Bay Area pot company sends doctor to your house

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Thursday, July 23, 2015
Bay Area pot company sends doctor to your house
A Bay Area medical marijuana company is hoping to turn the industry on its head, by sending the doctor and right to your doorstep.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A Bay Area medical marijuana company is hoping to turn the industry on its head, by sending the doctor and the pot right to your doorstep.



"Meadow is medical marijuana on demand," said David Hua. His website, GetMeadow.com, is a one-stop shop for legal cannabis.



In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215, making the Golden State the first to allow medical use of marijuana. Since then, 22 more states, the District of Columbia and Guam have passed similar laws.



In August of 2013, the federal government relaxed drug enforcement in states where marijuana is regulated. The move opened the door for businesses like Meadow to operate legally.



Meadow's newest program is called Meadow MD. They send a medical doctor to your door to talk about cannabis.



"Typically I'll come in, introduce myself to the patient, we'll sit down and I'll talk to them quite a bit about what they are looking for relief from," said Dr. Dan Price.



Dr. Dan price is one of those Meadow MD's. He is also an emergency room doctor in Oakland.



Price said, "The central question when in go in is 'Is this patient safe to use medical cannabis?'"



He commutes around the Bay Area seeing a range of patients with different needs. People like Matt Gray.



"Personally, I deal with a lot of stress, sometimes a lot of anxiety after a long day of work, and have trouble getting to sleep, so a bit of insomnia," said Gray.



"I take their blood pressure and heart rate, we evaluate their oxygen saturation and then I do a basic non-invasive physical exam," said Price.



Matt will get his medical recommendation by email. The evaluation costs $100 or $50 for a renewal. Once Gray has his prescription, GetMeadow.com will deliver him pot form its online catalog.



Gray said, "The whole thing was very friendly; it was awesome to talk to someone about the issues I was going through, and to get a real medical evaluation."



It is rapidly growing business and Silicon Valley is paying attention. Y Combinator is a highly competitive seed fund in the valley. It invested in Meadow.



Justin Kan is with Y Combinator. He told ABC7 News, "I think that investors see a market that was previously completely underground, going legitimate. There's more investment interest in businesses that are ahead of the curve that might be in a market that's going to grow pretty quickly."



Hua added, "Everyone is seeing where this trend is going, everyone sees that it is not a question of if, it's a question of when."



Meadow is betting it will be soon, and preparing to smoke the competition.



When it comes to pot, the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency, the DEA, says it is now up to state and local law enforcement agencies to enforce their own narcotics laws.



Written and produced by Ken Miguel


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