fog a mirror can walk into a doctors office and get a recommendation.” (that happens to be true by they way)  However, you can’t judge a patient by his age, how he dresses or by the color of his hair.

Here is the problem with pre-judging.   When I asked my patient why he used medical marijuana he went on to explain that at the age of 21 he was “T-Boned” by a car going 65mph.  The crash shattered his pelvis, fractured his femur, collapsed his lung and put him in a coma for 8 months in the hospital.   He has had over 12 surgeries and has lived with daily pain since that time.   He explained that he has too many friends abusing pain pills that he does not want to ever take them.   Because of medical marijuana he does not have to take a motrin, alleve or vicodin and his pain is manageable.     It is truly a remarkable medication for him.

The problem with the medical marijuana industry is for every patient like this there are 50 that are truly using it for recreational purposes and they are all using the same dispensaries.   However, the point of this blog is to make you aware so you take a moment before you assume the guy next to you with the pink hair is just a pothead.