Not getting what I need

[MollyWobbles]

I only recently got my card, but my caregiver is a family friend and he told me I get 1 ounce per harvest. That is not nearly enough to properly treat my issues and I'm going without very often to make it last,  he says I have to pay $225/oz if I want more from him. I do not have that kind of money but he's got 12 plants in my name,  I feel like if I need an ounce a month to manage my pain then why don't I get what I need?  Is it normal to only get 4 ounces a calendar year and have to come out of pocket so much?  Seriously buying Xanax and prozac and zofran at freaking CVS is more affordable at this price!  I'm near tears because I have not had my medicine in over 2 weeks and he absolutely refuses to help me. I have to drive 45 minutes one way to him each time,  it's when he says, it's how much he deems and it's not working for me at all. I don't know what to do.

[mishigami bear]

A caregiver with 12 plants in your name (let's assume 2 mothers, 5 veg and 5 flower) should be able to produce much more than an ounce per harvest. An average grower should be able to yield 1 gram of trimmed bud per watt of HID light. Even with a paltry 400 W HPS, an average grower should be able to yield 400 grams or 14 ounces every 3 months. You are clearly being used for your patient count, but not being properly cared for.

I recommend that you take back your caregiver creds and find a "professional" caregiver.

[shishka]

Yes, in short he is just using you for your plant count to make money. Find a better caregiver or insist on an ounce a month for free.

[MollyWobbles]

Ok,  I thank you both for your replies, I wasn't sure if I was being unreasonable with my needs but it wasn't making sense financially for me to pay him for what's technically supposed to be mine. I do understand there's work involved but he sells everything to some distributer dude after he gives his patients their ounce and he told me he didn't even have any on hand for me which was why I had to wait and then pay so much, and now this time I'm out of gas and he's offerred me ONE JOINT if I drive 40 minutes to him. That's not actually helpful and way back in the day my street dealer took better care of me 😂

[Restorium2]

No caregiver is obligated to give anyone anything for free. Start with that idea and get on solid ground. Then find out what your caregiver needs per ounce that he/she grows for you. Keep it simple and you will be happier. These clowns that pretend to give away stuff so they can sell to a dispensary are not caregivers really. Get a real caregiver. 

[Michiganmeds1982]

Its to bad that even a family member would charge so much, my patients get whatever they need at well below that price. With the proper setup cost should be around 160 a zip imo and everyone should be happy.

[MollyWobbles]

I have no idea really what to look for or expect here, all I know for sure is my needs aren't being met and I don't have the money to be fooling around with wannabe scarface types. A couple comments are telling me to find a "real" caregiver and I dont even know what that looks like - how can I be able to tell who is real? 

 

I'm tempted to invest the time and money to figure out how to grow a couple plants myself or either forget it all together and end up back on pharmaceuticals because at least I could afford that and I was not ever going without. I'm desperate at this point.

 

 

[Restorium2]

It would be nice if it was that simple. I have strains that produce differently. Awesome strains. The best. Some produce more than others. So if you have a math based price system it's not costing the same to grow every strain. For a concrete example; A grower can grow a pound of Bigbud, a strain grown for quantity, where another experienced grower would only get a quarter pound of Chem D, OG Kush,  etc. It's not as simple as some would make it out to be. 

Edited December 10, 2017 by Restorium2

[Restorium2]

1 minute ago, MollyWobbles said:

I have no idea really what to look for or expect here, all I know for sure is my needs aren't being met and I don't have the money to be fooling around with wannabe scarface types. A couple comments are telling me to find a "real" caregiver and I dont even know what that looks like - how can I be able to tell who is real? 

 

I'm tempted to invest the time and money to figure out how to grow a couple plants myself or either forget it all together and end up back on pharmaceuticals because at least I could afford that and I was not ever going without. I'm desperate at this point.

 

 

A real caregiver grows for you and charges you what it takes to make ends meet. 

Growing your own is soooooo much better. 

[MollyWobbles]

I could by seeds of the strain I like from someone correct?  And just get some lights and a pot and get to it and learn along the way? My spouse is a gardener and major green thumb, he knows how to grow stuff....i don't know I'm just thinking out loud but it seems like I might be better suited to just figure it out than to try to suss out the fake caregivers who don't give a crap. 

[Restorium2]

13 minutes ago, MollyWobbles said:

I could by seeds of the strain I like from someone correct?  And just get some lights and a pot and get to it and learn along the way? My spouse is a gardener and major green thumb, he knows how to grow stuff....i don't know I'm just thinking out loud but it seems like I might be better suited to just figure it out than to try to suss out the fake caregivers who don't give a crap. 

Now you are sounding like you have a great plan for the future. Glad we could help you and good luck with your grow. Treat that caregiver you have decently because it never pays to burn a bridge to cannabis. 

[semicaregiver]

You do not even need to buy seeds.  Many of the dispensaries sell clones.  That is a much quicker way to get started.   What county are you in?

 

[MollyWobbles]

I'm in macomb,  very close to 94, there are a bunch of dispensaries on 8 mile that are 15ish minutes from me. 

 

[zeebudz]

It never occurred to me when I had a caregiver that I was owed cannabis for free simply because I wasn't using all 12 plants that I had a right to grow or possess. But I know that other folks don't think like that. Either way, it sounds like you have a jerk for a CG. IMHO you should drop him immediately. Send a letter to LARA and to him and don't "bargain". Get your meds at a decent dispensary until you can find another CG. Grow your own if possible.

