BEWARE: Marijuana Cards Being Sold Without Doctors' 'OK'-but not at Alternative Care Clinics

Patients should be aware that medical marijuana evaluations are to be conducted by a CA licensed MD (medical doctor) or DO (doctor of osteopathy) only. Physician Assistants (PA’s), medical assistants, chiropractors, dentist, podiatrist, physiologist or anyone else that’s not a licensed MD or DO cannot evaluate patients for medical marijuana, legally. Patients should also be aware that it is illegal for a doctor to tell you where to obtain, or to sell you marijuana. If you are at a medical marijuana office and do not see a physician, you can bet that it’s illegal. Don't be fooled by cheap, fast evaluations, that don't require medical records or for you to see a doctor. Do your research, look up the medical license numbers of your doctor on-line, ask to see proof from your doctor. These scammers make legitimate patients look bad and they need to be stopped. If you are interested in being evaluated by a reputable and qualified CA licensed physician in Southern California, Alternative Care Clinics is here to assist you. If you have any questions or concerns about the evaluation process please feel free to contact us at 866.420.7215, www.accsocal.com, www.8664207215.com or accinfo@accsocal.com.

Marijuana Cards Being Sold Without Doctors' 'OK'
Reporting
David Goldstein
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―

Los Angeles is about to implement some of the toughest restrictions in the state on medical marijuana dispensaries. But in an exclusive CBS 2 News hidden-camera investigation, we went undercover into medical clinics and found that recommendations for medical marijuana are being sold without ever seeing a doctor.

We found a man, who answers to the name of Dr. Scott, when he provides patients with what amounts to a prescription for medical marijuana. We don't know if he was smoking some of his own medicine or tobacco, when we caught him smoking a pipe in his car outside the clinic. But we do know he is not a doctor.

David Goldstein: "How do you do that? Only a doctor can give out recommendations?"

Dr. Scott: "I don't have to talk to you, dude."

Undercover producer: "I'm confused. Is this a doctor's office?"

"Yes it is."

At another location across town, a place bills itself as a doctor's office, but when we were there, there was no doctor, just prescriptions for sale and medical marijuana.

We found it over and over -- obtaining certificates to buy medical marijuana without ever seeing a doctor.

With one of these cards or certificates, small amounts of pot become legal in California! With one you can buy marijuana at hundreds of dispensaries, like one we found in the L.A. area.

The law says in order to get a certificate, you have to be recommended by a doctor, but that is not what we found.

Undercover producer: "Can I get my card here?"

"Yeah."

"Can I do it legal?"

"Yeah go ahead."

We sent an undercover producer with a hidden camera to a clinic in the Garmet District.

Tobias: "My name is Tobias…"

A man named Tobias said we could easily get a recommendation.

Tobias: "We've got to send your paperwork to get approved, so you have to wait a second."

He claimed to fax the paperwork to a doctor and minutes later…

Undercover producer: "How much was it?"

Tobias: "Sixty dollars."

We got it. And he bragged about others who also come here.

"You know what's funny. We get a lot of people from UPS."

Undercover producer: "You get delivery boys?"

Tobias: "All the time. Another big market are LAUSD teachers."

Undercover producer: "Stop it, LAUSD teachers?!"

Tobias: "Dead serious."

Tobias then told us to go to another room where pot was for sale with our new recommendation.

Undercover producer: "So what do you guys have? This is like Candyland."

We walked out with the certificate signed by a Dr. Keith Wresch, who we never saw.

Dr. Wresch admits he prescribes medical marijuana, but says he has nothing to do with this clinic.

Dr. Wresch: "I mean it's a forgery. It's something they shouldn't be doing. No I'm not happy about them doing it."

Tobias admits he has no medical training, but claims Dr. Wresch is involved.

David Goldstein: "Are you a doctor?"

Tobias: "No."


David Goldstein: "Dr. Wresch says you're just using his name here."

Tobias: "No, I'm not using his name."

David Goldstein: "That he has nothing to do with this?"

Tobias: "OK, you can believe what you want to believe, but that's not the truth."

That's not the only place we obtained certificates without ever seeing a doctor.

Undercover producer: "Are you a doctor?"

One man said he worked under a doctor -- whatever that meant. We got a recommendation from him one day.

Undercover producer: "Hello."

