Medical marijuana undercover: The rush to get high

DENVER - 9Wants to Know has discovered that anyone for any reason can get a doctor's prescription to buy medical marijuana - all they have to do is say they have pain and they don't have to offer proof.

"He did it for me in three minutes," a woman who didn't want to be named told 9NEWS after she got her medical marijuana card from the Medical Marijuana Doctors (MMD) clinic in Denver for $200. "The doctor's really nonchalant. He's kind of like, 'Whatever.'"

An unnamed man inside the clinic said you can make up any reason and the doctor will recommend you use medical marijuana.

"Don't sweat it," the unnamed man told 9Wants to Know undercover investigators.

Inside the crowded waiting room, patients said they were getting cards for bad backs, torn ACLs and for generic overall pain.

In 2000, Colorado voters approved an amendment that allows medical marijuana for debilitating pain such as multiple sclerosis and cancer.

Another patient said her husband got a card six months ago even though he has no medical condition. So, now she's getting a card.

Most of the 40 patients a day who visit the clinic leave with approval for a card, according to the owner.

"If you come in the clinic and you fit one of the qualifying conditions in order to receive a medical marijuana recommendation, then you're going to be able to get it," Dr. Joel Cherdack, the director of operations for MMD, said.

Doctors at the clinic are paid by a percentage of the general income, which some say is an incentive to write more prescriptions.

Sen. Chris Romer (D-Denver), who was told about the various medical excuses from patients, said it has to stop.

"What the voters voted for is that there would be a meaningful medical relationship between a caregiver and a patient and that the patient would then get a prescription for medical marijuana," Romer said. "Those instances don't qualify and don't fit that category."

Under the Colorado law, one of the eight qualifying conditions for medical marijuana is pain. Cherdack admits everyone has "some kind" of pain. That means he is within the law.

Cherdack denies the clinic is writing prescriptions to anyone who wants one. He believes it is possible that some patients could be faking symptoms in order to get medical marijuana cards, which is no different than any other medical clinic where people might fake conditions in order to get drugs.

Cherdack says it's up to the doctor's discretion and professional judgment to determine if someone has a real medical condition or not.

"I don't think that's any different than someone who walks into a medical doctor's office who is trying to get prescription narcotics medications because they want to get high from OxyContin or something like that, which is a far more dangerous substance," Cherdack said.

A businessman who works near the clinic sees groups of young men walk in and out of the clinic all day long, which scares away his own customers. Now, he wishes he'd never voted for Amendment 20.

"Those people are not sick. If they're sick, they're as sick as I am," Mitch Van Cleve said. "It's a disaster. If I had known then what I know now, I would never have voted 'yes' for it."

In the past year, the number of people on the state's medical-marijuana registry has nearly tripled, according to state statistics obtained by The Denver Post. Twenty four percent of them are men under the age of 30.

"What I do know anecdotally is that there's a big trend of young people seeking these medical-marijuana cards. I actually know from my own children who are in this age bracket that they have friends who have no medical malady who have gotten medical marijuana cards," Romer said.

Romer is working on legislation with dispensaries, law enforcement and doctors to fix what he calls, "The Wild West" for obtaining pot legally. Among other things, Romer wants criminal background checks for distributors, a meaningful relationship between patients and caregivers and wants to find a way to stop young people from getting pot for recreational purposes.

There are more than 20,000 people holding medical marijuana cards today and the state is receiving an average of 600 new applications every day, according to Romer.

"The gold rush for medical marijuana is starting to happen and we need to speak very loudly and clearly that we intend to regulate this market, we do not intend to end this market," Romer said.

He will introduce his legislation when the session begins in January.

The Drug Enforcement Agency say the high numbers of applicants shows there's a rampant problem with people using the pot for other than medicinal purposes.

"Many people are just celebrating marijuana is legal," DEA Chief Jeff Sweetin said. "All of a sudden, are people sicker, are people more sick now than they were? Or are people using the state to operate and misuse a substance?"

The owner of MMD obtained a medical marijuana card for severe neck problems but says he doesn't smoke it very often. He believes the caregiver part of the industry needs to be regulated.

"In order to be named a caregiver, I don't think anyone off the street, anybody with no medical training whatsoever, should be able to be designated as a caregiver," Cherdack said. "I think it's somewhat irresponsible and I think that should be changed to some degree."

Two doctors are responsible for more than one-third of the patients on Colorado's medical-marijuana registry and five doctors account for more than 50 percent of the patients, according to stats from the state health department obtained by The Denver Post.

If you have any news tips, please e-mail 9Wants to Know Investigator Deborah.Sherman@9NEWS.com.