YOU NO LONGER NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR TO GET MEDICAL POT IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Until recently, residents of Washington, D.C. had to get a doctor’s recommendation and a medical marijuana card to legally purchase weed. Health conditions that would qualify for a card included cancer, glaucoma, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as chronic intractable pain. Now, however, under new laws approved by the city council, adult residents, as well as tourists, can now “self-certify” their need for medical cannabiswithout ever seeing a doctor. As expected, pot sales surged in July after the first ruling, which bypasses any kind of medical exam and makes a mockery of the concept of “medical marijuana” because any adult can prescribe it. The government says the goal is to create a more patient-centric medical marijuana program and draw more patients into the legal marketplace as well as “protect patients”—although it’s not clear how they will be protected if they can self-diagnose such serious medical conditions. Medical marijuana is now legal in 37 states, having been adopted much earlier than recreational cannabis on the premise that it provides certain medical benefits, although evidence of this is more anecdotal than scientific. However, with more and more states legalizing recreational pot—now legal in 19 states and the District—the line between recreational and medical is fast disappearing, as it becomes clear that medical weed was the wedge to drive more radical cannabis reform. Why even call it medical pot if there's no real connection to medicine? With this in mind, we need stronger laws and regulations to control the commercialization of both recreational and medical cannabis and safeguard public health.