A new California startup makes it possible to electronically receive a state-issued Marijuana ID for $25.
EazeMD is a new service developed by marijuana delivery startup Eaze that plans to use video conferencing to sell legal cannabis identification cards via smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers, according to TechCrunch.
California law has traditionally required patients seeking state-issued cannabis cards to travel to specific clinics to be evaluated by licensed doctors. If a patient passes evaluation, they will have to pay a fee, around $100 or more, and wait a few days before receiving their card in the mail.
EazeMD offers a new system that founder Keith McCarty says will streamline the process and help patients obtain their medicinal marijuana cards in a legal and more efficient way.
While getting prescribed a medical marijuana card through the phone may sound a little sketchy, if not completely improbable, the service is legit. The key to EazeMD is what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defines as telehealth:
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“The use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration.”
The Medical Board of California states that telehealth is seen as a tool when practicing medicine; it is not a separate form of medicine.
“There are no legal prohibitions to using technology in the practice of medicine, as long as the practice is done by a California licensed physician.”
The standard care is the same whether the person is seen face to face or through electronic methods.
However, the medical board defines telehealth not as a telephone call, or an email/text message conversation, but as a forward technology that embraces the application of videoconferencing. McCarty told TechCrunch:
“Telehealth is accepted across 28 states and 23 states have made marijuana for medical reasons legal. It’s accepted across the California Medical Board.”
Upon passing an evaluation authorized by a licensed doctor — which requires patients to present valid medical information — EazeMD prescribes a state-issued cannabis identification card electronically, which is available at a cost of $25.
After the card is issued by EazeMD, patients are then transferred to the Eaze platform where they are able to order their medication and utilize their delivery service, which has an estimated 15-minute delivery rate.
Eaze has raised $12.5 million since their initial launch in 2012. The San Francisco-based company is currently using investor funds to expand to the San Diego, Los Angeles and Orange County regions.
