August 23, 2004

The Genie is Out

Law enforcement claims that the medical marijuana laws "muddle" the waters, making their jobs confusing and complicated. This is true, but it is not the fault of the patients. The original patients, tired of years of court battles and being told by judges to "change the laws," did so. The U.S. government and the state governments have dropped the ball, and allowed the genie to escape from the bottle. Can it ever be put back?

In California, approximately 100,000 people have obtained letters from physicians giving them permission to use medical marijuana. Approximately 40,000 of those letters were written by about six physicians.

If you do the numbers, and know that each of these physicians charge about $200 for a letter, then you can see that signing medical marijuana letters can be a very lucrative practice. These physicians do not need to wait for medicare or any insurance reimbursements as none of these visits are covered by insurance or medicare. The patients bare the cost.

What does this mean? Does this mean that a few doctors are getting rich off medical marijuana, and the patients pay through the nose for physician letters, and for the cannabis? Some say so.

Thanks to both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the genie is now out of the bottle. It's doubtful that it will ever be put back in.

In the mid-1990's when medical marijuana was first approved in just a few states, the government had a small window of opportunity to keep it small and organized. This would have entailed either legalizing it for a small class of patients, or re-opening the Compassionate IND Program that still, and has since the 1970's, sent out about 300 marijuana cigarettes to a handful of qualified patients. The criteria was very narrow, permitting only the very seriously ill to apply. The program was closed during the Bush Sr. administration, and no new patients may apply. Approximately eight patients are still receiving the monthly allotments.

When Prop. 215 first passed in California, everyone was on pins and needles waiting to see what the federal government would do. Many surmised a huge crackdown, and still others felt that the feds would go after those clubs that were issuing membership cards to anyone with a letter, no matter the condition. As no large crackdowns materialized, medical marijuana advocates became emboldened, and the letter-writing mills kept on rolling.

Just last week nearly 20,000 marijuana plants were seized by the DEA from an outdoor grow purported to be for medical marijuana patients. The DEA estimated the crop at about $80 million, which is fairly accurate. The main grower, a "minister" with no real church, and about a dozen others, were arrested.

The grower, Eddie Lepp, claims that for a $500 donation to his ministry, he will grow six plants for a patient. Normally, six plants, if they generate a pound each, will be worth approximately $24,000. Most people do not need six pounds of pot a year. At $500 for six plants, a patient could easily use what they need, and sell the rest on the black market, making upwards of $10,000 annually. That's a pretty good deal, if you can get it.

One of his farms was raided by the DEA two years ago, and he has filed a $67 million lawsuit against that organization. Some surmise that this is the reason they raided his farm this year. Perhaps it is, but without any real government guidelines or oversight, all one needs to do now is produce a letter from any doctor willing to charge you $200 (or more!), and poof, you're a legal medical marijuana patient.

Does the government prefers the muddied waters? It's beginning to seem so.

Posted by Kroeme on August 23, 2004 01:32 PM

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Posted by: Cora Gibson at August 20, 2008 06:26 PM

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