[wallawalla]

A visit to the medical marijuana doctor


Atop a Glendale high-rise, a physician checks symptoms and determines if marijuana is the right course of treatment. It seems it often is.
By Steve Lopez

October 28, 2009
E-mail Print Share Text Size Oooh, there's a pinch in my lower back.

My head hurts too.

And my vision is blurred from going through long lists of Southern California physicians who specialize in herbal medicine. I need relief, and I need it fast, but how does one go about choosing a medical marijuana doctor?

"I am a person first, a scientist second and a friend always," a Melrose Avenue doctor says in an ad that can be found in medical cannabis magazines.

I suppose there are advantages to having a medical marijuana doctor who is a friend always. But I wasn't really looking for a friend.

"Sadly, many of the doctors' offices in our field are shoddy at best," said an ad for a clinic in my neighborhood. "They definitely are not something to gamble on."

Good advice, I guess. In the end, I chose a Glendale clinic because it was close to home, offered "superior professionalism" and had an appointment time that worked for me.

But I was a bit nervous on my way to see the doctor. What if I got rejected?

Not that I've heard of that happening to anyone. The open secret is that it's a cinch to get a marijuana "recommendation" in California. A "recommendation" isn't a prescription, but it would allow me to visit a dispensary and buy my buds.

In Los Angeles, locating such a place would be no harder than locating a palm tree. The little green crosses are everywhere, with 186 dispensaries operating with city permits and an estimated 600 more that found a loophole.

Why so many?

Because of the usual bungling at City Hall. An estimated 600 or so managed to open -- if you can believe this -- during a MORATORIUM on new dispensaries, while city officials fiddled.

Neighborhood groups began complaining about proliferation, proximity to schools and rising crime. So now we've got a city attorney who wants to shut them down and a City Council that will take another whack at this thing in a week or two. But in the meantime, you can shop til you drop for "Sonoma Coma" and "Humboldt Haze."

This is what happens when you're in that murky middle between legal and illegal. I'm all for medical marijuana, and know it brings great relief to many sick people, but it doesn't take a detective to realize that recreational users are driving the industry under the guise of medical need.

As I've written before, we'd be better off legalizing pot altogether in this country, as well as regulating and taxing it. Instead, we spend a fortune on a failed fight that helps cartels and drug gangs prosper, even as bodies pile up.

But let's get back to my courtship of Mary Jane.

I parked in Glendale, took the elevator to the top floor of a high-rise and was greeted by a young man in jeans and a ball cap.

"Are you here to see the doctor?" he asked.

As far as I could tell, the entire floor was abandoned but for this little operation. Nice to know there's still one part of the economy firing on all cylinders.

Three other patients were waiting, including a woman with a cane.

When she stood, she walked gingerly.

I could be in trouble, I thought. My back problem wasn't as obvious.

Should I limp when it was my turn?I felt like I was in a Coen brothers movie. The big empty room, the unseen doctor behind the door, the furtive glances between patients.

I filled out some forms, describing the back pain that began roughly 25 years ago. Surgery was recommended in later years, but I've opted instead for stretching and occasional painkillers.

Sometimes the pain crawls down my legs or up my back, sometimes it wakes me up at night, and that's the truth, so help me God.

I turned in the forms but then, on the table next to me, I saw a medical marijuana magazine called "The 420 Times," in which the lead story was, conveniently, "Your First Doctor Visit. What to expect and know."

I began to read.

"Would they take me seriously? Would I be laughed at?" the author wrote. "Turns out, I really didn't have much to be worried about. Getting medical marijuana wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."

His problem was migraines, and he was in and out of the office in no time, marijuana recommendation in hand.

I was in a panic. I'd had a headache or two. Why hadn't I gone with migraines, and was it too late to switch?

Before I could move, the woman with the cane exited the office 10 minutes after she entered. The doctor, wearing a white lab coat, followed behind her.

"I looked at it from across the table, and I trust you," he said to her.

It sounded promising.

When it was my turn, the doctor sat at a desk in an otherwise empty room and read my papers. The only medical equipment I saw was a blood pressure cuff.

The doctor told me there were many options for treating back pain, and I told him I didn't want to risk surgery or take conventional painkillers. He wanted to know how I'm affected when back pain keeps me awake.

I'm fuzzy and have trouble focusing the next day, I told him.

He seemed to be looking for a different answer. If I'm a writer, he said, did that mean I had trouble doing my job?

Definitely, doctor.

I stood to show him where my back hurts. He asked me to bend down, and I demonstrated that I couldn't touch my toes, but I don't think he could see that. He hadn't moved from his seat.


