YOUTHS ARE MAKING A MOCKERY OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAWS
One California drug rehab center is seeing increasing numbers of youths in their 20s who have obtained medical marijuana cards after telling their doctors they were suffering from back pain and other ailments
MURRIETA, Calif., March 31, 2009 – Thirteen states have legalized the medical use of marijuana with a doctor’s approval, a development that has led to the rapid growth of cannabis dispensaries from coast to coast.
But one prominent drug treatment center in Southern California is finding that the recipients of medical marijuana cards are not just elderly people with
terminal illnesses, but young people in their 20s who are faking back pain and other ailments in an effort to legally obtain the drug.
“Young people are finding they can easily trick doctors into giving them medical marijuana cards by claiming they are suffering from back pain and other ailments whose existence is difficult to prove,” said Paul Howarth, CEO of A Better Tomorrow Treatment Center Inc., a Murrieta, Calif.-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation center owned and opperated by Forterus, (FTER).
“We recently had one client in his 20s who told us he obtained a medical marijuana card by telling his doctor he was suffering from foot pain. He laughed and said his doctor gave him the prescription after a five-minute examination,” Menz said.
Menz said several young people have voluntarily surrendered or destroyed their medical marijuana cards after receiving treatment at his clinic. But he said doctors need to use more care in their examinations of young people who come into their offices with complaints of persistent pain to better prevent people from abusing the intent of medical marijuana laws.
Thirteen states have legalized the medical use of marijuana, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Additional states are considering laws that would legalize marijuana for medical treatment.
Based in Murrieta, Calif., A Better Tomorrow is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), placing it in the top 5 percent of drug and alcohol treatment centers in California. For more information about A Better Tomorrow, please contact Paul Howarth at (800) 757-9867. Additional information is available on the clinic's website at
http://www.abttc.com/
