n July 1st, Senate Bill 109 went into effect. This law was designed to more closely regulate the doctor/patient relationship by requiring what is referred to as a “bona-fide doctor/patient relationship” for both new and renewal registry applications. A bona-fide relationship, according to the law, consists of the following:
o A full assessment of the patient’s medical history
o A “personal physical examination” – NOT the same as a full physical examination
o The doctor is available for and offers follow- up care.
The bill can be read in its entirety here. So what does this all of this mean for the average Jane or Joe MMJ patient? As it turns out, not much. The clinics where we regularly refer patients report “business as usual”. The price of an examination has remained unchanged. As always, we recommend seeing your regular doctor or specialist for your referral. However, if that option is unavailable, you may still see one of our MMJ specialists.
The other law that went into effect, House Bill 1284, creates the regulatory agency for the dispensary industry and restricts primary caregivers to five patients, among other things. Dispensaries are referred to as “medical marijuana centers”. A patient may now designate a primary caregiver or a primary MMJ center, with the designee being entitled to cultivate six plants and possess two ounces of medicine for each patient. The patient may also choose to have the caregiver or center grow on their behalf AND grow six plants of their own!
As mentioned above, a primary caregiver is now restricted to five patients (except in special circumstances), must provide other “caregiver services” and cannot profit from the sale of the medicine grown. If you have designated an individual as your primary caregiver, you should contact them as soon as possible to determine if they will able to comply with the new law. If Eva or Mitch is your caregiver, we will be requesting that you submit a form to the state designating Northern Lights Natural Rx as your primary center as soon it becomes available.
Information You Can Use
You may have heard about Rick Simpson of Canada, who claims to have the cure for cancer in the form of hemp (hash) oil. This video is a bit long and low on production values but it’s informative nonetheless.
NPR looks at medical marijuana and sees that it is a patient driven phenomenon. Glad they picked up on that….
And Now, the Good Stuff
For every purchase you make in the month of July you’ll be entered into a drawing for a Vapor Genie. Congratulations to our first winner, JJ! We’ll be drawing for one every week so come by early and often!
Come down to the store and sign our commitment to name us as your Primary Medical Marijuana Center and get a free pre-roll!
Northern Lights #5 will be available around the 15th of this month.
Help boost our internet presence! Give us a review on Dailybuds, THCFinder, or WeedMaps and get a free medicated cookie.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for Daily Specials -
Also follow us on northernlightsnaturalsrx.com to become friends with us on all of our networks!!!!!!!
Have a Great July (what’s left of it)!
Mitch and Eva