I pointed again to my lower back and asked if there were a disc that low.

He said he knew nothing about back problems.

"I'm a gynecologist," he said.

I see.

He asked if I could have my primary care doctor fax over a brief note about my back problem.

Sure, I said.

"There's no rush," the doctor said.

Without having laid a hand on me, he led me back out to the receptionist with the ball cap. I paid $150 for my 10-minute exam and was given my recommendation.

"This certifies that Steve Lopez was evaluated in my office for a medical condition, which in my professional opinion, may benefit from the use of medical marijuana."

Several more patients were waiting their turn.

Me? I had some shopping to do, and several hundred stores to choose from.

Check back here Sunday, and I'll let you know how it went.steve.lopez@latimes.com

A visit to the medical marijuana doctor -- latimes.com

[Masonic Chronic]

This a-hole is taking the city of los angeles on a ride... and it doesn't seem like he really needs his medication. Why is he getting involved in a practice he doesn't believe in? Oh yeah.. exploitation and abomination. What an A hole

[wallawalla]

The red highlighted part is real bad!!

[Masonic Chronic]

you're right about that, walla.

We should put an alert out NOT to accept steve lopez as a member at any/all collectives/co-ops because he will eventually use his experience at the co-op/collective to create more negativity on medical marijuana.

[wallawalla]

Originally Posted by Masonic Chronic

you're right about that, walla.

We should put an alert out NOT to accept steve lopez as a member at any/all collectives/co-ops because he will eventually use his experience at the co-op/collective to create more negativity on medical marijuana.

A great idea as this guy is going to stir the shit up! Time for damage control!

[Masonic Chronic]

Atttention all co-ops and collectives of southern california!..

Steve Lopez.. a writer from the L.A. times... is currently going around the city of Los Angeles to score medical marijuana in hopes to add to the negative energy he has created with his most recent article! This man does NOT need medical marijuana... and he is on a personal mission to defile and destroy the integrity of medical marijuana by exploiting the several procedures to obtain medical marijuana in a completely negative light!

This man has posted horrible opinions about medical marijuana.. and in his latest article (posted below) he recently visited a doctor to obtain a recommendation and did everything he possibly could to draw negative light on our situation.

DO NOT LET THIS MAN IN YOUR CO-OP! He is trying to drive the opinion of medical marijuana towards negativity... and he must be stopped from exploiting and taking advantage of our beloved medical marijuana.

DO NOT LET STEVE LOPEZ INTO YOUR CO-OP!!!! He Said in his last article that he will now try to obtain membership at a co-op to score medical marijuana to talk about in his next article to come. STOP THIS MAN!




ARTICLE
A visit to the medical marijuana doctor


Atop a Glendale high-rise, a physician checks symptoms and determines if marijuana is the right course of treatment. It seems it often is.
By Steve Lopez

October 28, 2009
E-mail Print Share Text Size Oooh, there's a pinch in my lower back.

My head hurts too.

And my vision is blurred from going through long lists of Southern California physicians who specialize in herbal medicine. I need relief, and I need it fast, but how does one go about choosing a medical marijuana doctor?

"I am a person first, a scientist second and a friend always," a Melrose Avenue doctor says in an ad that can be found in medical cannabis magazines.

I suppose there are advantages to having a medical marijuana doctor who is a friend always. But I wasn't really looking for a friend.

"Sadly, many of the doctors' offices in our field are shoddy at best," said an ad for a clinic in my neighborhood. "They definitely are not something to gamble on."

Good advice, I guess. In the end, I chose a Glendale clinic because it was close to home, offered "superior professionalism" and had an appointment time that worked for me.

But I was a bit nervous on my way to see the doctor. What if I got rejected?

Not that I've heard of that happening to anyone. The open secret is that it's a cinch to get a marijuana "recommendation" in California. A "recommendation" isn't a prescription, but it would allow me to visit a dispensary and buy my buds.

In Los Angeles, locating such a place would be no harder than locating a palm tree. The little green crosses are everywhere, with 186 dispensaries operating with city permits and an estimated 600 more that found a loophole.

Why so many?

Because of the usual bungling at City Hall. An estimated 600 or so managed to open -- if you can believe this -- during a MORATORIUM on new dispensaries, while city officials fiddled.

Neighborhood groups began complaining about proliferation, proximity to schools and rising crime. So now we've got a city attorney who wants to shut them down and a City Council that will take another whack at this thing in a week or two. But in the meantime, you can shop til you drop for "Sonoma Coma" and "Humboldt Haze."

