Caregiving 101, Starting From Scratch.

[ChopTop]

Good afternoon gents, i live about 10 minutes outside of Grand Rapids, i been nervous about all this mm stuff but i read a thing in the free press saying how caregiving is a big business in mich.

 

First let me say i have a green thumb but i have nothing right now, no ailments, no card for mm, nothing.

 

I have a couple people who definately qualify for this card in terms of use but they are unable to grow, i am a struggling self employed/stay at home dad i also homeschool my daughter who has epilepsy. This would be a perfect thing for me to do to help people learn myself and make some cash to pay the bills.

 

1st question, Is this a legit real business that you would get a tax id on and pay taxes?

 

2, how is pricing monitored or isnt it? What is your potential earnings if you have 5 clients?

 

3, my wife is a chef, she wants to quit her job and go full time into this making baked goods for people, is this possible?

 

4, can a husband and wife BOTH be caregivers in the same house?

 

5, lets say my wife is a caregiver, can she set the standard that all she deals with is cooked goods? (suckers milk candy cookies etc etc)

 

6, how are transactions done? Are there taxes on an ounce?

 

7, how do the patient and caregiver connect to get their meds to them?

 

I have at least 2 or three people who qualify for mm, one of them has a card now. What do i do today or tomorrow to get the ball rolling?

 

Ive already begun cleaning my basement, got my area almost ready to be constructed..

 

I appreciate ANY and all advice, this is my first post but certainly not my last as i hope to become a respected memebr around here and helper eventually for years to come.

 

If anyone lives in Grand Rapids and would like to call me or something to discuss further id like that. I aslo cant wait to find out where the nearest compassion club is as i want to go there asap to soak in whatever knowledge i can get.

 

Thanks again, Tony.

[+Annnie]

Welcome here and im sure you will learn everything you wish to know on these boards.. :-)

[ChopTop]

Thx alot annie, im going over the whole site now just to get acquaintred.

[+420Atheist]

Most of the things you ask are up for debate and have been debated here. I will take a position on your first question. Ask Al Capone what happens when you don't pay your taxes.

 

What you will find is some police departments believe that only caregiver to patient transfers are legal. Others have not taken a position. So caregiver to dispensary is a gray area and though I believe is not forbidden in the law that has yet to be determined by the courts. For me I would do it because you want to medically help yourself or others not because you plan on getting rich. If making a buck or two comes along in the future then all the better but I would not start with that in mind.

[Feijao]

Tony,

 

I am in the same boat as far as thinking about starting something in MI. I am currently in CO but I do have some input that I think would be worth posting.

 

1. Is this a legit real business that you would get a tax id on and pay taxes?

A: Rule 333.115 Section 2 states "A registered primary caregiver may receive compensation for costs associated with assisting a registered qualifying patient in the medical use

of marijuana. Any such compensation shall not constitute the sale of a controlled substance." If you being compensated then I think paying taxes on it would be a good idea. My delivery service in CO was a S corp and I paid state and federal taxes.

 

2. how is pricing monitored or isnt it? What is your potential earnings if you have 5 clients?

A: There is no monitoring of prices in any state currently. I will give you a small example of how much you could make with 5 patients. I will then go on my rant about helping 5 as much as you can an then making your money off others.

 

5 patients buying 1 ounce a week at $250 an ounce would be $5000 a month. Then you would need to figure out what each ounce will cost you to produce and other fees that you might incur during the 8 to 12 week period of growing. This can get quite expensive but there is still enough to made that you would be able to make a decent wage in this tough economy. The best part is that you can do it while actually helping people fell better at the same time.

 

The way I did it and the way that I would do it if I were to head to MI is to help my 5 as much as I could. Free vaporizer, 1 ounce free a month, $30 eighths if they need more, pay for their med recommendations or renewals, basically anything that you can do to help them. You might ask well how in the hell can I make any money doing this. Well the reason that you should take as good of care of your patients is because they are the ones allowing you to operate with the plant numbers that you need to produce the extras to make money with. The real money that a caregiver makes is not really from their patients but from things such as selling extras to dispensaries and selling other things that you can produce to other patients. Patient to patient sales are still under debate as being legal or not but if I were to get involved in the MI scene I would have to operate thinking that it is legal.

 

3. my wife is a chef, she wants to quit her job and go full time into this making baked goods for people, is this possible?

