CA’s Prop 64 sparks requests for MMJ recommendations

Could medical marijuana businesses in California see a spike in business before recreational cannabis sales begin?

The prospect of recreational marijuana sales in the middle of 2017 or early in 2018 has sparked an unexpected spike in requests for medical marijuana recommendations, the Sacramento Bee reported.

While it will be at least half a year before the start of recreational marijuana sales, recreational marijuana consumption became legal on Nov. 8 for anyone 21 or older with the passage of Prop 64, as California’s new adult-use law is known.

Many social cannabis consumers, however, mistakenly believe they can buy product at medical dispensaries now. But upon learning they can’t, many are trying to obtain medical marijuana recommendations. So, at a time cannabis-recommending physicians expected business to taper off, many are actually seeing an increase.

One medical cannabis clinic reported seeing 50-60 new patients a week, according to the Sacramento Bee.

In the long term, recreational marijuana is expected to decrease the demand for cannabis-recommending doctors. But in an effort to keep their clients, the newspaper reported, many of these physicians intend to rebrand their businesses as holistic-service providers. They also plan to reach out to inexperienced consumers who are interested in recreational cannabis but want to know more about its therapeutic effects as well.