Medical marijuana clinic opens in Cape Girardeau

A medical marijuana clinic has opened its doors in Cape Girardeau.

Missouri Green Doctors, based in the St. Louis area, began operating about two weeks ago in Suite 601 in the Marquette Tower, spokesman Pascal Beauboeuf said Monday.

The Cape Girardeau clinic is one of three the business has opened in the state.

“This is a brand-new baby, but we are already starting to get appointments” as people seek to be certified as eligible to buy medical marijuana, he said.

Beauboeuf said he is not aware of any other marijuana clinic in operation in Cape Girardeau at this time.

Missouri Green Doctors was established in Missouri about two months ago, he said.

Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment last year legalizing medical marijuana. Since then, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has developed regulations to govern it.

In addition to clinics in Cape Girardeau and suburban St. Louis, Missouri Green Doctors has an office in Lebanon, Missouri, Beauboeuf said.

Missouri Green Doctors has several physicians, but for now, the Cape Girardeau clinic will be open only on Thursdays. It will have a clinic staff that will include a single physician.

“Once the volume picks up, obviously the plan is to expand,” Beauboeuf said.

Missouri Green Doctors focuses solely on medical marijuana, he said.

“We are just slowly starting to expand,” he said, adding it makes sense to have a clinic in Cape Girardeau because it is “only an hour and a half away from St. Louis,” is the largest city in Southeast Missouri and a regional medical hub.

People are used to driving to Cape Girardeau for medical services, Beauboeuf said. “It is a logical move.”

The patient certification process requires physician approval. Certification is needed for Missouri residents to obtain their medical marijuana cards from the state.

Only patients with certain medical conditions are eligible for medical marijuana. They include patients suffering from cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, intractable migraines and Parkinson’s disease, among others.

Beauboeuf said he would encourage people to go through the certification process now rather than wait until Jan. 1, when Missourians will be able to buy medical marijuana for the first time.

“Once Jan. 1 happens ... everybody will be trying to get the medical marijuana cards,” he said.

Missouri Green Doctors charges $149 for patient certifications, he said.

Citing a federal prohibition against marijuana, Saint Francis Healthcare System recently announced it will not allow its affiliated physicians to prescribe medical cannabis.

SoutheastHEALTH is considering whether to implement a similar ban.

But Beauboeuf predicted “most of these hospitals will eventually get on the bandwagon and get on board with medical marijuana.”

The medical community is just getting accustomed to ”this whole idea of using marijuana as a medicine,” he said.

Do you like stories about government and courts? Keep up with the latest news by signing up for our daily morning headline email. Go to www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.