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District residents who suffer from cancer, glaucoma, or AIDS are now mere weeks away from being able to relieve their pain with medical marijuana. Capital City Care, one of the three clinics set to open across D.C., was formally licensed to distribute medical pot this week and doctors can soon start recommending their patients to receive treatment.
With the city's Department of Health publishing its form for doctors to fill out their recommendations that their patients qualify for the treatment, Capital City Care co-owner David Guard expects he'll soon parceling out marijuana to scores of people suffering from chronic diseases.
"We have lots of patients that we consider pre-registered interested in signing up for our dispensary," he says in an interview. "Ultimately we're going to have hundreds, maybe thousands."
For now, the Department of Health limits medical marijuana to people with cancer, glaucoma, or HIV/AIDS, as well as those undergoing radiation or chemotherapy treatments. But Gaurd says he expects the list of qualifying conditions to expand over time. Medical marijuana treatment has been a long time coming in the District. Though first approved by voters in 1998, more than 14 years of regulatory delay held it up until now.
Department of Health officials estimate just 110 of the city's 9,500 licensed physicians are interested in prescribing medical marijuana, but Guard expects business will come in quickly. "Patients are already making appointments with their doctors," he says. "This is going to be patient-driven."
Guard says that once a doctor submits a medical marijuana recommendation form to the Department of Health, patients will need to wait a few days for approval, after which they can receive their card granting them access to clinics. In Capital City Care's case, its storefront at 1334 North Capitol Street NW is just five blocks from the Department of Health's office, which Guard says should make the process all the more expedient.
Capital City Care cultivates its product at a facility in the Langston neighborhood, and at its clinic will also sell accessories such as pipes, vaporizers, and rolling papers in addition to filling prescriptions.
Two more clinics, Takoma Wellness Center and Metropolitan Wellness Center, in Eastern Market, are waiting for their licenses. Guard also says that with all of the local regulatory hurdles cleared, he expects business will go smoothly.
But always lingering over medical marijuana in any part of the United States–much less the capital–is the possibility of federal interference. Though statements by both President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have expressed acceptance of patients who use medical marijuana, the Justice Department in recent years has prosecuted growers and providers in several states where the treatment has been legal for years, including California, Montana, and Washington. Federal authorities carried out more than 100 raids on weed dispensaries during Obama's first three years in office, Rolling Stone reported last year. And the Brookings Institution last month called the Obama administration's approach toward medical pot chaotic and confusing.
However, Guard says he has not been approached by any federal officials as he prepares to open his doors, nor does he expect to be.
"It's likely they recognize our patients are truly ill individuals and to deny this medicine would be a travesty," he says.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: dcist.com
Author: Benjamin R. Freed
Contact: tips@dcist.com
Website: D.C.'s First Licensed Medical Marijuana Clinic Is Ready to Sign Up Patients: DCist
With the city's Department of Health publishing its form for doctors to fill out their recommendations that their patients qualify for the treatment, Capital City Care co-owner David Guard expects he'll soon parceling out marijuana to scores of people suffering from chronic diseases.
"We have lots of patients that we consider pre-registered interested in signing up for our dispensary," he says in an interview. "Ultimately we're going to have hundreds, maybe thousands."
For now, the Department of Health limits medical marijuana to people with cancer, glaucoma, or HIV/AIDS, as well as those undergoing radiation or chemotherapy treatments. But Gaurd says he expects the list of qualifying conditions to expand over time. Medical marijuana treatment has been a long time coming in the District. Though first approved by voters in 1998, more than 14 years of regulatory delay held it up until now.
Department of Health officials estimate just 110 of the city's 9,500 licensed physicians are interested in prescribing medical marijuana, but Guard expects business will come in quickly. "Patients are already making appointments with their doctors," he says. "This is going to be patient-driven."
Guard says that once a doctor submits a medical marijuana recommendation form to the Department of Health, patients will need to wait a few days for approval, after which they can receive their card granting them access to clinics. In Capital City Care's case, its storefront at 1334 North Capitol Street NW is just five blocks from the Department of Health's office, which Guard says should make the process all the more expedient.
Capital City Care cultivates its product at a facility in the Langston neighborhood, and at its clinic will also sell accessories such as pipes, vaporizers, and rolling papers in addition to filling prescriptions.
Two more clinics, Takoma Wellness Center and Metropolitan Wellness Center, in Eastern Market, are waiting for their licenses. Guard also says that with all of the local regulatory hurdles cleared, he expects business will go smoothly.
But always lingering over medical marijuana in any part of the United States–much less the capital–is the possibility of federal interference. Though statements by both President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have expressed acceptance of patients who use medical marijuana, the Justice Department in recent years has prosecuted growers and providers in several states where the treatment has been legal for years, including California, Montana, and Washington. Federal authorities carried out more than 100 raids on weed dispensaries during Obama's first three years in office, Rolling Stone reported last year. And the Brookings Institution last month called the Obama administration's approach toward medical pot chaotic and confusing.
However, Guard says he has not been approached by any federal officials as he prepares to open his doors, nor does he expect to be.
"It's likely they recognize our patients are truly ill individuals and to deny this medicine would be a travesty," he says.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: dcist.com
Author: Benjamin R. Freed
Contact: tips@dcist.com
Website: D.C.'s First Licensed Medical Marijuana Clinic Is Ready to Sign Up Patients: DCist
