I have blogged about this previously but felt it necessary to caution patients again. Today I had a patient tell me he called two medical marijuana clinics and was told that for $250 the doctor will provide him with a “Cultivation License” which allows him to grow up to 99 plants.

I want to reiterate one more time that a Cultivation Certificate from a doctors office is NOT VALID NOR RECOGNIZED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT.

If you plan on growing more than the 12 plant limit established by Senate Bill 420 I highly recommend you contact a knowledgable attorney. Spending $325 for one hour of his professional recommendation will save you tens of thousands in legal fees and stress that you can not imagine.

I RECOMMEND THAT YOU FIRST SPEAK WITH ATTORNEY:

ANTHONY CURIALE

418 South Brea Boulevard
Brea, CA 92821-5301
(714) 529-9376

He is super knowledgable and very reasonable in his pricing.

I hope that helps.

Dr. Breen

I was recently asked by a patient if I could write him a written note exempting him from the 12 plant limit placed on California medical marijuana patients. Interestingly I spoke to a physician who has a clinic in the IE and actually charges patients $50 if they want a written exemption to grow more medicine.

Although I am not an attorney, I want to give you some practical advice on growing your own medicine. In addition I want to give you information based on my EXPERT testimony in court regarding patients charged with growing with intent to sell. READ ON…

I am writing this blog to clarify patients rights in California to grow medical marijuana. Under the Compassionate Use Act (Proposition 215) passed in 1996, any patient who receives a written recommendation to use marijuana can legally grow their own medicine. In fact, in most cases patients can grow 12 immature or 6 mature plants at any given time and possess up to 8 oz of marijuana.

Out of that law came the “growers certificate” which doctors offices provided patients with who wish to grow their own medicine.

The intent of this blog is to clarify this document and answer any questions you may have. READ ON….

Before making an appointment to see a physician for a medical marijuana card you should first do 10 minutes of research to make sure your doctor does not have any disciplinary actions pending. In addition you will want to call the clinic and make sure you are going to PHYSICALLY SEE A DOCTOR IN PERSON, not over the computer.

Here is how you research a doctor medical record: READ ON…

It has been a tough road for many people who have ventured into the medical marijuana industry. Dispensary owners being arrested and imprisoned, assets seized and now the latest casualty… a colorado physician is being stripped of his right to practice medicine. How did this happen? READ ON….

Over the past week I have had 5 patients who received medical marijuana recommendations from clinics only to find out that their doctor did not have a medical license in good standing. What happened is that they went to a dispensary to get medication and were turned away because the dispensary was not accepting recommendations by that doctor.

How common is this? Apparently very common. I recently went to the California State Medical Boards website and looked up 10 physicians listed on canorml.org’s website. 5 of them were disciplined by the medical board for various actions. 1 had a felony conviction, another had a license outright revoked and the others had infractions that were punished.

There is much discussion lately about the posturing of Eric Holder and the federal government regarding their actions if Prop 19 passes. Eric holder stated that they will “aggressively” pursue those who sell and grow marijuana for recreational purposes. Although they state that they are not going to come after existing medical marijuana dispensaries and growers there is a growing fear that they are not going to differentiate between the two. The medical marijuana community, and rightfully so, is fearful of rocking the boat. READ ON

A word of caution to medical marijuana patients who plan on growing their own medicine. IF YOU GO ABOVE THE LIMITS ALLOWED IN SENATE BILL 420 (12 PLANTS, 6 MATURE) BE PREPARED TO HAVE TO DEFEND YOUR SELF IN COURT.

A 22 year old patient named Joshua Brewer was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 3 years probation for exceeding the allowable limits. The confusing part about this is that the State Court about 8 months ago ruled it unconstitutional to place limits on how much medicine patients can grow…. HOWEVER they have to be able to justify the amount in court if they get charged.

Today Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law Senate Bill 1449 which makes possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana an infraction punishable by a $100.00 ticket. As of January 1, 2011 no longer will citizens be arrested for possession and have to appear in court. It will be equivalent to getting a traffic ticket. By doing so he will free up some 61,000+ arrests each year and save money otherwise spent on prosecuting these minor offenses.

With just one month remaining until the historic vote on November 2nd for Proposition 19, a ballot initiative to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for anyone 21 and over, there are many people speaking out both for and against it. I have over the past 6 month blogged about why I think it is a poorly written proposition that won’t come close to accomplishing what it is intending. However, recently I have given more and more thought to voting yes for this proposition. REGARDLESS, THE FACE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS GOING TO CHANGE DRAMATICALLY IF THIS PASSES. READ ON….