Do I Need To Follow Up With My Doctor?

You finally have your registration card after getting a physician certification and submitting the application/fees to the State. Should you follow up with your physician or wait till your certification is almost expired?

State law does not dictate that patients must visit their cannabis doctor more than once, but this is a common question that patients continue to deal with. On the other hand, criminal prosecutors do care how often you visit with your physician and may use it to disqualify your legal status as a patient.

While many states have similar regulation in regards to standards of care for prescribed medicine, and how often a doctor needs to follow up with the patient, marijuana is not ‘technically’ prescribed due its DEA classification.

So, do patients need to manage their own healthcare, or should physicians have a duty to follow up with their patients?

Legal case law in this industry is not well defined. Paul Tylenda, a Criminal defense lawyer that focuses on medical marijuana cases throughout Michigan was quoted by Marijuanapatients.org as saying, “prosecutors try to invalidate legal patient cards at trial by discrediting the defendant’s doctor. They want to know how often the patient visited with a doctor and discussed their medical marijuana use.”