As strongly as I feel that smoking pot shouldn't be a big secret, I've learned that the world works much differently, and that playing along with the game now and then can be in my best interest much of the time. I told my new Primary Care Doctor that I smoke pot "now and then" (thats what they all say, right?). He didnt seem to phased by it, didnt tell me to stop or ask me for anymore information on it. 8 months later, my shoulder was still hurting pretty badly from a recent dislocation, which had been reset in the ER but still hurt. I told him and he said he didn't feel comfortable giving me pain medicine because of my "history" (actual word choice). He recommended an orthopedic doctor for me to see about it instead (with whom I was unable to get an appointment for 2 weeks, during which I would have been in pain. Thanks, doc.). Fast forward again, and i'm suffering from pretty bad insomnia (non-drug related). He refuses to even prescribe me AMBIEN. You won't even give me Ambien just because I smoke pot? Looking for a new doctor now. The moral: You have more to lose than to gain by telling them you smoke pot.
But, on the flipside of that, I was open and frank with my childhood neurosurgeon about my smoking. I had asked him about the possibility of mmj when I was 18, and he said "Well I can't prescribe that, but in my opinion, if you find something to be giving you pain relief and its not causing any major problems, then go with whats helping your quality of life." He was a liberal guy, and a jazz pianist, so he's a safe bet in general, but, I also had known him since I was a young child, and he had performed 4 spinal cord surgeries on me. So that was a very trusting, well-established doctor/patient relationship, which is also a factor of course. It really comes down to trust, and knowing who your doc is and what he (or she) is like.
As strongly as I feel that smoking pot shouldn't be a big secret, I've learned that the world works much differently, and that playing along with the game now and then can be in my best interest much of the time. I told my new Primary Care Doctor that I smoke pot "now and then" (thats what they all say, right?). He didnt seem to phased by it, didnt tell me to stop or ask me for anymore information on it. 8 months later, my shoulder was still hurting pretty badly from a recent dislocation, which had been reset in the ER but still hurt. I told him and he said he didn't feel comfortable giving me pain medicine because of my "history" (actual word choice). He recommended an orthopedic doctor for me to see about it instead (with whom I was unable to get an appointment for 2 weeks, during which I would have been in pain. Thanks, doc.). Fast forward again, and i'm suffering from pretty bad insomnia (non-drug related). He refuses to even prescribe me AMBIEN. You won't even give me Ambien just because I smoke pot? Looking for a new doctor now. The moral: You have more to lose than to gain by telling them you smoke pot.