What is the deal with Medicaid and MMJ

[alex44]

my doc. has told me I must make a choice. I do NOT Smoke MMJ, even though it is LEGAL on the state level but since this is a medicaid clinic, I have been told, make a choice. I would like to smoke but the pain is too severe so i don,t touch the stuff. It does wonders for my depression, which brings me to my next point. How come, and i KNOW people, who see private physicians have no problem, our doc in florida had no problem as long as it was ONLY MMJ. Here in AZ, where it is Legal with a certification card, I can't and won't until my doc says o.k. She is protected under arizona law, but federal law trumps state law. How then can the director of the VA say its OK for your doc to ignore a positive test if you get narcotics - thats a federal institution so whats up with that - the usual gov. speak talking out of both sides of their mouth.
Questioning
Alex44
Skypilot

[Mark N]

Alex, I don't know that the real answer is but clearly the Fed gov't treats private Dr different than VA Dr. It doesn't make much sense but many things our gov't does doesn't make much sense. We have dealt with MMJ for years and it is time to make it possible for states to legal it and get away from the different rules for states and Feds. If the state makes it legal then the Fed gov't shouldn't be able to override it. I haven't ever used any illegal drugs including MMJ but the laws for having it just don't make sense as it creates more problems than it does creating an answer for society.

[clouds z]

it was legal?ive heard obamacare will outlaw alternative medicine

[Diandra]

Wow Alex, that is just mind boggling to me that you are being asked to make that choice and the criteria
as to whether it is legal or not is so murky. I have never understood how our gov't can make something
illegal on a federal level and legal on a state level or vice versa. Like health care issues for veterans are
not difficult enough. What are you going to do? Does the VA offer you any legal service to help with the situation/.

Hope you can sort this out without too much stress on you.
Diandra

P.S.

it was legal?ive heard obamacare will outlaw alternative medicine

Just as an aside, clouds Z, I don't want to hijack Alex's good thread or start WW III but
I was offended by your unbelievably vague and negative political comment
targeted at slamming President Obama. How can you possibly take this huge umbrella
term like "alternative medicine" and say you "heard" Obama is going to ""outlaw" it.
It is an outrageous and damning statement to make and it is misinformation like this that gets put
out on internet forums that the uninformed and ignorant may blindly believe when there
may be no basis in fact. If you do have a source, I would like to know what that source is.

[alex44]

Thank you Diandra. It never ceases to amaze me about the level of ignorance regarding this subject. MJ is now either medically legal IF you meet the criteria and/or a parking ticket in at least 17 states with more coming on board each year. Arizona is a strict state and the fact that it passed here is a miracal. However, you get a choice ,pills or MMJ - YOU Choose. I suffer from a variety of ailments, including PTSD, Depression, Chronic Pain,Arhrutis plus others. MMJ, when I could smoke with my doc's consent last time was in 2008 - since then, clean as a whistle - I have to be due to Gov,t interferance with the will of the people. The MMJ relieved my ptsd,Depression ( i have tried at least 5-10 AD's with an open mind, the S.E's were horrible, my doc thinks i may be allergic to them. Another point is that Marinol (Synthic Marijuana)is now a Class 3 - one step BELOW hydrocodone - I hope to be able to try it, if I tried to smoke, a gas Spectrometer would catch it in a minute to answer the inevitable question am I wanting it to smoke - NOT - my doc is willing, but being medicaid and a group practice and the insurance will NOT cover it, if its expensive well, there goes that. I do not advocate recreational use, I do however if it works medically, then I am all for it. All our vets coming home with PTSD, i am sure a lot of them smoke to keep things in check, what will they do when they come home. MY Friends, whaether you agree with me or not, please take the time to get the facts.
Lastly, clouds - Get your facts right.
Thank you much to all
Alex44
Skypilot

[Mark N]

Diandra, before you jump on clouds Z google the term and find out what is in the health care bill that isn't being advertised; that is my only comment.

[Eva 14]

Alex, sorry that you are in that predicament. MMJ is legal in California, but I've heard from some pain patients in California who see PRIVATE doctors that even they are NOT allowed to smoke cannabis. So I guess federal law trumps state law, but it also seems to be up to the discretion of the individual physician. I'm not surprised that Medicaid doctors would be extra cautious about doing things by the book. I don't agree with denying patients cannabis, but it seems to happen often, even with private doctors.

I hope you are able to work something out. It must be terrible to know that MMJ works for you, but to not be allowed to have it, even though it is legal in Arizona.

Eva

[Pharmacist.steve]

when it comes to laws... the most strict law prevails... it doesn't matter if the state is more strict than the Fed or the other way around.

[tortoisegirl]

Until they change the law on the federal level, we'll have these sorts of problems. For example, there is no employment protection with a medical marijuana card. I'd try it in a heartbeat if I wouldn't have an issue passing a drug screen at work (and it wasn't illegal federally). Its odd that with a prescription, someone doing a drug screen for your employer has to report you negative for narcotics (no question if whether you were taking them at work or if you were impaired), but if you wanted to treat your pain with medical marijuana on the weekends, you are out of luck.

Hopefully they will start closing these legal gaps as I think for some folks with chronic pain, this is a good option. I also however think they need to have some better control on issuing these cards, as there are quite a few reports of it being too easy. I think it should be just like a narcotic, in that the patient should have tried & failed numerous other treatments. But we all know that plenty of folks are still abusing the system for pain meds. Best wishes.

[alex44]

Tortoise girl - you are right but I would like to comment on too easy to get - In Arizona, to get a card, you have to have a VERIFIABLE condition, they require medical records from the past year and they have a specific list of conditons`or/diseases to qualify. I do agree there will probobly be some diversion, there are always a few bad apples in the barrel. If i were to want to smoke, I do not and will not until i get my doctors blessing, she is on my side and was surprized about Marinol being C-3 now. My problem is with the FG - the VOTORS of this State AZ (very Conservitive) Passed the initiative. I am in contact with the ACLU and hope others will do the same as it is not right that something that could help my horrible depression is not available to me even though it is legal in my state.

Hope this finds you well and out of pain as much as possible
Blessings
Alex44
Skypilot