Morning Edition; Medical Marijuana

It's morning edition on KRPS. I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro. Medical marijuana is now legal and available in Southwest Missouri, although not every company is operating honestly or transparently. I recently spoke with Stephanie Garland of the Better Business Bureau in Springfield, Missouri, and she told me about mogreencar.com. Headquartered in Ophalen, Missouri, the company does the legwork for residents looking to get a medical marijuana card or cultivation license. The Better Business Bureau has received complaints from multiple consumers across Missouri about mogreencard.com's deceptive business practices. We have had complaints from Carl Junction, Gainesville, Kimberly and City, Mount Vernon, near Springfield and NYXA and even in Pineville. So we've had these all across the state. Consumers are telling Better Business Bureau that the company failed to file paperwork with the state on their behalf. They didn't issue refunds, they didn't communicate, and they provided poor customer service. Missouri residents have paid mogreencar.com between $200 to $300 for services, such as medical evaluations. The issue is that once you get a physical for a marijuana card, you only have 30

dies to file that paperwork with the state, and mogreencar.com was either not filing or filing the paperwork after 30 days. What's also interesting is that Missouri residents can file applications for a medical marijuana card and for a cultivation license directly with the state. The physician certification is only valid for 30 days. Some consumers actually told us that these certifications from the physician that expired before the paperwork was even finished, and then they had to pay to get another certification. Another concern that Stephanie from the Better Business Bureau was hearing from consumers is about possible identity theft in their dealings with mogreencard.com. To receive a medical marijuana card, you must provide your social security number and all of your personal information that is making consumers uneasy. What people are also telling us is that they're worried about identity theft after dealing with this business. One woman said she paid almost $200 for medical consultation and to have the business file and application for the medical

marijuana card for her. She said there was no problem with the consultation, but the paperwork was never actually filed with the state. One mogreencard.com customer who had already paid a couple of hundred dollars to file paperwork with the state had to file with themselves, which cost another $25. She also was unable to contact the business to receive a refund. Customers may be getting the runaround from mogreencard.com because there aren't many competitors, and it's a new industry in Missouri. Attempts to contact the company by the Better Business Bureau have been unsuccessful, but they are monitoring the situation. It gets an emerging industry and so Better Business Bureau is actively watching it to see who's going to be trustworthy and other businesses out there. Better Business Bureau wants for people to research the registration process while there are companies who will charge customers a convenience fee for its services. Customers actually can file the paperwork directly with the state. You don't need to hire a company to do this work for you. As Stephanie points out, you don't have to hire a company like

mogreencard.com to send up a medical exam complete and file the paperwork to get a medical marijuana card or growing license in Missouri. In fact, I posted a link of how to apply at krpsnews.com. That includes information about a medical marijuana, including an email address for questions and a phone number to call for inquiries. Mogreencard.com isn't earning a passing grade from the Better Business Bureau either. This company is operated. It is exactly like when we were in school and what's interesting as well is this person, this company and the mogreencard LLC. This has actually had 14 complaints closed in the last year and they were actually all specifically within the last three months. So this is a brand new thing that's happening right here and right now. Stephanie Garland, Regional Director of the Better Business Bureau in Springfield, Missouri. To learn more about other customers dealing with mogreencard.com or to hear the story again, visit krpsnews.com. For krps, I'm Fred Fletcher-Fierro.