Approaching Your Doctor About Medical Marihuana

It is often better to have an ongoing relationship with a doctor, rather than walking into their office for the first time to ask them to sign a medical marihuana form.

Gradually approach the subject, and if you are on medication for your ailments, do some research on their side effects. Let your doctor know your concerns about such medication. Also, providing research on medical marihuana is always helpful. Below there is a list of websites that can supply information for both you and your doctor.

You may want to tell your doctor that you have used marihuana for therapeutic reasons, and explain how it helped you with your symptoms. Only you will know if this is something you can say to your doctor or not. Some doctors react well, and some do not. Some are only interested in prescription pharmaceuticals, and others are more willing to lend an ear to your preferences.

A non-pressure approach is optimal with doctors. Let your doctor know that you are serious about this choice. Try leaving the Health Canada B Forms, the Medical Practitioner's Release Form, as well as some website addresses with the doctor. Ask them to look it over, and tell them you will return in the near future. This gives them some time to make a choice without feeling that they are being backed into a corner. You can also mention that there are ongoing studies being done and more and more people are realizing the benefits of using marihuana for medical purposes. Our goal is to one day get involved with clinical trials with the hopes of figuring out which strains are most beneficial to treat a specific ailment.

Ultimately, it is up to the doctor if they will sign the forms or not. Any MD can sign for medical marihuana. So, if they are telling you they are not licensed to do so, they are either misinformed or attempting to say no in a non-confrontational way. You can choose to persist, as many have done, or try with another doctor. Often clients have reported that after some persuasion their doctor changed their minds and signed the forms.

These websites can be helpful for your doctor to make a more informed decision when considering signing a B1/B2 Health Canada form for an MMAR card:

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6376&page=R1
http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/mj028.htm
http://www.medicalmarijuana.ca/for-doctors/marijuana-literature

These two websites are informative; however, we do not suggest showing them to your doctor. Avoid any sites that have any sort of paraphernalia, Jamaican flags or colours, and big cannabis leaves, as this will not help to display you serious intent or further the legitimization of medical marihuana. Nevertheless, they are full of interesting information which can be helpful when advocating your need for medical marihuana to your doctor:

http://www.benefitsofmarijuana.com/benefits.php
http://www.onlinepot.org