Medical Cannabis

Hawai’i is currently a medical cannabis use state only and not yet recreational like many other states. Therefore, in order to enter or purchase cannabis from a dispensary, one must be certified by a medical provider that they meet state qualifications.

Patients of all ages that reside in the state of Hawaii who have a valid ID and a qualifying debilitating medical condition as defined by law, which includes:

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• Cancer
• Glaucoma
• Lupus
• Epilepsy
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Positive status for human immunodeficiency virus
• Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

“The treatment of these conditions”, or “A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces one or more of the following:

• Cachexia or wasting syndrome
• Severe pain
• Severe nausea
• Seizures, including those characteristics of epilepsy, or
• Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristics of multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease

The State of Hawaii does update the eligible debilitating medical conditions at times. For a full, updated list always be sure to check their official website.

• With a medical cannabis certification, you will be able to visit a medical dispensary and/or grow up to 10 plants.
• Patients or their caregivers can grow up to ten plants, which must be tagged with their 329 card registration number and expiration date.
• A patient and their caregiver are jointly allowed to possess up to 4 ounces of usable cannabis.
• You will need a caregiver if you are a minor or have a physical or mental incapacity that prevents you from visiting a dispensary or growing your own plants.

Click here to create your free online account.

To state the obvious, it is illegal, dangerous, and downright stupid to drive while under the influence of cannabis, just as it is with alcohol or other mind-altering medications such as narcotics or benzodiazepines. Please be safe and respectful of the law, your life, and the lives of others.

Currently, the 329 card (medical cannabis card) is good for one year from the date it is originally issued.

After the first year of certification, you can choose to renew annually or every two years.

Unfortunately insurance does not cover medical cannabis certification. Once the federal government changes the federal laws concerning medical cannabis, this may become a possibility.

Dr. Charfen’s Fees:

First-time Patient Applicant: $200  Click here to start your DOH application

• If you are doing your own application, which includes filling out the DOH online application, uploading all supporting documents and photo ID, the charge is $200 plus any applicable tax to receive a medical cannabis evaluation by Dr. Charfen.
• You must designate Dr. Charlotte Charfen as your provider on your application before your appointment so that she can review your application to make sure it is complete. There will be an extra $25 fee for any documents or photo ID her office has to upload at the time of your appointment.
• Currently, State law requires an in-person evaluation for the initial certification unless you already have an established relationship with Dr. Charfen as your medical provider.
• Once certified by Dr. Charfen, subsequent renewals can be done with Dr. Charfen in person or via the internet.

Information of the application process can be accessed here.

Physician Applicant: $250

• Dr. Charlotte can complete the entire application for you, but this requires a longer appointment time to create a new application, upload all documents and ID, as well as perform the medical evaluation.
• The fee for this service is  $250 plus any applicable tax.
• You must bring a valid ID at the time of the appointment in order to complete the process. A smartphone or tablet is also encouraged to create your unique account.
• If you will be designating a caregiver to grow cannabis for you, that person must be present as well, to sign the appropriate forms.

Renewal Fee 1 year: $150: can be done in-person or via the internet if you are already an established patient with Dr. Charfen

Renewal Fee 2 year: $225: can be done in-person or via the internet if you are already an established patient with Dr. Charfen

House Call Applicants: Dr. Charfen’s practice is located in North Kohala and Waimea which does limit physical availability to many parts of the island. She does make limited house calls based on her schedule. The same fees apply as stated in the Patient Applicant and Physician Applicant section in addition to a travel fee depending on island location. Please inquire here to determine the travel fee.

Terminally-Ill Applicants: For terminally-ill patients that are enrolled in hospice requesting certification, Dr. Charlotte will certify at no charge within the North Hawaii area. It is her small way of giving back to the group of people that opened her mind to the benefits of medical cannabis.

There is a fee charged by the State of Hawaii that is separate from Dr. Charfen’s office charge. The fee charged by the State is $38.50 yearly or $77 for the 2-year renewal and is paid on-line to the DOH directly.

(Please note that GET tax (4.9175%) will be added to all rates.)

Telemedicine is an internet-based video call that has been used for many years in mostly rural areas to provide quality healthcare to patients that may not otherwise have access. It is becoming much more common for physicians to use telemedicine for straightforward office evaluations. It is similar to using  Zoom but in order to comply and protect patient information, Dr. Charfen uses a HIPAA-compliant telemedicine platform.

Currently, first-time certifications in Hawaii do not qualify for telemedicine like they do in some states. However, if you are an established patient with Dr. Charfen in the state of Hawai’i, your certification and/or renewal can be done from the comfort of your home using her video call application.

For any questions or to set up a telemedicine cannabis evaluation please click here.

Interestingly enough, it was not medical school that introduced me to the therapeutic benefits of cannabis although our own endogenous cannabinoids and receptors had been scientifically identified twelve years prior to my finishing medical school in 2000. The basic science was available, but there was no mention of cannabis as a medicine in my traditional classes.

Almost twenty years later, it was my desire to help the terminally ill and the dying, and those caring for them, that opened my mind to medical cannabis. How had I never entertained the benefits of cannabis for the dying? The opioid epidemic had already hit our country and I knew first hand all the side effects the narcotics brought with their pain-killing effects. But I thought that’s all the medicine we had. And who the hell wants to withhold painkillers while someone is dying?

I was not educated. I did not know the literature or the case studies and I certainly didn’t understand the political history that had removed an ancient healing medication from the pharmacopoeia, every doctor’s bible for pharmaceuticals. My patients again became my teachers and I vowed to educate myself.

At first, I was infuriated that healing information had been withheld and that our own government held a patent on a plant that they classified as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin and LSD. The hypocrisy and the lives imprisoned as well as lost that could have benefited from the medication was disturbing. But then it made me more determined, driving me to learn and then educate. And that is what I continue to do to this day. I am much better informed and hope to share that information with others as the science and the understanding evolves.

I also realized one important fact: the children, our veterans, and the dying are the ones to change our culture’s perspective on cannabis and its many medical benefits. They drove over 30 states to pass legislation making medical cannabis legal and numerous other states have some form of a medical cannabis bill waiting to be argued. And I dare say they have even swayed our federal government. Now I’m less infuriated and more hopeful that with this movement, the research, the science, and the legislation will catch up with what patients have been telling us for decades.

As a physician in a state where medical cannabis is legal, I still witness the ignorance among medical professionals and the general public that I once held when it comes to the benefits and the risks of medical cannabis. I certify because I truly believe everyone should have the knowledge and ability to use cannabis in holistically empowering their health, and the guidance to do so in a nonjudgmental environment.

Dr. Charfen also has limited public speaking availability to educate about medical cannabis.  Please inquire here.

Below are sites that provide additional information regarding medical cannabis.

Healer

Realm of Caring