A. In this economy and the fact that you said that you are a stay at home dad struggling with things I would not recommend her quitting to start baking. This doesn't mean that she couldn't do both though. A legit as this MMJ thing seems things can change in just a couple of months. Look at me, I felt like I was on top of the world just 3 weeks ago and then the law changed and I thinking of moving across the country to get back in to the business. If I were you I would have her show you some techniques and cook for who ever you can sell to. Then if you get to busy have her help part time and then if you need her full time you all would most likely be making enough to get a commercial kitchen and she could quit. Its quite easy to make simple edibles such as brownies, rice krispies, fudge, suckers, and so on. Sure there are some that specialize in gourmet edibles but from my experience most cant afford them and they dont really medicate better than the simpler edibles. With one stove and oven you can produce suckers, rice krispies, and brownies all at the same time.

 

4. can a husband and wife BOTH be caregivers in the same house?

A: There is nothing preventing this from happening. Just be careful of having more over 99 plants in the house at one time.

 

5. lets say my wife is a caregiver, can she set the standard that all she deals with is cooked goods?

Yes she can, although it would be up to patients if they are looking for a caregiver that only provides edibles.

 

6. how are transactions done? Are there taxes on an ounce?

A: I would always pay taxes on them to Gov but its up to you if you include the tax in your prices or if you add them on top of your prices.

 

7: how do the patient and caregiver connect to get their meds to them?

I would set up a little website that showed you patients whats available in real time (this is time consuming but it will save time over telling people what you have in stock all day long). Then they would email or call me and schedule delivery.

 

Have you grown marijuana before?

 

Thanks,

Feijao

[+420Atheist]

 

5. lets say my wife is a caregiver, can she set the standard that all she deals with is cooked goods?

Yes she can, although it would be up to patients if they are looking for a caregiver that only provides edibles.

 

 

One thing worth noting is one police department weighed the caregivers cake and counted as part of their 2.5 ounces. You and I know it is moronic to claim that is what the law meant by usable material but it will be another thing the courts will have to decide. At the very least if you are checked by LEO I would not disclose medibles.

[tooldini]

I can't see many patients spending 1K a month on meds LOL really thats sounds like way too much. There is a guy I seen on tv claiming you can make 100K a year as a caregiver but I don't see that happening without breaking this weakended law. He of course is charging 400.00 for the class

[______]

You have a couple of people who would qualify as patients, if you want to know the income potential, look at them and figure out how much they could/would be willing to shell out a month for medicine.

[Half*Baked*Bunny]

I can't see many patients spending 1K a month on meds LOL really thats sounds like way too much. There is a guy I seen on tv claiming you can make 100K a year as a caregiver but I don't see that happening without breaking this weakended law. He of course is charging 400.00 for the class

Good morning!

People charging to certify you as a caregiver after 'graduating' from a class are just trying to find another aspect of the MM industry to profit from. You can learn EVERYTHING you need to know from youtube.com videos(ready, set, grow vids are great for begginers/basics- anything from the Urban Grower is always great) and grower forums. Another great source of info is the staff at grow stores; they are usually very knowledgeable and some will come check out your grow room and let you know where and hy you are having problems/what to do to correct them. I'm curious to see the curriculum they offer... Not to sure how involved it gets. Trial and error in your own environment is going to be necessary to everyone's learning process.

[ChopTop]

Thanks for all the great answers, i have more questions lol.

 

Ok for starter you can grow 12 plants per patient, lets say the patient only goes thru 4 plants worth over the course of a grow cycle, what is to be done with the extra the patient doesnt use? is this were you sell to the dispensories to make money on the remaining plants?

 

I am being honest when i say i am getting into this to help people, however to make a few sheckels to pay the bills sounds nice too. I am very excited as i got my first patient, he already has the card but on his card i see it says he doesnt have permission to grow, he is confined to a wheelchair i assume this is why. We are ready to start a long partnership, what do i need to do next, get these apps, take him to his doctor fill them out and send to the state?

 

I am assuming a minimum of 4 months from seed to cure, or more give or take a week, what will i be able to do for him in the meantime if i am accepted as his caregiver? Will i be able to get him stuff from a dispensory? Will i need his card and mine? Will he need to go with me?

 

I can't see many patients spending 1K a month on meds LOL really thats sounds like way too much.

 

My daughter has epilepsy and the cost of her meds is 600 bucks a month, and the side effects not good for quality of life.... If there is any strain of mm out there and i have read of a few that pertain to epilepsy then that would be terrific to find and all natural way to subdue the auras of having a seizure.

