Unprotected Against The Dept of Consumer Protection

In the state of CT the Medical Cannabis Program is run by their Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). They are there to protect the consumer.  This Department was implemented to ensure a fair marketplace and safe products and services for consumers. This same Department processes patient registration applications. It takes the DCP 30 plus days to get the patient their temporary card (which come via email). But that time isn’t being extended to the patient. Here… Let me explain.

For a CT patient, the process starts at the doctor’s office. The doctors are the ones that enter the patients into the system initially. There is a follow up process for the patient to complete, but the clock has already started when the Dr. entered their data into the system. The patient completes the application online and then there is the 30 plus day processing time for the DCP to produce the temporary cardvia email.  All while the clock is already ticking. The card is valid for one year, but the patient only ends up with 11 months of access to their dispensary at best.  That’s if you can complete the registration the same day you see the physician. They are taking both your time and your money. Here’s the breakdown:

The state of CT has 20,309 patients that are charged $100 for 12 months of access to a dispensary. This breaks down to about $8.33 per month for dispensary access. This equals $169,173.97 taken from patients per year by taking a month away from each patient. Some patients claim that the response from the DCP when they complained was “Call your representatives.” Huh? What?

What is the justification in taking 30 days from a patient? The 30 plus days to process an application shouldn’t be at the expense of the patient, plain and simple. The DCP is charging people for a year and only allowing them 11 months. How is this Consumer Protection? Why not just extend the time line for the patient? 860-713-6066 is the number for the DCP. There is an automated operator, make no selections and this should default to a live body to log your complaint. Let them know you want your time or your money back.