A Couple Questions

[achipnachair]

Ok I am new to this so sorry if I ask dumb questions.

 

1) I have no friends or family that are patients but I would like to become a CG. How would I go about finding a patient or two to start with?

2) As a CG do you have to charge for your service or can I donate the product to the patient? I really like the idea of providing meds to the people that need it the most but can no way afford it. 

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much

 

[Highlander]

Ok I am new to this so sorry if I ask dumb questions.

 

1) I have no friends or family that are patients but I would like to become a CG. How would I go about finding a patient or two to start with?

2) As a CG do you have to charge for your service or can I donate the product to the patient? I really like the idea of providing meds to the people that need it the most but can no way afford it. 

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks much

 

 

1.  Most people find patients one of these ways:  a.  family members, b. meetings such as compassion clubs, c. advertising (here, Craigslist, etc.), and d.  word of mouth.

 

2.  You can give away meds for free to your registered patients.

 

Do understand that finding patients if you don't have any plants already growing so that the patient can't see your results and also has to wait for months for meds is a very hard way to find new patients.  This worked early in the program (2009) when there was a shortage of finished meds and many patients were waiting.  Nowadays, patients want proof up-front that you can provide for them.

 

Many caregivers get certified as a patient first, develop a successful and dependable grow, and then shop for patients.

 

Good luck.

[achipnachair]

Has to be a way to get into being a CG without being a patient. Seems nothing I do is ever easy. Thanks Highlander

[jointedone]

Yes there is. YOU apply for your own MMJ PT card. Then you can grow 12 plants for yourself. A CG can be a pt too. Don't know why HL didn't tell you that. All the info you need is right here on this site.

[achipnachair]

That's just it I don't want to be a patient, just a CG.

[Highlander]

I didn't come right out and say that you can be a patient and a CG, but I'm not sure what in my post would lead someone to believe that you can't be both.

 

At any rate, it isn't very easy to find patients, even for caregivers who already have a solid grow dialed-in with meds ready immediately.  If you look through the classifieds on this site and other sites like Craigslist, you'll see many more ads for caregivers seeking patients than patients seeking caregivers.  Most of the ads for patients seeking caregivers are posted by people looking for free meds.  Before dispensaries were shot down, free meds arrangements were pretty common.

 

You might also want to consider what many patients have experienced when dealing with caregivers offering free meds.  We often hear stories about how these CGs just strung the patients along to keep the plant count until the patient finally got fed up and looked elsewhere.  So think about how a patient might interpret your post.  Myself, if I see a prospective CG saying "I don't have a grow set up yet, but if you sign me up, I'll give you free meds once your plants are producing," it kinda comes across either as a newbie grower who can't sign up patients any other way, a grower looking to use plant counts for four months and give nothing in return, or a CG looking for patients to grow for so he can grow more than needed and illegally sell the rest to people he isn't registered to.  Giving away free meds today means something.  The promise of free meds in four months comes across as iffy at best.

 

Before the courts told us that CG to CG transfers were illegal, some new CGs would find a successful CG as a mentor.  This way, the new grower could get meds right away for his new patients while the other CG/mentor helps the new CG along at least to his first harvest.  This at least gave patients some idea of the strains and quality they might expect in the long term.

 

Being a CG is like any other service we all use.  If I want my car painted, my gall bladder removed, or my brakes fixed, I would be very leery of someone who said "I've never done that before, but I have done a lot of internet research and would be willing to help you for free."  I'd get immediate images of a car with paint peeling off in sheets, an infection and a terrible scar where my gall bladder used to be, and a car in the lake.  In other words, when it comes to things people rely on, they are more likely to pay a reasonable fee for a guaranteed service than accept a free service with unknown changes of success and dismal results in the event of failure.

 

In other words, if you really want to be a CG, it would be best to rethink the entire approach.  And then think about the time and expense to set up a decent grow and maintain it just to give everything away for free.  You could easily spend $5,000 for a reasonable grow set-up plus another couple of grand to get the first crop.  If you really, truly want to help other people but don't have a good entrance plan to care giving, you'd do more good overall by donating that $7,000 to those who need it more and save yourself  the time, expense, and headache of trying to grow.

 

If you still decide that growing for free is what you want to do, then I'd suggest giving people more background with regard to your intentions.  Answer the concerns I laid out so that prospective patients better understand the benefit they might receive if they sign with you.  There is a HUGE difference in perception between a CG who says "I'll grow for free" and one who says "I love growing MJ so much that I'd do it even if I don't use it and don't get paid at all."  Dispel the concerns that are inherent to a new CG offering free meds and you'll get better response.

 

And, by the way, its nice to see someone displaying some compassion.  Welcome to the forum.

[trichcycler]

Have you sourced growing equipment, kilowatt costs, legal risks for your venture?

You can certainly be a caregiver without ever using marijuana if you choose, but you'll have to find a patient willing to

complete the forms with you to register them as a patient, and you as their caregiver. If you begin now you'll have four months of

heating costs and cooling costs at the same time, probably plant losses, mold and nosy neighbors to contend with until you see your first harvest.

Don't tell anyone what you're doing

 

welcome

[achipnachair]

I am by no means new to growing. I have grown both indoors and out. I have grown some of the best around as well as some total crap. I have done soil, DWC, full hydro, and even air pots. I have what I need to grow from start to finish. I have a very good idea of what I am getting into. I was a smoker/grower many years ago long before it became "cool" lol. The path I chose in life required me to stop both growing and smoking. No regrets tho.

You do make a lot of sense with the shady look I put out there. I have this problem putting my thoughts to words. I enjoy growing. I just feel this would be a great way to give back.

In no way shape or form am I trying to string anyone along. I am not a seller/dealer and it would not benefit me in any way to use people for plant count. I don't want 5 patients, only looking for 2. that's about all I have room or time to grow for. I do see this as something I am good at and enjoy doing so why not make myself happy and at the same time help out someone else.

Edited September 18, 2014 by achipnachair

[trichcycler]

a qualifying condition may get you a recommendation for medical use, allowing you to begin growing ya know ? then, you could seek a patient or two near your first harvest so they don't have to wait long for supply. Begin a perpetual system and invite another patient in seamlessly.

[Highlander]

I am by no means new to growing. I have grown both indoors and out. I have grown some of the best around as well as some total crap. I have done soil, DWC, full hydro, and even air pots. I have what I need to grow from start to finish. I have a very good idea of what I am getting into. I was a smoker/grower many years ago long before it became "cool" lol. The path I chose in life required me to stop both growing and smoking. No regrets tho.

You do make a lot of sense with the shady look I put out there. I have this problem putting my thoughts to words. I enjoy growing. I just feel this would be a great way to give back.

In no way shape or form am I trying to string anyone along. I am not a seller/dealer and it would not benefit me in any way to use people for plant count. I don't want 5 patients, only looking for 2. that's about all I have room or time to grow for. I do see this as something I am good at and enjoy doing so why not make myself happy and at the same time help out someone else.

 

I can totally understand where you are coming from.  If Michigan suddenly passed a law that CGs had to provide free meds only, I'd probably still grow for 1-2 patients as well as myself.  At this point, I just can't not grow anymore.  It is my favorite hobby.

 

Use what you wrote above in your approach.  Tell patients that they will need to wait 3-4 months for meds, but once the meds are ready, they will get free meds as long as they are your patient.  There are probably plenty of patients out there who know a competent grower when they talk to one and would gladly shop/keep shopping at dispensaries until the meds are ready.

 

Good luck.