The Process Behind Obtaining a Medical Marijuana Certification

Dr. Kevin McKee advocates the use of medical marijuana in place of opioids for the treatment of some medical ailments. To further this objective, Dr. Kevin McKee recently opened Ohiomed, a medical marijuana certification company that legally helps patients who need its use for medical reasons.

Obtaining a medical marijuana certification is a requirement to prevent the arrest from Federal security authorities who still see marijuana as a psychotic drug while enabling the purchase of marijuana from dispensaries within the certification area. It is available in the 33 states that allow the use of legal marijuana. To get certified, the patient must have a medical condition that warrants the use of medical marijuana. The approved medical conditions differ among the 33 states but are mostly ailments that require the use of opioids and terminal health conditions.

The certification process starts with a physical and medical records assessment from a doctor, certified for this purpose by the State health authorities. . After determining the patient has a qualifying condition, the health provider then sends the signed recommendation on behalf of the patient to the State health authorities. After vetting it, the board approves or denies the application and communicates its decision to the patient. The patient then registers with the health authorities to get the medical marijuana certificate, which is usually in card form.

Helping Astronauts Combat Orthostatic Intolerance

Dr. Kevin McKee, consultant and practicing physician, has extensive experience in aerospace medicine. Several years ago, Dr. Kevin McKee wrote two papers on the effects of prolonged space travel on astronauts, one of which is orthostatic intolerance.

Orthostatic intolerance is a condition that results from the effects of weightlessness on the body. When astronauts enter space and weightlessness takes over, the blood travels through the legs and toward the head within the first few hours of flight. After landing back on Earth, however, the movement of blood back to all parts of the body is not effective. As a result, astronauts might feel dizzy or light-headed, have blurred vision, and are fatigued.

Over the years, several studies have been completed to determine the exact causes of this condition and to find a remedy for it. A few years ago, however, NASA contracted with Essity to design a suit that would counteract the effects of orthostatic intolerance in astronauts. Essity's JOBST compression orthostatic compression garment (OIG), worn on future deep-space missions, is expected to remedy this condition.

The suit is a three-piece garment, which protects against orthostatic intolerance the following two weeks after space travel. The two conditions that the suit is designed to protect against are hypotension (low blood pressure) and presyncope (light-headedness, faintness, and blurred vision).