Medical Cannabis
Cannabis as a medicine…
Few, if any, medicines treat more conditions as safely as cannabis (marijuana). The State of Hawaii authorizes medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients with medical certification. Our experienced patient friendly medical cannabis evaluation & registration services assure you get your Hawaii state authorization (“registration card”) to use your medicine (cannabis) as quickly and painlessly as possible.
What are the risks of using cannabis?
Cannabis is a very safe medicine when grown in good soil without use of pesticides. Study after study (even those funded by the Federal Government) have demonstrated it to have a virtually infinite LD50, which means that it’s virtually impossible to die from an overdose of cannabis. As such, it is safer to use than over-the counter drugs like aspirin & acetaminophen (tylenol) and prescription medications like phenergan, valium and oxycodone. That being said, it is a powerful medicine and needs to be respected as such.
Honestly, the greatest risk of cannabis use comes from the law enforcement community, both federal and local, whose members continue to perpetuate an inhumane drug war even after state law authorizes its medical use. Here is a clear example of how laws and their enforcement can do more harm than the perceived offense. Fortunately, law enforcement agencies at every level are increasingly respecting the rights of qualified medical cannabis users who comply with state law.
Another safety issue worthy of mention deals with the capacity of the cannabis plant, like the tobacco plant, to take up toxic substances from the soil in which it grows. For example, cannabis was planted around the Chernobyl nuclear reactor after its meltdown in 1986 because of this trait. Over the years much scientific evidence has been published linking tobacco to a host of disease processes, but few if any of these studies compare/contrast the use of organically grown tobacco to the use of tobacco grown with pesticides. Since tobacco absorbs such toxic substances, it follows that the pesticide laden tobacco from which the majority of all smoked cigarettes is made would lead to far more health problems than organically grown tobacco. Since cannabis also absorbs such substances, its use may some day be found to lead to health problems when grown with such substances, something likely to happen as its mounting acceptance leads to large scale cultivation. Take home point: Make sure your medical cannabis is grown in good unpolluted soil without use of pesticides.
How it works
Getting registered requires completion of:
1) your online application, 2) an appointment with Dr. Baiko, 3) certifying your application.
Your Application
1. Set up an ehawaii user account (unless you already have one.)
(Go to https://login.ehawaii.gov and create a “free” secure eHawaii user account. Here you will be required to assign an email and a password combination, which will be used when logging into the medical marijuana application. If you do not already have your own email account, create one. Email servers such as yahoo.com, gmail.com & mail.com are all FREE.)
2. Complete the online application
(Go to https://medmj.ehawaii.gov and login using email/password combination assigned for your ehawaii user account. The physician name you will need to enter is “Kevin Baiko” (Hawaii medical license #15123). Be sure you enter your name EXACTLY as it appears on the ID image you will be uploading. The Department of Health accepts state identification cards and driver licenses from any U.S. state and passports from any country, provided that they are valid and readable. Birth certificates my be used for applicants who are minors. Complete your portion of the online application with your payment of the $38.50 state filing fee for one year registration* to Hawaii Department of Health using a debit or credit card. If you do not have a debit or credit card or prefer not to use one, gift cards, such as those available at Walmart, Foodland, Safeway, etc can be used instead. Application can be saved online unfinished and completed at a later date. NOTE FOR RENEWING APPLICANTS: The eHawaii system does not allow applications to commence for patients whose registrations expire more than 60 days out. *Two year registration is available for certain renewing patients, but additional state & office fees apply. For more details see our Two Year Registration Policy or contact us directly.)
Your Appointment
1) You call us at 808-854-6335 to schedule appointment.
(Application for your medical cannabis registration is now entirely online, but you will still need to be evaluated by Dr. Baiko before he’ll certify your application for submission to the state. While this application can be completed before or after your appointment with Dr. Baiko, we recommend that patients do so prior so Dr. Baiko can check application over for obvious errors during the appointment. If you consider yourself unable to complete the online application, whether due to lack of computer, computing experience or otherwise, please let us know when you schedule your appointment, so we can plan more time to assist you during appointment. You can call or email us: [email protected]with any questions. Please note: We do not set initial appointments by email.)
