Hmmmmmm. I'll address some of the points you raised shortly, as I soon as I can do it under a thousand word limit. You might think some of that song is about you. Probably won't like some of it, but it's nothing personal. Didn't even write it for this thread but it will apply.
Meantime, about "it has the doctors scared". What was their excuse last week? Okay, maybe last month. Same excuse either way. It's not even a new excuse, as they were always "under threat/skeared". It's just a rebooted familiar narrative. It was also known to have had "doctors scared" the very day it was proposed. Pretty wild polling they've got going on!
It's not even at all reasonable, btw. It's actually the very least that doctors could and ought to be doing, policing their own. If we _have_ to deal with them, then they _should_ be experts and they _should_ be accountable. They've taken genuine steps towards that, you should applaud them for it. If the very least in accountability has them scared from doing their jobs, then I don't want to be subjected to their services in the first place.
There is nothing in it to actually cause fear, however. Neither is there any reason to believe they'd abuse the information gathered to attack doctors that are above board unduly. To the best of my knowledge I don't know if that precedent has ever been established. So it amounts to wild speculation and fear mongering. I don't find the nature of that speculation altogether accurate.
Regardless, getting in bed with skype doctors is about the most crippling thing for medical users of weed to do to themselves.
Can you at least tell us honestly how much the company you work for will be charging for access to the information that you're trying to collect from us for free currently? I believe the going rate is $300. Is that accurate for your organization?
Also, you have no actual service to offer here that I can see. Maybe prior to this single level of accountability imposed by doctor organizations there was, but they've closed the doors on the requirement for people like your employers acting as a safeguard so "pot doctors" could keep on the down low. Since they're being looked at now anyway, what actual use are you to them?
How about from a patient perspective?
You said:
You say that you improve the wait time between application to prescription. What.... the fuck? There is no "application step 1" and "prescription step 2". There is never anything even like a "prescription". You get a "recommendation", and then you "place your order". There's just nothing for you to do to speed any of that up. It was already all done in the threadwork of the mmpr so as not to require "advocates" like yourself. The only thing you are doing is charging an absurd amount for piddly contact information that you'll be monopolizing, and honestly you can't even seem to speak of the program intelligently.
Hmmm...well, let me explain.
I have been suffering from debilitating mental illness since 1998. I slept for months. I never voted. I cried all the time.
I was medicated for years, prozac then celexa. I saw 10 different doctors, psychologist, and psychiatrists in that time.
No one, ever recommended MMJ. Actually, most told me they thought I should stop using weed.
June 1st, 2014, I got food poisoning. And started expereinceing EVERY side effect from the Celexa. I threw up every day. Night sweats, high blood pressure, diahreah, burst blood vessels in my eyes, rashes, allergies, asthma, the works.
On June 13th, 2014, I looked into getting an MMJ prescription. I found MMS, Medicinal Marijuana Services. I talked to them, and they were lovely.
So lovely, in fact, that I decided to write to the CEO, and tell them I wanted to spread the word about their service.
I don't have a family dr. Or a psychiatrist for the last 2 years (because I am poor and can't afford one). Or also - I was too crazy or depressed in a lot of that time, to get the help I needed. I had NO OTHER option.
The fee on the website says $100 - $400.00. It has gone down 50% since the company started in October 2013.
I would have paid a thousand.
I do NOT disagree that this system, currently in Canada, the MMPR, is not great. I would much prefer to just grown my own. Or even to go to the walk-in clic, or a dispensary, and get a prescription that way.
But I could not. I live in Thunder Bay, and there was no other option for me.
What do YOU think I should have done? In my situation, how would YOU have gone about getting a prescription without having a family doctor?
I apologize that I do not talk about all of this in a scientific way and with 100% confidence. I have only been looking into this for LESS THAN 1 MONTH.
I'm just trying to help people here. You don't gotta get all angsty about it. Smoke a bowl!
hahahah