Edited December 10, 2017 by zeebudz

[MollyWobbles]

I don't want or need all 12 plant's harvest,  I want to be clear that I do NOT feel entitled to that,  but I do feel entitled to my needs being met with my cg still able to turn a profit otherwise if it's not mutually beneficial why would either of us bother with the relationship?  I didn't get my card to pay someone's mortgage and then have to turn around and pay for my meds at a huge markup,  I feel like if I have a caregiver I shouldn't NEED to go to a dispensary or come out of pocket - I hit a joint or bowl 2-3 times once in the morning and once before bed, I'm not chain smoking, I use it to ease pain and take the edge off not to stay blitzed out of my mind.... so i feel like it shouldn't be too much to ask, it didn't seem unreasonable to me to ask for an ounce a month instead of an ounce quarterly and having to pay over $200/ month for pain management. He's bragged about a dozen humongous garbage bags full at harvest, he can spare a few extra ounces and still make profit. 

[Restorium2]

9 minutes ago, MollyWobbles said:

I don't want or need all 12 plant's harvest,  I want to be clear that I do NOT feel entitled to that,  but I do feel entitled to my needs being met with my cg still able to turn a profit otherwise if it's not mutually beneficial why would either of us bother with the relationship?  I didn't get my card to pay someone's mortgage and then have to turn around and pay for my meds at a huge markup,  I feel like if I have a caregiver I shouldn't NEED to go to a dispensary or come out of pocket - I hit a joint or bowl 2-3 times once in the morning and once before bed, I'm not chain smoking, I use it to ease pain and take the edge off not to stay blitzed out of my mind.... so i feel like it shouldn't be too much to ask, it didn't seem unreasonable to me to ask for an ounce a month instead of an ounce quarterly and having to pay over $200/ month for pain management. He's bragged about a dozen humongous garbage bags full at harvest, he can spare a few extra ounces and still make profit. 

turn a profit otherwise

Doing that is illegal and you want nothing to do with that. You want your name out of that situation, period. Just saying that you want something for him doing that is being an accomplice to his criminal activity. 

[MollyWobbles]

Ok. I actually thought that was the reason people become caregivers, I didn't know that was illegal. I obviously have no clue what's supposed to be going on,  I know I need pain management and I also know I don't need or want however much 12 plants yield. I don't know what people really do with the excess. 

 

Should I, if I were to select a new caregiver,  expect to pay out of pocket for my marijuana? I only use the flower btw, I don't know anything really about the other methods.

[Restorium2]

Of course you pay for your cannabis. Just like anything else you consume. 

Or you could become part of a criminal conspiracy and demand something free for being part of a crime. It's your choice. At least now you understand the situation totally. 

[MollyWobbles]

 So then what do people do with the extra mj after the patients are supplied? I can't imagine anyone would grow that much to break even because it's fun?  I'm confused I guess about why anyone even wants to be a caregiver if it didn't pay the bills? 

 

And,  I was under the assumption that people use medical mj because it's a (hopefully)  cleaner and more cost efficient alternative to pharmaceuticals. I don't even have medical insurance and the Xanax and zofran and heavy opiods the doctor reccomends for me are only $47 a month.  If I'm supposed to be paying triple that for marijuana I can't afford that so what's the point? 

[Restorium2]

It's really easy to stay legal. If you grow too much you could covertly donate it or simply put it down the garbage disposal. 

 I'm confused I guess about why anyone even wants to be a caregiver if it didn't pay the bills? 

It's not all it's cut out to be by liars and people busting moves all down the line. Being a caregiver is rewarding in ways that greedy people don't understand. A lot of people do it to help people feel better. I guess that's a little old fashioned these days. You will not get rich being a legal caregiver but it can easily pay for itself and your time.

[yoop906]

I find this discussion interesting. I don't want to hijack the thread but have a few questions myself about the excess grown by caregivers and this discussion has touched on that a bit. 

1. Has selling excess to dispensaries been a gray area of legality or has it been straight up illegal?

2. Has that changed with the recent Michigan marijuana law changes? If so, how has it changed?

Thank you!

 

[yoop906]

So in other words the MI medical marijuana governing system is still unsettled confusion?

Does the state maintain that a caregiver or a patient that grows are to destroy anything over the state mandated limits?

[Restorium2]

Caregivers can have 5 patients, connected to them through registration, that they can sell to. Period. That is all that is legal about selling. The rest of it is just busting moves around the rules. Call it like it is. We all have busted moves around rules. But pretending otherwise is just stupid BS and isn't fooling anyone IMO. 

[Restorium2]

5 minutes ago, yoop906 said:

So in other words the MI medical marijuana governing system is still unsettled confusion?

Does the state maintain that a caregiver or a patient that grows are to destroy anything over the state mandated limits?

Not confusing to me at all.

You either find some way to get it out of your possession or risk the consequences for having too much(if caught). Pretty simple stuff. 

[yoop906]

9 minutes ago, Restorium2 said:

Not confusing to me at all.

You either find some way to get it out of your possession or risk the consequences for having too much(if caught). Pretty simple stuff. 

Understood. So bottom line is a patient growing or a caregiver is expected to simply destroy the excess, correct? There is no legal way to disperse of the excess other than destroying it, correct? And there is absolutely no legal way to gain financially from the excess weed is there?