"Are you a new patient?"

Undercover producer: "Yeah."

The next day we went there he was the receptionist.

And at another clinic, a man answered to the name of Dr. Scott. We caught him smoking something in his car after he pulled up outside the clinic where he works.

Dr Scott: "Nice to meet you. We'll get you in there soon."

Our undercover producer met with him. He asked her a few questions about her ailment and immediately came up with a solution.

Dr Scott: "Have you ever tried marijuana?"

But when she asked about his qualifications...

Undercover producer: "I was just wondering...you say you're a doctor right?"

Dr Scott: "P.A., yes."

He admitted he was just a P.A. or physician's assistant. But in less than four minutes she was licensed to buy pot.

Dr Scott: "Are you taking any other medications?"

Undercover producer: "None."

Dr Scott: "Let's get you licensed then, OK?"

Undercover producer: "Great. It'll be $60, huh?"

The recommendation was stamped with the signature of Dr. Jerome McCuin. He's an anesthesiologist who lives in Rancho Cucamonga, 50 miles away.

Doctor McCuin: "This is a forgery."

Doctor McCuin also claims his name is being used.

Doctor McCuin: "This is not me. I mean I don't know anything about it."

The California medical board is trying to take away Dr. McCuin's license for an unrelated matter. He admits he worked briefly at the clinic a few months ago. But says he never gave his permission to use his name.

Dr Scott: "You want to fill one of these out."

We caught up with Scott at the hemp convention in downtown L.A. last week, where he was issuing marijuana recommendations with a huge crowd waiting in line.

David Goldstein: "You a doctor?

Dr Scott: "Physicians assistant."

David Goldstein: "You giving our recommendations here?"

Dr Scott: "We're doing recommendations at our booth, yes."

David Goldstein: "How can you do that? Only a doctor can do recommendations?"

Dr Scott: "I don't have to talk with you, dude."

David Goldstein: "But only doctors can do recommendations."

Dr Scott: "Actually, if you look at the statutes of California, you know the appropriate answer is yes, we can do it."

But the Governing Board of Physicians Assistants says that while P.A.'s can evaluate a patient, only a physician is authorized to recommend medical use of marijuana.

In all we went to five clinics and got recommendations signed by five different doctors.

"There you are. Your signature right there please."

We never saw any of the physicians during the evaluations.

"They're simply out there trying to make a buck."

This undercover LAPD detective investigates the city's growing medical marijuana trade and says these clinics are popping up everywhere.

"Not a surprise there is a number of places that are set up as medical marijuana recommendation mill that simply operate on a daily basis to churn out as many recommendations for cash as they can," the LAPD detective said.

Because of our report, police now say they will start investigating the clinics after we found doctor-recommended medical marijuana without ever seeing a doctor.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Check out the original article and video here: http://cbs2.com/goldstein/Medical.Marijuana.Doctor.2.1529594.html#addComments

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Marijuana use up for seniors as Boomers age

Matt Sedensky, Associated Press

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

(02-23) 04:00 PST Miami --In her 88 years, Florence Siegel has learned how to relax: A glass of red wine. Some classical music, preferably Bach. And every night like clockwork, she lifts a pipe to her lips and smokes marijuana.

---

Long a fixture among young people, use of the country's most popular illicit drug is now growing among the AARP set, as the massive generation of Baby Boomers who came of age in the 1960s and '70s grows older.

The number of people aged 50 and older reporting marijuana use in the prior year went up from 1.9 percent to 2.9 percent from 2002 to 2008, according to surveys from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The rise was most dramatic among 55- to 59-year-olds, whose reported marijuana use more than tripled from 1.6 percent in 2002 to 5.1 percent.

Observers expect further increases as 78 million Boomers born between 1945 and 1964 age. For many Boomers, the drug never held the stigma it did for previous generations. Some have always used it, while others are revisiting the habit in retirement, either for recreation or as a way to cope with the ailments of aging.

The drug is credited with relieving many problems linked to aging: aches and pains, glaucoma, macular degeneration. Patients in 14 states enjoy medical marijuana laws, but those elsewhere buy or grow the drug illegally to ease their conditions.