This is what happens when you're in that murky middle between legal and illegal. I'm all for medical marijuana, and know it brings great relief to many sick people, but it doesn't take a detective to realize that recreational users are driving the industry under the guise of medical need.

As I've written before, we'd be better off legalizing pot altogether in this country, as well as regulating and taxing it. Instead, we spend a fortune on a failed fight that helps cartels and drug gangs prosper, even as bodies pile up.

But let's get back to my courtship of Mary Jane.

I parked in Glendale, took the elevator to the top floor of a high-rise and was greeted by a young man in jeans and a ball cap.

"Are you here to see the doctor?" he asked.

As far as I could tell, the entire floor was abandoned but for this little operation. Nice to know there's still one part of the economy firing on all cylinders.

Three other patients were waiting, including a woman with a cane.

When she stood, she walked gingerly.

I could be in trouble, I thought. My back problem wasn't as obvious.

Should I limp when it was my turn?

I felt like I was in a Coen brothers movie. The big empty room, the unseen doctor behind the door, the furtive glances between patients.

I filled out some forms, describing the back pain that began roughly 25 years ago. Surgery was recommended in later years, but I've opted instead for stretching and occasional painkillers.

Sometimes the pain crawls down my legs or up my back, sometimes it wakes me up at night, and that's the truth, so help me God.

I turned in the forms but then, on the table next to me, I saw a medical marijuana magazine called "The 420 Times," in which the lead story was, conveniently, "Your First Doctor Visit. What to expect and know."

I began to read.

"Would they take me seriously? Would I be laughed at?" the author wrote. "Turns out, I really didn't have much to be worried about. Getting medical marijuana wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."

His problem was migraines, and he was in and out of the office in no time, marijuana recommendation in hand.

I was in a panic. I'd had a headache or two. Why hadn't I gone with migraines, and was it too late to switch?

Before I could move, the woman with the cane exited the office 10 minutes after she entered. The doctor, wearing a white lab coat, followed behind her.

"I looked at it from across the table, and I trust you," he said to her.

It sounded promising.

When it was my turn, the doctor sat at a desk in an otherwise empty room and read my papers. The only medical equipment I saw was a blood pressure cuff.

The doctor told me there were many options for treating back pain, and I told him I didn't want to risk surgery or take conventional painkillers. He wanted to know how I'm affected when back pain keeps me awake.

I'm fuzzy and have trouble focusing the next day, I told him.

He seemed to be looking for a different answer. If I'm a writer, he said, did that mean I had trouble doing my job?

Definitely, doctor.

I stood to show him where my back hurts. He asked me to bend down, and I demonstrated that I couldn't touch my toes, but I don't think he could see that. He hadn't moved from his seat.


I pointed again to my lower back and asked if there were a disc that low.

He said he knew nothing about back problems.

"I'm a gynecologist," he said.

I see.

He asked if I could have my primary care doctor fax over a brief note about my back problem.

Sure, I said.

"There's no rush," the doctor said.

Without having laid a hand on me, he led me back out to the receptionist with the ball cap. I paid $150 for my 10-minute exam and was given my recommendation.

"This certifies that Steve Lopez was evaluated in my office for a medical condition, which in my professional opinion, may benefit from the use of medical marijuana."

Several more patients were waiting their turn.

Me? I had some shopping to do, and several hundred stores to choose from.

Check back here Sunday, and I'll let you know how it went.steve.lopez@latimes.com

Link:
A visit to the medical marijuana doctor -- latimes.com

[TastyBuds]

I am not the best person for the job but somebody needs to write him a letter maybe include some info on cement shoes and how to sleep with fish

also dont let him into any collectives!! perma-banned.

[Masonic Chronic]

apologize for any bad grammar in the subject or message... I just woke up and found this out! Take action and do NOT let him into your co-op! Thanks to Walla for posting this!

[Masonic Chronic]

just posted an alert to all of the co-ops to ban him from entry

[wallawalla]

Pay close attention to red highlighted area!!

Originally Posted by Masonic Chronic

Atttention all co-ops and collectives of southern california!..

Steve Lopez.. a writer from the L.A. times... is currently going around the city of Los Angeles to score medical marijuana in hopes to add to the negative energy he has created with his most recent article! This man does NOT need medical marijuana... and he is on a personal mission to defile and destroy the integrity of medical marijuana by exploiting the several procedures to obtain medical marijuana in a completely negative light!

This man has posted horrible opinions about medical marijuana.. and in his latest article (posted below) he recently visited a doctor to obtain a recommendation and did everything he possibly could to draw negative light on our situation.