 

Thanks again for all the advice i will be back later.

[naturescaregivers]

Thanks for all the great answers, i have more questions lol.

 

Ok for starter you can grow 12 plants per patient, lets say the patient only goes thru 4 plants worth over the course of a grow cycle, what is to be done with the extra the patient doesnt use? is this were you sell to the dispensories to make money on the remaining plants?

 

I am being honest when i say i am getting into this to help people, however to make a few sheckels to pay the bills sounds nice too. I am very excited as i got my first patient, he already has the card but on his card i see it says he doesnt have permission to grow, he is confined to a wheelchair i assume this is why. We are ready to start a long partnership, what do i need to do next, get these apps, take him to his doctor fill them out and send to the state?

 

If he has an actual Medical card then he is already registered with the state of Michigan. I assume the reason he does not have permission to grow is because he designated a caregiver, other than yourself, to grow his medicine. He can designate you as his caregiver, but he needs to turn in a change of caregiver form to the Michigan Department of Community Health.

 

I am assuming a minimum of 4 months from seed to cure, or more give or take a week, what will i be able to do for him in the meantime if i am accepted as his caregiver? Will i be able to get him stuff from a dispensory? Will i need his card and mine? Will he need to go with me?

 

In the meantime, your patient is legally allowed to obtain medicine from any avenue. Dispensaries are a good start. You could also find other caregivers who have overages they would be willing to part with. Most compassion clubs have good networking opportunities and may have overages to supply to a legal patient.

 

My daughter has epilepsy and the cost of her meds is 600 bucks a month, and the side effects not good for quality of life.... If there is any strain of mm out there and i have read of a few that pertain to epilepsy then that would be terrific to find and all natural way to subdue the auras of having a seizure.

 

I've heard of medical marijuana being used for epilepsy, but you should check the list of legally qualifying conditions. If it is listed there then she can qualify for a medical marijuana license.

 

Thanks again for all the advice i will be back later.

[Feijao]

"I am assuming a minimum of 4 months from seed to cure, or more give or take a week, what will i be able to do for him in the meantime if i am accepted as his caregiver? Will i be able to get him stuff from a dispensory? Will i need his card and mine? Will he need to go with me?"

 

If I were you I would start my first grow with clones. This will shave 2 or 3 weeks off of your finishing times and be quite a bit easier to ease in to things. When you go from seed you have remove the males and then figure out which phenos of the seeds that you planted are actually good enough or display the traits that you are looking for the actual seeds. I would go with clones the first couple of times and pheno hunt at the same time.

 

"My daughter has epilepsy and the cost of her meds is 600 bucks a month, and the side effects not good for quality of life.... If there is any strain of mm out there and i have read of a few that pertain to epilepsy then that would be terrific to find and all natural way to subdue the auras of having a seizure."

 

I have a couple of epileptic patients and they both love my Black Domina. I have also read that Blockhead is a great anti-epileptic although I am sure you would have a tough time finding that one. What you are looking for are strains with high Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabinol (CBN)ratios. Both of these Cannabinoids are proven to have anti-epileptic properties. I will try to find some studies that I have on the other computer tomorrow and post them for you and your daughter.

 

Thanks,

[ChopTop]

The patient I am working with has been away for awhile and got back today, I set up a meet to get all the paperwork done and I have a few more questions. There is a lot of talk on the check cashing and 21 day wait etc etc. I am not a patient, my best friends cousin has an ms like ailment and his caretaker is garbage, supplying him nothing. I told my friend I could begin taking over caretaker duties, my friend and his cousin know I am driven and believe I will grow great things. They are very excited about this, my questions are as follows, I got the change of caretaker forms and they charge according to the doc a 10 fee only. Am I missing something? I thought it was 100 bucks registration? Is this only if you are a patient?

So to caretake legally I am gonna do this, please fill in any things I may have missed, I want to do this 100% right.

 

 

Basically I will mail 1 envelope containing the following,

 

10 dollar reg fee

Photocopies of all id's of me and patient

Completed forms DCH/MMP-502 rev 12/09 change of caregiver form

 

And that's what I'm mailing. Am I good to go? Who is in charge of notifying the old caretaker?

I don't want him to be in trouble.

 

with all this in mind how long does a change of caretaker take? I would like to get this guys meds goin by sept 1st.

 

Again thank you for your time and advice.

