{"id":13043,"date":"2019-01-03T12:00:15","date_gmt":"2019-01-03T17:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/?p=13043"},"modified":"2019-02-22T06:13:07","modified_gmt":"2019-02-22T11:13:07","slug":"becoming-a-maryland-medical-cannabis-patient-with-almost-tears-a-complicated-short-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/2019\/01\/03\/becoming-a-maryland-medical-cannabis-patient-with-almost-tears-a-complicated-short-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming a Maryland Medical Cannabis Patient with (Almost) Tears: A Complicated Short Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to a new year! Cannabis can be apart of your resolutions, especially if you live in a legal state to get a legal medical cannabis card. There’s plenty of benefit once you get it.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But becoming a legal cannabis patient can be… trying.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My name is Alaina and I’m a medical cannabis patient in Maryland. I work in the industry as a writer and here’s my tale.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer Attempt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2018 was a harrowing year for me and pushed me into the arms of cannabis for mental solace. I was unstable financially, my relationships crumbled and imploded, and I couldn’t seem to grasp my footing.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was officially diagnosed with anxiety and depression early summer by my lackluster therapist. She insisted I get on medication to stabilize. And that’s cannabis became a regular part of my life.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I experienced relief from smoking in the past, so I submitted my application to the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission<\/a> in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Vicki
Photo Credit: Vickie Doe Fitness<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

November Resubmission<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My application was kicked back because I was awful at filling it out. That’s how whacked out my brain was–I could barely comprehend all the instructions. I started vaping CBD in the meantime.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

November rolled around and I hadn’t corrected my application. Since my living situation was now stable, I strapped my ass down and updated my application.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Certification in Early December<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I initially submitted my application, I uploaded an incorrect photo and hadn’t fulfilled the requirement for providing additional proof of address. The address for when I applied was different from the one of my license (my parents\u2019 address).
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I double-checked the requirements: a photo \u201cwith nothing obscuring the face, such as a hat or sunglasses.\u201d<\/strong> So I submitted the photo below (my face isn\u2019t obscured) and updated to my parents’ address since I was staying with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alaina
Alaina Dorsey<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now certations kinda comes after getting your patient number, but I went ahead and got it out of the way. I took my therapy discharge papers (yes, broke up with my uncool therapist), paid a reasonable fee of $100 and went on my way.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of December 2017, it can cost $22-200 to get certified<\/strong> depending on the location and if you have background as a veteran.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I waited.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another Returned Application<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While enjoying a day off with my 420 homie, I got the MMCC email.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And my application was returned.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I apparently still needed to update my address. My photo was \u201cwrong.\u201d
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I was pissed.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this point, processing took up to 30 days for returned applications or 45 whole days for new patients!
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn’t waiting anymore.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming a patient was for my daily function. And it was a business move to get face-to-face with my community.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Call<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On December 14, I dialed up MMCC around 8:30AM. I stated I had a discrepancy with my application and was met with the rudest phone rep. She literally huffed and puffed while pulling up my info and kept talking over me!
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She reluctantly acknowledged the address issue was their fault but insisted I was wrong about the hat photo.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ended the call with her. But decided that wasn’t the end.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I called back and asked to speak to a supervisor. Who was also rude! It wasn’t even 9AM on a Friday. I got on her about how the wording on the site<\/a> doesn’t match their attempt to reject me.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I demanded to speak with her manager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And once I was on the phone with the director of blah, I let my anxiety take over. I was angry to almost tears, heated and trembling.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it also meant I could garner sympathy because I’m also a damn patient with a mental illness!
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I told her my negative experiences when calling and let my anxiety hang all the way out.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She acknowledged she could hear how anxious I was and said she’d approve me as soon as she received my photo via her direct email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was approved by 11AM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alaina
My Not-So-Cool official pictures <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Always Self Advocate<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Becoming a medical cannabis patient is about being your biggest advocate. And it’s about following through on tasks that will help you better your life.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I persevered despite having a very sick mind, but this is a story about what it may take to get legal access to cannabis.If you know weed helps you best, keep on pushing and get what you need!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaina Dorsey<\/a> is “Baltimore’s best cannabis content writer and strategist.<\/em>” She’s contributed to Leafly, Experts of Herb and Pure CBD vapors. <\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to a new year! Cannabis can be apart of your resolutions, especially if you live in a legal state to get a legal medical cannabis card. There’s plenty of benefit once you get it. But becoming a legal cannabis patient can be… trying. My name is Alaina and I’m a medical cannabis patient in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":13051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1015,305,4,6],"tags":[4162,1436,397,4163,4164],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13043"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13043"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13948,"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13043\/revisions\/13948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cashcolorcannabis.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}