My process of applying and registering for my Ohio Medical Marijuana Card.
“Hey Ohio, Truce?”, that statement is read from my favorite billboard when we enter Michigan. If you aren’t from Ohio or Michigan, this may sound weird to you, if you aren’t in the cannabis community, you might think its about Ohio State dominating Michigan in football year after year. It’s about Ohio’s antiquated cannabis laws and policies. It is common knowledge many Ohioans travel a state over to stock up on the large assortment and variety offered by Michigan dispensaries at reasonable prices, something Ohio cannot compete with.
I won’t continue dogging on Ohio, the state is working to build its resume in the cannabis world. The first couple years after approving medical marijuana, despite my pain and multitude of health issues I didn’t jump to go get a card. It took Ohio time to get their dispensaries built and open and even then, the selection was limited and expensive, but ultimately getting my medical card became a priority, why? Well firstly I did it for the legality. It makes me feel more safe and secure about hitting my vape pen in public. Secondly, I enjoy the variety a dispensary can provide. In Ohio your plug may have a couple strains to choose from, but they probably can’t tell you whether its an Indica or Sativa let alone what strain it is. Because I use cannabis medically, I enjoy knowing what strain I am using and tracking the benefits and downfalls of each strain. If you haven’t seen our strain notebook, I created for just that, check out our link here. Thirdly, I like the security of knowing my cannabis is lab tested, a little bougee I know, and its not an absolute must, but it’s a benefit of dispensaries.
I was researching Ohio Providers who could provide a recommendation for my MMJ Card, and I came across a company who was doing online evaluations during the pandemic. Duber Medical made getting my card incredibly easy. I downloaded my MyChart records from the patient portal and my most recent therapy evaluation and sent them to the doctor prior to the appointment. Duber also gives you the option to have Duber Medical’s staff request your medical records for you or for you fax them, email them. I scheduled my online consult for the evening and sat eager and nervous, I knew PTSD was an approval condition but was mine bad enough? Was my chronic pain, chronic enough? The doctor I met with online was an older doctor, I felt awkward talking to him about the causes of my PTSD, he didn’t have the sweet and comforting demeanor my therapist does, but we survived it. Then we moved onto my chronic pain where I felt like I was being drilled on how long my pain would last, and I honestly wish I had an answer for him, I’ve been wondering the same thing for years. All in all, at the end he said I was a candidate for the Medical Marijuana program and would be submitting my recommendation.
After paying Duber, submitting my recommendation to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Registry, I had to pay to activate my card, then pay both Duber and Ohio for register a caregiver! It’s an expensive process but overall, mostly painless. There does seem to be a delay between registering and accepting/approving the caregivers, Cory almost always a delay when I renew him.
My first visit to a dispensary in Ohio was an eye opener. The prices for sure were much higher than I had expected, I knew it’d be more than street prices but after having been to Denver and Michigan, I expected Ohio to reflect their style, it did not. The measurements were my biggest surprised. An “eighth” isn’t truly an eighth at all, its 2.83 grams! I suck at math, but I know that an eighth of an ounce is not 2.83 grams! The pens were the price of the pens in other states, but it was only half a gram! I was honestly a little bummed, but the biggest disappointment was the education of the budtenders. Many budtenders knew far less about cannabis and different strains than I did. As I was waiting for them to gather my order, I overheard budtenders talking and how they were reading intro to cannabis books, I had to offer a few recommendations of my own. By now, that may be different, but I really think Budtenders should be advocates, they are like herbal pharmacist, I want them to find out patients’ symptoms and offer helpful options – that’s my dream scenario in a dispensary, hell it’s even kind of a dream job of mine but let’s face it – I’d spend more than I’d make if I worked there.
I’ve heard there are two types of people in the world, people who value time and people who value money. I value time so paying Duber Medical to handle most of the process for me was great and fit my life. There are many more providers today than there were years ago when I began this process but in the last year, I discovered a money friendly option. Another option is the Ohio Medical Marijuana Alliance, if you get those Ohio Marijuana Expo emails, you’ve seen this organization. They make getting your card simple and easy through them and you can attend a fun and educational expo and leave with your medical card. The line reminds me of Cedar Point, but it appeared it moved fairly quickly, and they are more affordable than other providers available.
Whether you have your card or not, I highly recommend the Ohio Expo, so many amazing Cannabis Community vendors, friendly faces, things to try and learn and people to meet. It was such a fun day! If you will be there, reach out and say hello! The next one is in June – check it out below!