Medical marijuana isn’t a special type or strain it is just marijuana sold to individuals who’re sick or injured. In some states in the United States, the drug is only legalized for medical use despite how widespread its use is. In others, it is legalized for medicinal and recreational use, although such states are few and far between.
A lot of people’s first instinct upon realizing their state allows medical marijuana is to try and get a permit. However, applying for a medical marijuana permit is in no way easy. To successfully get one you must have a qualifying condition (which is provable).
What are the qualifying conditions that make somebody eligible for a medical marijuana permit, however? There are quite a few, some physical and some mental. The only way to find out if you qualify for medical marijuana is to speak to your doctor.
In this post, you will learn about some of the conditions that make people eligible for medical marijuana licenses in most American states. It does need to be noted that some states have different conditions that they accept and deny. Serious diseases like cancer are always covered, however.
Seeing a Doctor
Before delving into some of the health conditions that make a person eligible for medical marijuana it is first necessary to discuss the importance of seeing a doctor. According to the experts from https://mmjhealth.com/older-adults-guide-to-florida-marijuana-doctor/, there are specific clinics that specialize in offering people the drug. If you want to get a permit to use it then you will need to sign up for a clinic of this kind.
While your family physician can prescribe medical marijuana (although it’s very unlikely that they will since most doctors do everything they can to obstruct people from getting the drug) it is better to go to a clinic that specializes in issuing prescriptions for marijuana.
Clinics of this kind will be able to treat the symptoms of your illness, injury or disease more effectively as they will be experienced with therapeutic marijuana use. In addition to being able to treat your symptoms more effectively, they will also be able to work out your daily doses more meticulously. Overdosing on marijuana is rare but not unheard of.
Ensure you research the clinic you plan on signing up for before making an application so you can verify their authenticity and make sure the service they offer is unparalleled in quality. Using a service that doesn’t do its best to give patients an efficient and streamlined service is unwise.
Exaggerating Symptoms
It isn’t uncommon for people who’re just stoners to pretend to have certain health conditions (anxiety, mainly) to get a medical marijuana permit. Doctors cannot necessarily determine whether or not a person is lying when they say they have anxiety, which makes it an effective condition to purport to have.
If you are planning on applying for a medical marijuana permit then under no circumstances should you exaggerate the severity of your condition. Doing so and getting caught can get you into a lot of trouble. You can be arrested for fraud if you lie about healthcare conditions to get a marijuana permit.
Before you are given a prescription the doctor or clinic with whom you are working will want to sit down and talk through your symptoms, so they can get an idea of how adversely they are affecting your life. Just because you have a qualifying condition does not necessarily mean you will be eligible for a marijuana permit. Only the severest cases are given the drug.
People with conditions that can be managed in other ways are regularly turned away from marijuana clinics. It is also worth noting that if you do see your family physician before they issue a marijuana prescription they will first want to trial other treatments and see if they work for you.
If something else works for you then they might prefer that you seek that form of treatment instead of marijuana. Marijuana can be very addictive and of course, it is an intoxicant which is why many doctors prefer to give people prescriptions for pharmaceuticals instead.
Qualifying Conditions
As mentioned in the introduction to this post and in previous points, certain conditions mean people are eligible for medical marijuana. What these conditions are varies depending on where you are based in the United States. Some conditions are accepted in some states and the same ones are not in others.
The best way to find out whether or not you qualify for medical marijuana is to get in touch with a clinic like the one from Florida previously quoted or one in your state or even your town. A dedicated clinic will be able to tell you whether your condition qualifies or not.
Doctor Reluctance
One last thing to note before delving into the most common conditions for which people are given medical marijuana prescriptions is that some doctors are hesitant to issue medical marijuana prescriptions. What this means is, it’s better to go and see a clinic-based doctor rather than a family practitioner or physician.
When you see an ordinary doctor or physician they are unlikely to want to prescribe you marijuana, especially if they personally advocate against it. A lot of doctors are under the impression that marijuana causes psychosis which has actually been proven false by scientists.
If you do want to go and see your normal family physician, bear in mind they can outright refuse to prescribe you marijuana. Physician appointments are not free in the United States which means you will essentially be paying for a doctor to refuse to prescribe marijuana to you.
If you intend on paying for such an important then make sure your doctor is going to be open to the idea of medical marijuana first. You likely know your family physician better than anyone else which means you should be able to determine how likely they will be to give you a prescription without attending an appointment first.
1. Anxiety
One of the main reasons people are prescribed medical marijuana in the United States is to treat their anxiety. Anxiety is an unforgiving condition that can negatively affect a person’s life in a multitude of ways.
If it is a condition you have been grappling with then you will be pleased to know that most states permit people to receive the drug to treat their anxiety. As anti-anxiety drugs can be very addictive (and in the wake of the opioid scandal) doctors are a lot more open to prescribing marijuana for the condition.
2. Depression
Sadly, depression and anxiety go hand in hand. If you have been suffering from depression then again you will be pleased to know that you will most likely be eligible for medical marijuana. You should use the drug cautiously though as marijuana can exacerbate depression in some situations.
It does need to be noted that in addition to receiving a permit for your depression, you will also likely be expected to go to therapy. If you refuse to see a therapist then it is possible that your doctor may cancel your prescription. You need to engage with your town’s mental health support team.
3. Cancer
Cancer is a condition that can be hard to treat. While state-of-the-art technology and revolutionary anti-cancer drugs are now being used to treat the condition, marijuana can come in handy too. Studies seem to suggest that marijuana can help reverse the disease.
That being said, no doctor in their right mind would prescribe marijuana as a solution to cancer. Doctors do prescribe the drug to help mitigate the negative symptoms of chemotherapy though, such as loss of appetite and lethargy. People have been using marijuana to reduce the negative symptoms of chemotherapy for years now.
4. Insomnia
Insomnia can be a hard condition to live with. Those who suffer from this tend to find themselves sluggish and tired all day. Of course, the condition causes people to be unable to sleep so it’s not hard to see why it does this.
If you have been suffering from insomnia, before marijuana is prescribed your doctor might ask you if you want to try out alternative treatments first. Additionally, your doctor might also try and get you to start eating more healthily and to start exercising.
5. Multiple Sclerosis
Marijuana can be used to treat muscle stiffness and pain in those suffering from multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a very serious disease and marijuana cannot be used on its own to treat it. Another disease worth noting that the drug can be used to treat is epilepsy.
Even in countries with very strict drug laws like the United Kingdom, it has been legalized medicinally so people can treat their epilepsy with it. Make sure you speak to a doctor before using marijuana to treat either of these conditions even if it is legalized for recreational use in your state.
Marijuana is a promising healthcare treatment. If you are somebody who’s interested in applying for a permit that enables you to use it then find a reliable clinic to work with. You can do that by following this post’s guidance, reading reviews, and conducting extensive online research.