8 ms·

Meadow (YC W15) ‘Ubered’ Over a Doctor to Give Me a Medical Marijuana Evaluation

51 points by rickharrison 12y ago

eigenrick 12y ago
Legalizing weed in CA will destroy an entire industry.
- eonw 12y ago
  and just create another.
- kcole16 12y ago
  It'll be interesting to see if medical marijuana lobbyists are the ones that keep legalization from passing
- ryanmcbride 12y ago
  Dispensaries, Growers, Distributers will all still exist. Doctors will be out of the mix but they have the fall back of... you know... being doctors.
- _cudgel 12y ago
  Buggy Whips.
PeterWhittaker 12y ago
Perhaps it's just because I live far from the valley and have never used Uber, but I had to scan the article repeatedly to figure out what the headline meant. (No, I didn't read it, I simply scanned, I stopped reading after the first sentence. If you cannot bother to tell me in the first sentence why I should continue, I don't. And telling me you visited a website doesn't tell me why you did so. Whatever.) What does it mean, you ask? That the company described has struck a deal with local physicians to perform on-demand evaluations for medical marijuana prescriptions. A better headline, less link-baity, would be "Meadow (YC W15) hires doctors for {just in time|on demand|favourite term here} medical marijuana evaluation. But that wouldn't be as sexy as uberizing, now, would it?
- prawn 12y ago
  I almost gave up after your own first sentence. Your post could've been simply this: A better headline, less link-baity, would be "Meadow (YC W15) hires doctors for {just in time|on demand|favourite term here} medical marijuana evaluation."
bunkydoo 12y ago
Well, here's the thing. I'm not actually sure doctors will be out of the mix with legalization on the horizon. Because to expand the cannabis market and poach alcohol sales - you could have doctors vouch for cannabis & cannabis-infused products as remedies for common ailments (when is the last time a doctor did this for a brand of vodka?)Think Mary-Kay - but for doctors who endorse weed. This market is going to be a lot bigger than I think anybody realizes.
- Crito 12y ago
  Actual legalization would kill this industry. In Washington and Colorado (states which have actually legalized, not merely implemented a medical system or decriminalized) there is no need to see a doctor first. You just walk into the store, show a photo id to establish your age, and hand over cash. Also: "During Prohibition, Your Doctor Could Write You a Prescription for Booze" http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-prohibition-your-doctor-could-write-you-prescription-booze-180947940 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-prohibition-you...
  - rosser 12y ago
    It's my understanding that under the WA system, some things still require a doctor's recommendation. EDIT: A recommendation increases the amount of marijuana or marijuana-based product one can legally possess (strictly speaking, it offers an affirmative defense for people possessing more than the amount authorized by I-502). Source: http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Marijuana/MedicalMarijuanaCannabis/GeneralFrequentlyAskedQuestions http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Marijuana/MedicalMari...
    - Crito 12y ago
      These sort of "house call" or "doctor-on-location" weed businesses rely on people trying to get high that day. I find it incredibly hard to believe that they could be sustained by people who want to remain legal while owning more than an ounce of weed (a rather large amount of weed for all but the heaviest users...). If it is merely a matter of keeping more than an ounce legally, the urgency is all but gone, and with it the advantage of the house-call system. Also I sure as hell wouldn't start a business based on the current state of medical marijuana in Washington state; the system will likely be gutted and reworked relatively soon. Furthermore states that legalize in the future will likely follow Colorado's example more than Washington's.
click170 12y ago
This is maybe a little bit off topic, but I am glad to see that Doctors on Demand would be doing general medical house calls in the US. This seems like a good idea, I hope it spreads. I don't live in the US myself, but I've always wondered why doctors doing house calls was a UK thing but wasn't a North American thing, even in Canada. Are there real obstacles preventing doctors from making house calls in the US, or is it just tradition to "go see your doctor" instead of them coming to see you?
- 001sky 12y ago
  Lets say a doctor charges $1,000/hour and each trip takes 20 minutes, plus 10 mintues to egress a building and parking garage/pick up a taxi. The overhead for a single visit is...$1,000 give or take... You can adjust the numbers around a bit but the point remains the same unless you radically change the transit time and the wage by a factor of 10.
  - ceejayoz 12y ago
    No GP is making $1k/hour.
    - Crito 12y ago
      Swap in any number that you think is reasonable. The reasoning and conclusion is the same.
      - ceejayoz 12y ago
        You said it'd have to change by a factor of 10, but your estimation of a GP's salary is off by at least a factor of 10 - $100/hour would be a much more reasonable estimate. A bit high, even. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291062.htm http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291062.htm
        TTPrograms 12y ago
        It still halves the efficiency of a critical, expensive workforce that is already in high demand. The number doesn't matter - it's still suggesting that it's feasible for doctors to be half as productive as their potential. That seems absurd to me.
briandear 12y ago
I find it interesting that YC and other significant investors/players in the startup space to be investing in a product that still remains illegal in the United States. It's still a schedule I drug. I think the floodgates have opened towards full legalization, but for VC/Investors/Accelerators to invest in a company who's product is illegal -- that's bold. Good for them!
no_future 12y ago
All these "Uber for" services, excluding Uber, just seem like things for people with too much money on their hands that are unsustainable and will fizzle out in a couple of years.

