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Cover Story: Helping Florida Patients Obtain Medical
Marijuana Cards Legally and Easily
Continued from page 1 passionate, and private evaluations for vitals and then introduce you to the doc- MMJ program, you will be required to
patient feels cared for and safe. patients seeking to legally obtain a Florida tor. He will review your records, perform return for an initial follow up within 70
“We are strictly devoted to the needs of Medical Marijuana Card. All of its physi- an exam, discuss your condition and his- days of your first order, unless otherwise
cannabis patients and nationwide, across cians are licensed and in good standing tory, describe the proper use of medical indicated by your ordering physician,”
all of our clinics, we waive our charge to with their Medical Boards. marijuana and answer any questions you says Klein. “The State requires that you be
certify minors with life-threatening ill- “Medical Cannabis is not only a medical have. If you have a qualifying condition, re-examined by your physician at maxi-
nesses,” he says. issue, but a legal one as well,” says Dustin the doctor will enter an order for your mum every 30 weeks. Failure to meet
Klein. “We follow medical board guide- cannabis medication and will explain with the doctor by your 30-week mark
Founding Behind the Clinic lines and Florida law so that your your dosage and consumption options. will result in termination from the state’s
Klein started the clinic, along with his approval is legal, ethical and defensible in Step 4: Same Day Submission MMJ program.”
wife, Andrea. The Kleins have a long his- court.” Immediately after your appointment, Klein adds that Sun Valley cares deeply
tory witnessing and advocating the bene- These are the medical conditions that they will take your picture for your card, about its patients and community.
fits of medical cannabis. Living with pso- qualify for a medical cannabis card: scan a copy of your Florida State ID, and “We are advocates for our patients and
riatic arthritis and attending college in • Cancer assist you in uploading your application continually evolve our services and politi-
Colorado, Dustin got his medical card in • Epilepsy to Florida's Medical Marijuana Program. cal activities with the goal of providing
2005 and has experienced the certification • Glaucoma A check should accompany your visit for better service and protection to our
process 13 times over the last decade to • HIV/AIDS the State's fee. But they will address it for patients,” he says. “We are experts in our
stay legal. • Post-Traumatic Stress you and assist you in mailing it to the field and it is very rewarding to witness
After moving to Arizona, they were out- Disorder (PTSD) state—envelope included. the power of cannabis as medicine in the
raged to see that there was little clinical • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Step 5: Get Your Card lives of our patients. We urge patients to
process to getting a card: most clinics were • Crohn’s disease Upon approval of your submitted appli- call with their questions – it is our mission
lacking professionalism, organization, and • Parkinson’s disease cation, the State will email you your MMJ to educate patients on their options.”
focus on patient care. This fire was stoked • Multiple sclerosis card ID number. This will allow you to
by the loss of his mother and father within • Conditions of the same kind or class, purchase and possess cannabis until your For more information,
eighteen months of each other to pancre- or comparable in pain and chronicity as patient card arrives to you in the mail. visit www.svmmjcc.com.
atic cancer and ALS, two diseases with the previous conditions “As a patient of Sun Valley and to con-
numerous clinical trials that have demon- • A terminal condition in which a doc- tinue your participation in the Florida
strated the benefits of cannabis. tor has diagnosed to cause significant
Unfortunately, his parents (both federal impairment and is irreversible, is not con-
employees) never consented to try it. sidered treatable, and will result in death
Wanting to help patients like his parents, within 1 year after diagnosis.
and with his wife’s 15-year career experi- The process of obtaining your card
ence in managing medical practices, in takes 5 easy steps:
2013 they built their first clinic with the Step 1: Contact Sun Valley
money they saved for their honeymoon. Call them at 954-900-9788, send an
In three short years, the Kleins have email, or walk-in and start the evaluation
grown their practice in Arizona to five process. They will answer any questions
locations (serving over 20% of all Arizona you have and describe the evaluation
medical marijuana patients) launched a process. They will also explain the need
clinic in Nevada, serve California patients for medical records documenting your
online, and opened Sun Valley in Fort qualifying condition and will obtain the
Lauderdale. Sun Valley will shortly be pro- records for you after you sign a medical
viding online certifications for New York release form.
residents as well. In addition, the compa- Step 2: Schedule Appointment
ny has recently launched the first and only Once they have reviewed your medical
legitimate franchise model in the ancillary records, they will schedule your evalua-
cannabis industry. tion appointment. Same day appoint-
ments are available for patients with qual-
Obtaining a Medical ifying records in their possession.
Marijuana Card Step 3: Meet The Doctor
Sun Valley provides professional, com- When you come in for your appoint-
ment, a medical assistant will take your
South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com October 2017 29