DO NOT LET THIS MAN IN YOUR CO-OP! He is trying to drive the opinion of medical marijuana towards negativity... and he must be stopped from exploiting and taking advantage of our beloved medical marijuana.

DO NOT LET STEVE LOPEZ INTO YOUR CO-OP!!!! He Said in his last article that he will now try to obtain membership at a co-op to score medical marijuana to talk about in his next article to come. STOP THIS MAN!




ARTICLE
A visit to the medical marijuana doctor


Atop a Glendale high-rise, a physician checks symptoms and determines if marijuana is the right course of treatment. It seems it often is.
By Steve Lopez

October 28, 2009
E-mail Print Share Text Size Oooh, there's a pinch in my lower back.

My head hurts too.

And my vision is blurred from going through long lists of Southern California physicians who specialize in herbal medicine. I need relief, and I need it fast, but how does one go about choosing a medical marijuana doctor?

"I am a person first, a scientist second and a friend always," a Melrose Avenue doctor says in an ad that can be found in medical cannabis magazines.

I suppose there are advantages to having a medical marijuana doctor who is a friend always. But I wasn't really looking for a friend.

"Sadly, many of the doctors' offices in our field are shoddy at best," said an ad for a clinic in my neighborhood. "They definitely are not something to gamble on."

Good advice, I guess. In the end, I chose a Glendale clinic because it was close to home, offered "superior professionalism" and had an appointment time that worked for me.

But I was a bit nervous on my way to see the doctor. What if I got rejected?

Not that I've heard of that happening to anyone. The open secret is that it's a cinch to get a marijuana "recommendation" in California. A "recommendation" isn't a prescription, but it would allow me to visit a dispensary and buy my buds.

In Los Angeles, locating such a place would be no harder than locating a palm tree. The little green crosses are everywhere, with 186 dispensaries operating with city permits and an estimated 600 more that found a loophole.

Why so many?

Because of the usual bungling at City Hall. An estimated 600 or so managed to open -- if you can believe this -- during a MORATORIUM on new dispensaries, while city officials fiddled.

Neighborhood groups began complaining about proliferation, proximity to schools and rising crime. So now we've got a city attorney who wants to shut them down and a City Council that will take another whack at this thing in a week or two. But in the meantime, you can shop til you drop for "Sonoma Coma" and "Humboldt Haze."

This is what happens when you're in that murky middle between legal and illegal. I'm all for medical marijuana, and know it brings great relief to many sick people, but it doesn't take a detective to realize that recreational users are driving the industry under the guise of medical need.

As I've written before, we'd be better off legalizing pot altogether in this country, as well as regulating and taxing it. Instead, we spend a fortune on a failed fight that helps cartels and drug gangs prosper, even as bodies pile up.

But let's get back to my courtship of Mary Jane.

I parked in Glendale, took the elevator to the top floor of a high-rise and was greeted by a young man in jeans and a ball cap.

"Are you here to see the doctor?" he asked.

As far as I could tell, the entire floor was abandoned but for this little operation. Nice to know there's still one part of the economy firing on all cylinders.

Three other patients were waiting, including a woman with a cane.

When she stood, she walked gingerly.

I could be in trouble, I thought. My back problem wasn't as obvious.

Should I limp when it was my turn?

I felt like I was in a Coen brothers movie. The big empty room, the unseen doctor behind the door, the furtive glances between patients.

I filled out some forms, describing the back pain that began roughly 25 years ago. Surgery was recommended in later years, but I've opted instead for stretching and occasional painkillers.

Sometimes the pain crawls down my legs or up my back, sometimes it wakes me up at night, and that's the truth, so help me God.

I turned in the forms but then, on the table next to me, I saw a medical marijuana magazine called "The 420 Times," in which the lead story was, conveniently, "Your First Doctor Visit. What to expect and know."

I began to read.

"Would they take me seriously? Would I be laughed at?" the author wrote. "Turns out, I really didn't have much to be worried about. Getting medical marijuana wasn't as hard as I thought it would be."

His problem was migraines, and he was in and out of the office in no time, marijuana recommendation in hand.

I was in a panic. I'd had a headache or two. Why hadn't I gone with migraines, and was it too late to switch?

Before I could move, the woman with the cane exited the office 10 minutes after she entered. The doctor, wearing a white lab coat, followed behind her.

"I looked at it from across the table, and I trust you," he said to her.

It sounded promising.

When it was my turn, the doctor sat at a desk in an otherwise empty room and read my papers. The only medical equipment I saw was a blood pressure cuff.

