GreenPassion.org - Dedicated to Medicinal Cannabis Cultivation and Education - View Single Post

I8ntLucky_UR · #1 (**permalink**) 05-25-2009, 12:28 PM

Hi there I wanted to start a post with some information that I hope will help others. This is a summary of how I went through the process of becoming legal in Canada. I have had so much help from lots of different people I could not have done this on my own.

I started out like so many other folks. I was sick and seemed to be getting worse. I had smoked marijuana as a young man 20 or so years ago as a recreational smoker at social gatherings. Once we had a baby I stopped smoking and had a drink or two instead, and in my mind and current line of work was a bit more socially acceptable.

Fast forward 20 years when I was getting sick I went to my doctor and he wrote me a prescription. Then another and more tests some more.... This whole doctor/specialists time line was 7 painful years! I got to November 2008. My pharmaceutical usage was at 2-3k month (I'm glad we had a drug plan) but my health was so bad I was declared permanently disabled and feeling like I would die any day.

My wife and I went to my family doctor and asked about medical marijuana for the first time. He asked if I'd ever tried marijuana. I told him 20 yrs ago recreationally. He said I should try it again. Gr8t, give me some we said it can't hurt with all else I'm on? He gave me the name of our local compassion centre and I enrolled and was able to get it there. The folks at my compassion centre were extremely helpful.

I was able to get it I just wasn’t able to afford getting it. Using medical marijuana was making me feel better. I was able to reduce and or eliminate many of my prescribed drugs including 100's of mg/day of morphine for pain.

The biggest single problem was cost. Our drug benefits plan laughed at me when I said I need to buy it it's helping me. They suggested if I submit a DIN (drug identification number) and a doctors prescription with a receipt from a legal supplier they might be able to help me. ROFLMAO DIN sure. I thought next time I'm talking to God maybe I might suggest that one.

So now I have some medical marijuana and I ask about what happens if I get caught? The answer I got most frequently was “most police officers will probably look the other way”. I thought what about the ones that didn’t look the other way? Would I be arrested? Do I want to go to jail for feeling better? NO FREAKIN WAY! For the first time in a long time I feel well enough to go on living, but not in jail.

The reason I decided to go through the process and get my MMAR exemption was fairly simple. I needed to be able to grow my own medicine in the safety and privacy of my own home for very little money. I went on to our government web site to find out how I can get legal so I don’t have to live in fear. What a joke to find anything on that web site. They can’t even spell marijuana correctly (Marihuana). I did find out some terrible statistics from various sources. There are an estimated 400,000 Canadians using marijuana for chronic pain/pain related illnesses and less then 3000 are legally exempt. There are many reasons why these numbers are so out of whack. The biggest obstacle remains there are not many doctors willing to sign the MMAR exemption for various reasons.

There are many forms needed to be filled out in order to submit an application for the approval process. I have asked Green Passion to upload these to the site in order for easy access to those who need them.

This is the application process guide
http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/appli...andeur-eng.pdf

These are all the forms available
http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/form_a-eng.pdf

http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/form_b1-eng.pdf

http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/form_b2-eng.pdf

http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/form_c-eng.pdf

http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/form_d-eng.pdf

http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/form_e1-eng.pdf

http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/form_e2-eng.pdf

http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/form_f-eng.pdf

http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/form_r-eng.pdf
*Not all forms are needed please read guide or post specific questions for further info.

This is a Medical Practitioners Release form
http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/com_r...itioners-e.pdf

This is the Daily Dosage form
http://greenpassion.org/MMJPDF/daily...dienne-eng.pdf
*This is used and doctors are directed by Health Canada to review this with patients for recommended daily consumption, although I found the info outdated and one sided.

I am still waiting for my submission to be accepted. When the mail gets here I check to see if my card is there. Until I get it I still live in fear of being arrested. We need to help more sick people get this MMAR exemption in Canada. This process is too cumbersome and too lengthy a wait for most sick folks.

The Following 11 Users Say Thank You to I8ntLucky_UR For This Useful Post:
blackpantherparty (05-25-2009), chiefa (06-19-2009), jangel (05-25-2009), judi_b3 (07-10-2009), Lacy (07-01-2009), Lumix (07-24-2009), Michael (05-27-2009), PFC Stone (05-25-2009), pine boy (06-03-2009), Shinningwind (06-03-2009), TurboTurtle (11-03-2009)