I was a medical marijuana patient in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) for five years, but had to let my enrollment lapse once the fees were doubled. Being a medical marijuana patient in Oregon isn’t cheap. First there are costs to visit a primary doctor. Then there are costs associated with the medical marijuana clinic (assuming your primary doctor won’t sign the forms). Then there are fees for applying to the OMMP. When all is said and done it costs hundreds of dollars.
Choosing the right medical marijuana clinic is vital. I shopped around when I got my card the first time, then went to a couple of other Oregon medical marijuana clinics to renew. My experience at the first medical marijuana clinic was good, but the next couple of medical marijuana clinics left a lot to be desired. There are many medical marijuana clinics that are just in it for the money, and you get treated like a number. You are herded through the process and given as little information as possible. You can tell because they care more about the check than they do about your ailment(s).
For a long time the only places to get a physician’s approval was to drive to Portland, Eugene, or Southern Oregon. Now there are clinics all over the state. From some calls I’ve made, it seems that the price for a medical marijuana clinic visit has lowered quite a bit since I first got mine in 2006. When I first went back then it was $200 for the clinic visit, plus the other costs of a primary doctor visit and the check to the OMMP. Now I’ve been quoted at a few places for $125.
I will be starting the process of selecting an Oregon medical marijuana clinic this week, and I wanted to see if any readers had any suggestions. Did you visit a clinic that was excellent? Did you visit a clinic that left a lot to be desired? I will update this article to say what clinic I ended up going to and how it went once I get the process completed.