2) You (or your other health providers) fax or email your relevant medical records to Dr. Baiko.
(New patients fax/email relevant medical records concerning qualifying medical condition(s) prior to appointment. Returning patients fax/email any records relating to qualifying medical condition(s) that Dr. Baiko hasn’t reviewed since previous appointment. Fax # is (808) 443 – 0369. Email (for medical records) is [email protected].
3) Dr. Baiko obtains medical history and performs physical to determine whether you qualify for medical cannabis.
(All patients, especially those under the age of 30, are strongly advised to provide past medical records documenting their history of a qualifying medical condition.
Without exception, no new patient younger than 21 will be certified by Dr. Baiko to use medical cannabis unless medical records substantiating the patient’s qualifying condition(s) are provided. We prefer all relevant records be either faxed to (808) 443 – 0369 or emailed to [email protected] prior to your appointment. If records can not be obtained, a recommendation letter from the patient’s primary care provider will be accepted. Qualifying conditions include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, PTSD and debilitating conditions associated with severe pain, nausea, wasting, seizures and/or spasms.)
4) If you qualify, Dr. Baiko discusses best ways to utilize your medicine, reviews state medical cannabis law and provides you with a letter certifying you as qualified to participate in the state medical cannabis program.
(This letter is not to be confused with the actual state issued registration card. Nor does it offer the same level of protection, but it may help patients in court and with their landlords, employers, etc.)
After Your Appointment
1) If you qualify and after you have completed your part of the online application process, Dr. Baiko will certify your application and submit online it to the Department of Health.
(If Dr. Baiko notices any errors in your application – like name not matching ID or patient not selecting a grow site, he will attempt to contact you and may return the application to you to correct. Once returned, application can be edited by logging into the eHawaii system again.)
2) The Department of Health posts your registration online to your eHawaii account.
(You are not protected by this program until you are registered with the Department of Health to use medical cannabis. The card is proof of this registration. The DOH posts a downloadable copy of your registration card to your private eHawaii account. Both printed out paper copies and electronic copies (downloaded to a portable electronic device) are accepted by Hawaii Dispensaries and law enforcement as proof of active registration).
3) We consider ourselves an ongoing resource to your medical need.
We are ready to answer any questions you might have on the way, assist in state form completion for changes in address and caregivers. After initial appointment, Dr. Baiko is available for fee-for-service consultation by the patients he registers in regards to their use of medical cannabis to treat their qualifying conditions. PLEASE NOTE: Patients must now update DOH with all changes in application information, such as address and caregiver, directly through the DOH website: http://health.hawaii.gov/medicalcannabisregistry/patients/changes-to-information/)
4) Your card only protects you during the active period of registration.
(Recertification evaluation is required for registration renewal. We recommend scheduling your recertification evaluation 60 days prior to registration card expiration. Please note that the eHawaii system does not allow application renewal more than 60 days prior to current registration expiration date.)
Common Questions
Office Hours:
By Appointment Only
Phone Contact Hours:
Monday-Thursday
9am-5pm
Closed Friday-Sunday
Call to Schedule an Appointment
(808) 854-6335
Medical Cannabis Registration
To use cannabis as a medicine, patients need to be registered with the State of Hawaii Department of Health. Whether if this is your first time getting registered or if you've been registered in the past, all patients need to complete an application. NOTE: The eHawaii system does not allow application renewal more than 60 days prior to current registration expiration date.
Application Instructions
Application for medical cannabis registration requires an eHawaii account, which is free to set up. One year application costs $38.50, paid to Department of Health with credit/debit/gift card at end of application. Two year application is available for certain renewing patients, but restrictions apply. Navigating the application is straight forward using our detailed instructions.
Changes in Registration
, There are now two ways to make changes to current registration cards, including Name/Address Changes, Caregiver Changes, Lost/Replacement Cards, etc. Both approaches require submission of documents and fees ($16.50.)
1. To submit changes online LOGIN to your eHawaii account.
2. To submit changes by mail, you need to print out change forms and submit with required fees and documents. For links and more instructions about changes by mail, CLICK HERE.