<p>I live in a state that by law allows marijuana use for medical purposes. I drive by a dispensary numerous times each day. As I am stopped at the light I find myself watching the people go in and out. I am surprised that it is overwhelmingly male and able looking in the 18-30 age range. I have been told by several high school males that it is an easily obtained prescription.
No question just an observation.</p>
<p>There are much more dangerous medications that could be prescribed instead of marijuana. I would be more concerned if Percocet or Vicodin were the “easy” scripts for pain, which are far more addictive, have more serious side effects, etc.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, though, that usually prescription pain killers are picked up by someone other than the patient, usually a family member.</p>
<p>NO, corranged, mom60 is right. Knowing many people who have medical marijuana licenses personally (and these are guys, very able-bodied, not at all sick, of the same age as me) the problem is widespread. Lots of dealers go and get massive amounts of medical marijuana to distribute; others just go for personal use.</p>
<p>The appeal is that the marijuana grown at cannabis clubs (another name for the dispensaries) is very high quality.</p>
<p>We had a known drug house in our neighborhood. The police told me there was little they could do because any time they entered the house, one of the adult family members pulled out his medical marijuana and said it was all his. Marijuana wasn’t the only drug around but they were careful to hide the other stuff.<br>
Unfortunately, I think people like that who abuse the system, distribute it to teenagers, etc. ruin the fact that there are truly people with chronic pain or other medical conditions which can be alleviated by the medical marijuana.</p>
<p>This is an issue I know almost nothing about. It may be a big problem. All I said was that there are much more dangerous drugs, and I would be far more concerned if these drugs were the ones being over-prescribed. </p>
<p>It’s a tough issue because, as Ebee said, attempts to come down hard on prescribing doctors inevitably harms the patients who truly need the pain medication.</p>
<p>Yeah, exactly. And I agree with you about opiates and so forth. My “no” came across a bit more capitalized than I intended. ;)</p>
<p>This is no surprise. The major backers of the ‘medical mj’ law were basically the people who wanted to legalize mj for all and many were just pot-heads. The ‘medical’ aspect was used just as a vehicle. Before the law was ever voted on I knew it’d end up this way, as a pathway to full legalization and easy access for non-medical uses - many predicted it.</p>
<p>Personally I think drug legalization should be in the hands of the medical community but this law was a disingenuous sham pushed by pro-mj backers more than any pro-medical usage backers.</p>
<p>Haha, my cousins california legal. Oh Santa Cruz!</p>
<p>uudad: I agree with you, it should be placed in the hands of the medical community. But since the medical community - when protected from the demands of kowtowing to the politics of the issue - have almost unanimously said that pot carries far less risk than most other drugs, particularly legal ones like tobacco and alcohol, maybe this somewhat underhanded method of getting it effectively legalized is acceptable?</p>
<p>1of42: Do they have similar laws in Canada?</p>
<p>Yes, Canada does allow for the medical use of marijuana.</p>
<p>[“Medical</a> Use of Marihuana”](<a href=“http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/index_e.html]"Medical”>http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/marihuana/index_e.html)</p>
<p>Actually, marijuana has recently fallen into a constitutional void in Canada, and as of now appears to be legal:</p>
<p>[ThePotLawHasFallen.ca</a> - Home](<a href=“http://www.thepotlawhasfallen.ca/]ThePotLawHasFallen.ca”>http://www.thepotlawhasfallen.ca/)</p>
<p>1of42- Do you also notice it is mainly male? I have observed only 1 female in the past three weeks. One wheelchair bound and a few elderly males.
What also is interesting is that the building is nicely maintained with no sign.
Where do they get the prescriptions? I can’t imagine the local Dr’s giving out prescriptions to 18 yr old males.
Also I am amazed at how many dispensaries we have in our small city.</p>
<p>Well, as far as I can tell men use marijuana at higher rates than females (note that this observation is not backed up by any proof and is merely anecdotal). That said, dispensaries will show an even increased disparity in that regard, since many people going in are dealers, and I know that there aren’t a particularly large amount of female dealers. ;)</p>
<p>As for getting fake prescriptions, absolutely there are MDs who will do it. They’re called candy doctors. They’re most concentrated in parts of the country where drug use is high as far as I can tell, and tend to pop up once medical marijuana becomes available. 
Pay them around $250 or so, and a person has got themselves a medical marijuana license.</p>
<p>San Francisco has more marijuana dispensaries than McDonalds.</p>