This course is designed for Arizona Dispensary Agents to study for their certification quiz. Agents, please find the quiz at http://saludyourhealth.wordpress.com

1. Medical Marijuana Agent
Training Course

3. Objectives
• By the end of this course the agent should be familiar with:
-The risks, benefits and side effects of medical marijuana
-Recognising the signs and symptoms of substance abuse
-What support can be provided to clientele for self
assessment of symptoms
-Other options for clients who do not like using medical
marijuana.
• The course has four parts: There is a short quiz for each
part.
• The whole course should be about four hours. It is intended
to be informative and entertaining. So, let's get started!

4. Part One: Marijuana Overview
• Start with the following video Medical
Cannabis and its Impact on Health, full
documentary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnXOtms13Q
• After you have seen the video, please take the quiz.
This quiz can be found at
http://makeaquiz.net/j7xdJz

6. Part Two: Risks, side effects and
benefits
• A: Effect of Marijuana on Thought and Memory/marijuana ( howcast
original) video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPNTGPb2Mxg
• B: Physical Effects /marijuana ( howcast original) video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsQdDoYhw34
• C: Other effects according to the American Cancer Society are slow
reaction time, lower blood pressure, fast heart rate, dizziness, heart
palpitations and tremor. Serious heart problems are rare.
• D: Marijuana is an herb. It should be considered in that manner. In doing
so we can find that herbs in general have many different positive effects
on the body. Generally, in herbal medicine when there is an overdose, the
person vomits or has diarrhea. With marijuana, the person falls asleep.

7. Part Two continued
•
E: With edibles becoming more popular people are at greater risk of experiencing
uncomfortable effects from marijuana, especially when these products look and
taste so good. If someone ingests too much they may feel like they are in serious
trouble! Hospitals are seeing more marijuana overdoses. Usually they are given a
sedative to help them sleep it off.
I have noticed slight tremors in chronic marijuana use where the hands shake
before grasping an object or upon starting to move. Why? It may be due to lack of
hydration. Here in the desert it is always a challenge to stay hydrated. Marijuana
has a drying effect on the body.
We need more information on this.
On the subject of paranoia as a side effect of marijuana;
I heard Willie Nelson say something to the effect that we weren't paranoid.
Marijuana was illegal. They really had people after us! We weren't supposed to be
smoking/eating pot! Maybe that contributed to the paranoia.

8. Part Two continued
• F: Helping the client assess their symptoms
The state of Arizona requires that dispensary agents have a way for
clientele to assess their pain. This helps them in many ways:
o they can get a better idea of triggers for pain
o they can tell what helps the pain
o by getting a different perspective on their pain
o Helping the doctor recognize pain syndromes
The following forms are available at the dispensary and can be
printed and given to patients:
Pain Rating Scale
Hour by hour check list (Daily Pain Diary)
This quiz can be found at http://makeaquiz.net/AkTrQm

12. Part Three: Recognizing signs and symptoms of
substance abuse
•
o
o
o
o
o
o
Being a dispensary agent today is somewhat similar to being a pharmacist, since marijuana is a medicine in the State of
Arizona. You have the front line to the public. The following is a guideline for making your decisions about whether or not
to serve the patient. Watch for signs such as
Glassy eyes
Blood shot eyes
Being tired or drowsy
Uncoordinated gait
Dilated pupils
Anything out of the ordinary
Your role, among other things, is to protect both the public and the dispensary. Ultimately, you must use your own judgment. It's
good to be informed.
Notify the physician when
o
A patient shows signs of impairment
o
There is inappropriate behavior
o
There has been a report of an adverse reaction to marijuana
o
There is a medical problem
o
There are questions being asked you cannot answer
•
•
•
A: Since many qualifying patients are very familiar with the problem of substance abuse, the next video Utterly Addicted to
Oxycontin- documentary, is a must see. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEL3gAyKk_E
Obviously this problem is not only in Tucson AZ!
B: Methamphetamine is a drug of choice for many people. Faces of Meth Before and After Mug Shots video is very self
explanatory and very revealing. Have you seen them around? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT9sUA82KHc
This quiz can be found at http://makeaquiz.net/pR48Lg

13. Part Four: Other options for the
patient if marijuana is not tolerated
•
In the dispensary there is my original "old school remedy" which can stand alone or be used in
conjunction with marijuana.
There is also wood betony at the dispensary.
Please refer to the product page of this website. http://saludtoyourhealth.wordpress.com/
•
Outside of the dispensary there are many modalities to improve heath and reduce pain. To name a
few:
Massage
Acupuncture
Meditation
Nutrition
Hydrotherapy
Trigger point release
Please refer back to my website for more treatment options.
•
Patients may also ask their physician for non opiate, topical medicines for their pain. Custom
blended from a compounding pharmacy, these products are often well tolerated and very effective.
To take this quiz http://makeaquiz.net/K8udG4

14. The End