51 points by rickharrison 12y ago

eigenrick 12y ago

Legalizing weed in CA will destroy an entire industry.

eonw 12y ago
and just create another.
kcole16 12y ago
It'll be interesting to see if medical marijuana lobbyists are the ones that keep legalization from passing
ryanmcbride 12y ago
Dispensaries, Growers, Distributers will all still exist. Doctors will be out of the mix but they have the fall back of... you know... being doctors.
_cudgel 12y ago
Buggy Whips.

PeterWhittaker 12y ago

Perhaps it's just because I live far from the valley and have never used Uber, but I had to scan the article repeatedly to figure out what the headline meant. (No, I didn't read it, I simply scanned, I stopped reading after the first sentence. If you cannot bother to tell me in the first sentence why I should continue, I don't. And telling me you visited a website doesn't tell me why you did so. Whatever.) What does it mean, you ask? That the company described has struck a deal with local physicians to perform on-demand evaluations for medical marijuana prescriptions. A better headline, less link-baity, would be "Meadow (YC W15) hires doctors for {just in time|on demand|favourite term here} medical marijuana evaluation. But that wouldn't be as sexy as uberizing, now, would it?

prawn 12y ago
I almost gave up after your own first sentence. Your post could've been simply this: A better headline, less link-baity, would be "Meadow (YC W15) hires doctors for {just in time|on demand|favourite term here} medical marijuana evaluation."

bunkydoo 12y ago

Well, here's the thing. I'm not actually sure doctors will be out of the mix with legalization on the horizon. Because to expand the cannabis market and poach alcohol sales - you could have doctors vouch for cannabis & cannabis-infused products as remedies for common ailments (when is the last time a doctor did this for a brand of vodka?)Think Mary-Kay - but for doctors who endorse weed. This market is going to be a lot bigger than I think anybody realizes.

Crito 12y ago
Actual legalization would kill this industry. In Washington and Colorado (states which have actually legalized, not merely implemented a medical system or decriminalized) there is no need to see a doctor first. You just walk into the store, show a photo id to establish your age, and hand over cash. Also: "During Prohibition, Your Doctor Could Write You a Prescription for Booze" http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-prohibition-your-doctor-could-write-you-prescription-booze-180947940 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-prohibition-you...
- rosser 12y ago
  It's my understanding that under the WA system, some things still require a doctor's recommendation. EDIT: A recommendation increases the amount of marijuana or marijuana-based product one can legally possess (strictly speaking, it offers an affirmative defense for people possessing more than the amount authorized by I-502). Source: http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Marijuana/MedicalMarijuanaCannabis/GeneralFrequentlyAskedQuestions http://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Marijuana/MedicalMari...
  - Crito 12y ago
    These sort of "house call" or "doctor-on-location" weed businesses rely on people trying to get high that day. I find it incredibly hard to believe that they could be sustained by people who want to remain legal while owning more than an ounce of weed (a rather large amount of weed for all but the heaviest users...). If it is merely a matter of keeping more than an ounce legally, the urgency is all but gone, and with it the advantage of the house-call system. Also I sure as hell wouldn't start a business based on the current state of medical marijuana in Washington state; the system will likely be gutted and reworked relatively soon. Furthermore states that legalize in the future will likely follow Colorado's example more than Washington's.

click170 12y ago

This is maybe a little bit off topic, but I am glad to see that Doctors on Demand would be doing general medical house calls in the US. This seems like a good idea, I hope it spreads. I don't live in the US myself, but I've always wondered why doctors doing house calls was a UK thing but wasn't a North American thing, even in Canada. Are there real obstacles preventing doctors from making house calls in the US, or is it just tradition to "go see your doctor" instead of them coming to see you?

001sky 12y ago
Lets say a doctor charges $1,000/hour and each trip takes 20 minutes, plus 10 mintues to egress a building and parking garage/pick up a taxi. The overhead for a single visit is...$1,000 give or take... You can adjust the numbers around a bit but the point remains the same unless you radically change the transit time and the wage by a factor of 10.
- ceejayoz 12y ago
  No GP is making $1k/hour.
  - Crito 12y ago
    Swap in any number that you think is reasonable. The reasoning and conclusion is the same.
    - ceejayoz 12y ago
      You said it'd have to change by a factor of 10, but your estimation of a GP's salary is off by at least a factor of 10 - $100/hour would be a much more reasonable estimate. A bit high, even. http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291062.htm http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes291062.htm
      - TTPrograms 12y ago
        It still halves the efficiency of a critical, expensive workforce that is already in high demand. The number doesn't matter - it's still suggesting that it's feasible for doctors to be half as productive as their potential. That seems absurd to me.

briandear 12y ago

I find it interesting that YC and other significant investors/players in the startup space to be investing in a product that still remains illegal in the United States. It's still a schedule I drug. I think the floodgates have opened towards full legalization, but for VC/Investors/Accelerators to invest in a company who's product is illegal -- that's bold. Good for them!

no_future 12y ago

All these "Uber for" services, excluding Uber, just seem like things for people with too much money on their hands that are unsustainable and will fizzle out in a couple of years.