But there's also the risk that health problems already faced by older people can be exacerbated by regular marijuana use. Older users could be at risk for falls if they become dizzy, smoking it increases the risk of heart disease, and it can cause cognitive impairment, said Dr. William Dale of the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Siegel, who finds marijuana has helped her sleep better than pills ever did, was well into her 50s before she tried pot for the first time. She can muster only one frustration with the drug.

"I never learned how to roll a joint," she said. "It's just a big nuisance. It's much easier to fill a pipe."

This article appeared on page A - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/22/MNLP1C5C7Q.DTL#ixzz0gO03AZB0

10 Signs You May Be Addicted to Painkillers-Wellness.com

To read the full article at Wellness.com click here:
Wellness.com - The Best of Health and Wellness


10 Signs You May Be Addicted to Painkillers

By Jesse Cannone

Each year, more than 2 million Americans are given powerful prescription painkillers that contain opiods (sometimes called narcotics) for the relief of pain and discomfort brought on by injury, surgery, menstrual cramps, and even headaches. But a growing number of people taking these medications are becoming addicted to them. And it's not hard to understand why.

Drugs such as Vicodin, Percocet and Methadone block pain all the way from the nerve endings in the skin to the spinal cord to the brain. Once these drugs reach the brain, they open the floodgates for the chemical dopamine, which triggers feelings of well-being. Dopamine, in effect, rewires the brain to become accustomed to those pleasant feelings. So when you stop taking the pain-killer, your body will still have a strong craving for the dopamine. This is what makes it so hard to quit. Symptoms of withdrawal can include restlessness, muscle and bone pain, insomnia, diarrhea, vomiting, cold flashes with goose bumps (which is the origin of the term "cold turkey"), and involuntary leg movements. Better to avoid getting hooked in the first place.

Chemical dependency can happen to anyone, and it can easily sneak up on you. Here are 10 things you should look out for if you or someone you know is currently taking prescription painkillers:

1. An increase in usage
As time goes by, the effects of the initial dose will lessen, prompting a desire for stronger or more frequent doses of the prescribed medication. This is a clear indication that whatever amount they have been taking is no longer providing the same level of relief.

2. Personality changes
Changes in a person's normal behavior can be a sign of dependency. Shifts in energy, mood, and concentration may occur as every day responsibilities become secondary to the need for the relief the prescription provides.

3. Withdrawing socially
This is one of the clearest signs of a dependency problem. Spending more time alone and away from friends and family and social gatherings is a cause for concern.

4. Continuing meds too long
Extending the prescription beyond the initial period, especially after the condition has improved, can be the beginning of an endless cycle. The patient may even believe he or she is still in pain and simply needs to stay on the meds for a few more weeks or months. He or she might even express anger toward a doctor who questions the need to renew the prescription.

5. Too much time spent getting meds
There are no lengths to which a chemically dependent person will not go to obtain the drugs they think they need. This can become an all-consuming obsession, including traveling long distances and visiting many doctors. When getting the drugs seems to be the number one priority, the situation is getting out of hand.

6. Habits and appearance changes
A deterioration in physical appearance and grooming--including not bathing or shaving regularly--is a common result of drug addiction. There may be a general look of unhealthiness, such as persistent coughing and red eyes. Sleeping and eating patterns often become irregular.

7. Failure to meet responsibilities
Sudden changes in work or school attendance and a decline in quality of work or grades are common, as well as forgetting to pay bills and missing appointments.

8. Becoming oversensitive
One consequence of using potent drugs is that the body's response to any sort of stimulation is heightened. For example, a person may have an overly emotional reaction to traffic noise or bright lights--possibly including hallucinations.

9. Forgetfulness and blacking out
A person who is suffering from chemical dependency will forget things that have happened and may even experience memory gaps of several hours.

10. Denial and becoming defensive
Presented with even a hint that they may be addicted, those hooked on drugs will vehemently deny it. The harder you push, the more defensive they are like to get. They might even react to simple questions with an angry outburst.

Additional signs of chemical dependency include an inability to relax or have fun, talking incoherently or making inappropriate remarks, and expressing feelings of exhaustion, depression, and hopelessness.

Remember that painkillers are a blessing that can turn into a curse. And that it is a lot easier to avoid becoming addicted than it is to recover from drug addiction. As long as you follow your doctor's instructions (and you have others around you to make sure you do), these prescription medications will what they were designed to do--and nothing more.