I now possess my Utah Medical Cannabis Patient Card.
I do not assume others will support my decision to utilize marijuana, a substance that is still illegal in many states. But, I believe it's probably better to use marijuana to fight chronic pain long term than it is to use opioids for that purpose. I have no scientific basis for this, it's simply something I feel I should try to make work.
I did not expect it to be easy to navigate Utah's marijuana bureaucracy. And, I was right. Fortunately, I'm experienced at using our government processes and have a working knowledge of Utah's laws. Personally, I think many of the bureaucratic processes involved in controlling Utah's marijuana distribution and use were intended as a filtering mechanism. I suspect this was done to make obtaining marijuana difficult., and to dissuade easy access to the drug - which I think is understandable.
After researching Utah laws and codes, I made an appointment with a designated Medical Marijuana nurse who has the ability to place patients on the official Utah Medical Cannabis patient listing. She agreed with my self-diagnosis of qualifying for cannabis due to pain resulting from many motorcycle accidents over the years. After surviving the last motorcycle accident, I agreed to demands from my family (particularly my wife) to stop riding motorcycles. It's difficult to acquiesce when we have a beautiful warm Spring, but what can one do? For, my wife is right on this one.
I entered all my personal information, which was extensive, onto the Medical Cannabis site and the nurse went online to approve my application. Once approved online, it's possible to print out a cannabis card – which you show to enter a cannabis pharmacy. There are 5 medicinal marijuana pharmacies in my county (of Salt Lake). Once I'm more experienced with obtaining marijuana, I'll consider ordering it online rather than going to the pharmacy in person.
They are building an official Cannabis pharmacy about 5 miles from my house. It will open sometime in August, 2020. My wife and I drove over to the site last week – and it just happened they were having a staff gathering. So, it ended up being a good chance to meet the staff. I've also been to an already operational cannabis pharmacy in Salt Lake City, where I purchased two marijuana tinctures – one is 1 to 1 THC and CBD oil mix and one is 1 to 15 THC and CBD oil mix. Each vial of about 1 ounce costs about $60 per vial. I put about a ml under my tongue before swallowing. It tastes less “green” then I expected. And, it's not a bad taste or aftertaste.
It takes about an hour for it the marijuana mix to fully effect me. One sure sign it's working is I'll break out laughing to something my wife says – when it really wasn't that funny. The high (if you want to call it that) lasts for 3 to 4 hours. And, I've not been able to detect if there are any lasting results. I don't think I've been taking it long enough to cause tolerance – probably due to me only taking a dose every other day for the past few weeks. To be safe, I only take a dose if I'm going to remain home for the rest of the day.
I'll probably try some other marijuana mixes over the next several months. One option I do not intend to try is smoking raw marijuana. Even though it's sold here, I think smoking it could be detrimental to my lungs. And, oddly, Utah's laws allow for the sale of raw marijuana but not the smoking of it. One can assume the raw type is sold so it can be ingested, rather than smoked.
So, as I noted upstairs, I'm now a Stoner. The last time I used marijuana was about 45 years ago when I smoked some with friends as a teen.
I am open to questions or concerns about marijuana usage. I'm fully retired, so I am not concerned about work issues.
Hunter