So my Doctor filled out the required forms and I got my Medical Marijuana license papers from Health Canada in the mail last Friday. I know a lot of Dopers think it’s woo medicine and hopefully I can clear up some of the myths. Ask away!
How loose is the definition for “illness”? Is it as easy as going in and saying you have unspecified back pain, or do you need to have something that falls on an approved list? I’ve heard it’s very easy to get medical marijuana where I live (CA Bay Area) but since I’ve never tried (and don’t want to), I don’t know for sure. All I know is that the local alternative paper is full of ads for “clinics” and that the terms they use to refer to the “medicine” (joints, kush, Maui Wowie, 420 evaluations, etc.) seem a lot more like hippie stoner terms than medical ones.
(Frankly, I don’t care–I think it should be legalized and all these charades just dropped. But I’m curious.)
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What’s your preferred method of delivering the “medicine”?
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Does Health Canada provide any instruction or direction on “medicine” delivery?
Here in Canada there are two specific lists of ailments that allow for the prescription of medical Marijuana, MM. Here is a snip from the Health Canada website.
The regulations outline two categories of people who can apply to possess marihuana for medical purposes.
Category 1: This category is comprised of any symptoms treated within the context of providing compassionate end-of-life care; or the symptoms associated with the specified medical conditions listed in the schedule to the Regulations, namely:
Severe pain and/or persistent muscle spasms from multiple sclerosis;
Severe pain and/or persistent muscle spasms from a spinal cord injury;
Severe pain and/or persistent muscle spasms from spinal cord disease;
Severe pain, cachexia, anorexia, weight loss, and/or severe nausea from cancer;
Severe pain, cachexia, anorexia, weight loss, and/or severe nausea from HIV/AIDS infection;
Severe pain from severe forms of arthritis; or
Seizures from epilepsy.
Applicants must provide a declaration from a medical practitioner to support their application.
Category 2: This category is for applicants who have debilitating symptom (s) of medical condition (s), other than those described in Category 1. Under Category 2, persons with debilitating symptoms can apply to obtain an Authorization to Possess dried marihuana for medical purposes, if a specialist confirms the diagnosis and that conventional treatments have failed or judged inappropriate to relieve symptoms of the medical condition. While an assessment of the applicant’s case by a specialist is required, the treating physician, whether or not a specialist, can sign the medical declaration.
From my research only about 2% of Canadian Doctors will fill out the forms.
Right now I am smoking but I plan on doing some cooking and see how that goes. I also have a vaporizer here.
No, not that I am aware of. Titration is up to the patient.
I swear there is nothing that I couldn’t get my hands on if I really wanted it. 
Apparently it is quite hard to get here in Canada, because a specialist has to sign for it or a consultation with a specialist who has treated you by your GP.
So your dosage is pretty much un-regulated/monitored?
What size/frequency is your prescription?
Are you previously acquainted/familiar with the effects marijuana has on you particularly?
Why did you put quotes around “Legal”? Is it legal, or isn’t it?
This is correct, it is up to me to determine how much to use. My papers say up to 3 grams a day. I don’t think it is any less monitored than a prescription for ativan or something like that. I go back to my GP and she will ask how I am doing and the dose can be regulated.
It’s legal. I put it in quotation marks and capitals to emphasize that it was legal.
I love my country more all the time. 
So like, have you ever pictured the face of some random stranger, and wondered if somewhere on Earth there was someone who looks just like that, who at that very same moment is picturing a stranger who looks just like you?
lol, unfortunately I have to take this very seriously, but I am grateful that this option is available to me. The difference that it has made in my life is remarkable.
Ask me that later after I have taken my medication.
I am also a (US) legal MM patient. I saw an MD who qualified me based on severe arthritis, spinal stenosis and degenerative disk disease. There is no set amount I may use. I find that the balms/creams to be incredibly effective with no high at all, just pure, blessed relief from pain.
I did the pain clinic route for several years, oxys and morphine and muscle relaxers. It was a horrible way to live. I essentially lost 6 years of my life drugged out of my brain, unable to function as a wife, mother, human being. When I decided enough was enough I endured horrible withdrawal. For me MM helps me cope with my pain and still have a life worth living.
moorland reiver
I know exactly what you mean. My wife, who is also a legal MM patient for a little over two years, spent 7 years in the same boat as you. She has cervical dystonia and her life was a living hell between the pain and the meds. When she went the MM route her quality of life increased tenfold. It was her that insisted I try it back around December, while she was waiting for her renewal papers, and I did. It took a few weeks to really notice the difference, but the relief was instant. it’s unfortunate that a lot of people have a mental image of some hippy hiding in the basement with a bong. I am grateful to be able to function again and be a part of my family.
I would love to hear more about the balms/creams.
So, are you under any obligation to inform your employer that you use this medicine, which may or may not affect your ability to perform your duties?
No, I have not worked for about 6 years, I had an accident at work.