The doctor told me there were many options for treating back pain, and I told him I didn't want to risk surgery or take conventional painkillers. He wanted to know how I'm affected when back pain keeps me awake.

I'm fuzzy and have trouble focusing the next day, I told him.

He seemed to be looking for a different answer. If I'm a writer, he said, did that mean I had trouble doing my job?

Definitely, doctor.

I stood to show him where my back hurts. He asked me to bend down, and I demonstrated that I couldn't touch my toes, but I don't think he could see that. He hadn't moved from his seat.


I pointed again to my lower back and asked if there were a disc that low.

He said he knew nothing about back problems.

"I'm a gynecologist," he said.

I see.

He asked if I could have my primary care doctor fax over a brief note about my back problem.

Sure, I said.

"There's no rush," the doctor said.

Without having laid a hand on me, he led me back out to the receptionist with the ball cap. I paid $150 for my 10-minute exam and was given my recommendation.

"This certifies that Steve Lopez was evaluated in my office for a medical condition, which in my professional opinion, may benefit from the use of medical marijuana."

Several more patients were waiting their turn.

Me? I had some shopping to do, and several hundred stores to choose from.

Check back here Sunday, and I'll let you know how it went .steve.lopez@latimes.com

Link:
A visit to the medical marijuana doctor -- latimes.com

[tooweirdtolivetooraretodie]

He has very likely already been "shopping" if the article will appear this Sunday.
I've gotten less attention from doctors, for far more serious things than I sought my rec. for, than I got from the doctor I got my rec. from. Lopez has a history of this kind of thing though, he probably rents his column out to whatever political group, etc. comes along. He's a hack.

[CarlSagan]

Steve Lopez admits in this article that he lied to the DR to get his recommendation. He says right in this article that he exaggerated the impact of his back pain.

I dont really understand what is angle is...Is Lopez suggestion that back pain is not a serious reason to receive mmj?

In other to get the full recommendation he needs proof that his condition has been diagnosed by a PCP. Nobody does to a MMJ specialist to get diagnosed with an illness...they can't and won't provide a diagnosis. Thats why they need the PCP records.

if he lied or embellished he is at fault and it was the DR that was dubed

[silvercloud]

Good WallaWalla ~ it's times like these when jurisprudence should not be confused w/paranoia ~ that is all

[Stone Hartman]

Call it what it is: "Drive-by-Journalism".

[wallawalla]

Reporters are like cops they are allowed to lie!!

[dwynn8822]

Originally Posted by wallawalla

Reporters are like cops they are allowed to ie!!

Not only can they IE but they also LIE Peace ............. Dale!

[chronicfriend]

this guy shouldn't be let into a co-op, but can they technically deny him access? if he shows up at a co-op and they saw this thread, can they legally refuse to let him in because of his agenda?

[wallawalla]

Originally Posted by dwynn8822

Not only can they LIE but they also LIE Peace ............. Dale!

[dwynn8822]

Originally Posted by dwynn8822

Not only can they IE but they also LIE Peace ............. Dale!

Hey wallawallaballa is yer name Steve Lopez? r U a Liar?

[wallawalla]

Originally Posted by dwynn8822

Hey wallawallaballa is yer name Steve Lopez? r U a Liar?

Of course it is me! And I went to a gynecologist for my rec.!!

[tooweirdtolivetooraretodie]

I just sent a letter to the times editor (russ.stanton@latimes.com) and the readers representative office (readers.rep@latimes.com) complaining about this article and "reporter" though I use the term loosely. I believe he's imposing his own prejudice on the story as well as creating an unsafe environment for patients. I believe this is very passively hateful and discriminant. Also inquired about the drug policies of the LA Times and what was to be done with the meds from his shopping as he is more or less admitting he does not "need" them. Now the editor isn't gonna like getting personal emails about this, especially if he were to receive a bunch of them. He can't vent that on us, but he can take it out on Mr. Lopez.

[dwynn8822]

Originally Posted by wallawalla

Of course it is me! And I went to a gynecologist for my rec.!!

Well where else would you go gash boy!

[silvercloud]

During a war ,the enemy will try to counter-insurge w/anti-propaganda ~ very similar to the community's plan to flood the city's councilmen fones/e-mail ~ remember the addage ,all is fair in love/war ~ well ,"war" anyway ,lol ~ that is all

[wallawalla]

Originally Posted by dwynn8822

Well where else would you go gash boy!

Well my name is STEVE LOPEZ and I have a flap between my legs!!

[dwynn8822]

Originally Posted by wallawalla

Well my name is STEVE LOPEZ and I have a flap between my legs!!

So yer a Flapper?