[LansingAreaCaregiver]

The patient I am working with has been away for awhile and got back today, I set up a meet to get all the paperwork done and I have a few more questions. There is a lot of talk on the check cashing and 21 day wait etc etc. I am not a patient, my best friends cousin has an ms like ailment and his caretaker is garbage, supplying him nothing. I told my friend I could begin taking over caretaker duties, my friend and his cousin know I am driven and believe I will grow great things. They are very excited about this, my questions are as follows, I got the change of caretaker forms and they charge according to the doc a 10 fee only. Am I missing something? I thought it was 100 bucks registration? Is this only if you are a patient?

So to caretake legally I am gonna do this, please fill in any things I may have missed, I want to do this 100% right.

 

 

Basically I will mail 1 envelope containing the following,

 

10 dollar reg fee

Photocopies of all id's of me and patient

Completed forms DCH/MMP-502 rev 12/09 change of caregiver form

 

And that's what I'm mailing. Am I good to go? Who is in charge of notifying the old caretaker?

I don't want him to be in trouble.

 

with all this in mind how long does a change of caretaker take? I would like to get this guys meds goin by sept 1st.

 

Again thank you for your time and advice.

 

You've got the right stuff going in the mail. Make sure to send it with delivery confirmation, as the state is SO backlogged in processing things. You likely won't see a card for this patient for several months. As for the old caretaker, your friend SHOULD inform him that they are changing, but regardless they will eventually receive a certified letter from the state indicating that their card is no longer valid.

 

And as an aside...change your profile pic. It is seriously weirding me out.

[ChopTop]

Ok, the idea I won't see a card for months scares me, I have to wait that long to start growing plants and going to the dispenseries?

[LansingAreaCaregiver]

Ok, the idea I won't see a card for months scares me, I have to wait that long to start growing plants and going to the dispenseries?

 

Technically, under the law you’re paperwork is “deemed” valid after 20 days. What this means is that providing you have kept copies of all paperwork sent to the state, proof of mailing/delivery, and your cancelled check (or a copy of it) your paperwork SHOULD be legally identical to the actual registry card until such time as you receive your actual card. (This was the definition of the term “deem” given to me by my lawyer.)

 

 

 

That being said, I capitalized SHOULD because not all law enforcement and courts are aware of this provision in the law and/or are choosing to disregard it. Growing with an actual physical card is always the safest bet, but with the state running 3-4 months behind on processing applications, that simply isn’t realistic for most…wait 4 months to receive your card and then ANOTHER 4 months before you pull your first crop? Not many patients I know of can afford that kind of wait. In terms of dispensaries, some of them accept paperwork after 20 days, some do not. You’d need to call the individual place and ask as they all have different policies.

 

 

 

If you’re thinking about getting into caregiving, you’d better get comfortable with ambiguity, apathy and inconsistency from the state. We are pretty low on their totem pole. Right now they have little incentive to improve their services. It matters not to them whether they issue cards in 20 days as mandated by law or if it takes them 4 months…they still get the same $100 application fee

[Mememe]

Ok, the idea I won't see a card for months scares me, I have to wait that long to start growing plants and going to the dispenseries?

No, Check out some dispensaries and ask what their policy is on paperwork. Many allow paperwork, some require physical possession of card. You are supposed to be allowed to grow with paperwork only, but that doesn't stop police from doing whatever they want. Good luck.

[master.caregiver]

just rember this when u sighn your first patient and your all leagal they are legal (20 days after the state cashes there check ) they are gonna want meds every week and it will be your job to supply them (starting a grow from seed to bud can take upto 90 days) 2. i wouldnt grow any thing where u live and most LEO aginces wont take your paper work for your card then u got the leagal B.S. to deal with, cards can take up to 140 days to recive and most of all be commpassionate u dont need to make a million just enough to get bye and most importenetly if u get a clone from any where look at it with a microscope before u bring it home if i crawls u dont want it

[bobandtorey]

just remember this when u sign your first patient and your all legal they are legal (20 days after the state cashes there check ) they are gonna want meds every week and it will be your job to supply them (starting a grow from seed to bud can take up to 90 days) 2. i wouldn't grow any thing where u live and most LEO agencies wont take your paper work for your card then u got the legal B.S. to deal with, cards can take up to 140 days to receive and most of all be compassionate u don't need to make a million just enough to get bye and most impotently if u get a clone from any where look at it with a microscope before u bring it home if i crawls u don't want it

 

this is so right look at the plants/clones