DEFINITION
About Medical Cannabis
Medical cannabis means using the cannabis plant and its active compounds, cannabinoids like THC, CBD, and CBG, among others, to treat real health conditions. It's not the same as recreational use. We treat it like any other evidence-based therapy. Dosing, product selection, and patients’ health specifics matter.
Cannabis and hemp come from closely related plants; what separates them is mostly THC content. A lot of patients do well on non-impairing cannabinoids alone, CBD and CBG, which are legal as hemp products and don't require a formal recommendation. If your prescription includes THC, you may need a medical cannabis recommendation depending on your state.
The plant contains more than cannabinoids. Terpenes, the aromatic compounds that give cannabis its scent, play a real role in how it works on the body. Getting the combination right, what's known as the entourage effect, is often the difference between a plan that works and one that doesn't.
INDICATIONS
What conditions does it help with?
ADVANTAGE
What makes GWCIM special?
The cannabis market is a mess right now. Walk into a dispensary, or start searching online, and you'll hit a wall of misinformation fast. Without someone guiding you, it's easy to end up with a product that doesn't fit, or an experience bad enough to swear off cannabis for good.
At GWCIM, we offer two paths into cannabis care. You can see Dr. Abraham Benavides, MD, for a formal consultation, or work with Joelle Rabion, MS/MCST, HHC, AADP, for coaching. Which one fits depends on how complex your situation is and whether you'd rather meet in person.
Both providers bring real depth of training to this work, and neither treats cannabis as a standalone fix. It gets folded into everything else we do here: functional medicine, naturopathic medicine, integrative mental health, acupuncture, whatever your broader plan calls for.
Our providers bring world-class expertise and a holistic perspective to cannabis care. Medical cannabis is integrated with GWCIM's full range of complementary therapies — including functional medicine, naturopathic medicine, integrative mental health, acupuncture, and more — so cannabis is never treated in isolation, but as part of your broader healing plan.
APPROACH
Our Services at Glance
There are two ways to work with us on cannabis: consultations with Dr. Benavides or coaching with Joelle Rabion. Either way, it starts with a conversation about your history, your goals, and how comfortable you already are with cannabis.
Dr. Benavides, a graduate of GWU Medical School and now the international expert on medical cannabis, sees patients virtually. His consultations work best for complex or chronic cases, the kind that need a highly customized cannabinoid and terpene formulation built from his background in Family Medicine and cannabis research. He also handles medical cannabis card recertification for DC, VA, and MD.
Joelle meets patients in person or virtually, and her coaching is a good fit if you're new to cannabis or just want practical guidance you can act on. She'll walk you through how cannabis actually works in the body, how to sort good products from bad in a crowded marketplace, and how to land on the right CBD to THC ratio. Between the two of them, whether you've never tried cannabis or you've been using it for years, there's a path that fits.
Safety First
Your safety comes first. We look at your full health history, your current medications, and your individual risk factors before any recommendation gets made.
Customized to You
No two patients look alike to us. Your plan gets built around your conditions, your history, and what you actually want out of it, not a generic protocol pulled off a shelf.
Non-Impairing Options Available
You don't need to feel high to get real benefit. CBD and CBG, legal hemp-based cannabinoids, can offer meaningful relief without impairment, and we can build a plan around that if it fits your life better.
Proven Sources and Products
So many products are flooding this market that knowing what to trust has become its own problem. We only point patients toward reputable, vetted options backed by real research, and we'll help you tune out the noise.
Care Options
Cannabis Consultation with Dr. Benavides (Virtual Only)
Comprehensive medical consultation for complex, chronic, or advanced cannabis care needs. Includes custom cannabinoid/terpene formulations and a written action plan. Ideal for patients with multi-layered conditions or those seeking clinical-level guidance.
Cannabis Coaching with Joelle Rabion (In-Person and Virtual)
Holistic health coaching focused on practical cannabis guidance, product selection, dosing, and education. Especially suited for older adults and those new to cannabis.
Medical Cannabis Recommendations
Medical Cannabis Recommendations: Available for DC, VA, and MD residents. Plan ahead for annual renewals. An additional fee applies for Dr. Kogan's cannabis recommendation services ($100).
Medical Cannabis Consultations with Dr. Mikhail Kogan
EXPERTISE
Recommended Providers
LEARN MORE
What to expect as a patient
You can ask any cannabis questions, and learn about:
- Frequently asked questions about cannabis, CBD, hemp, and terpenes
- Find a local dispensary and a reputable online hemp brand
- Explore local retail menus with you
- Recommend product selection, route, dosing, titration, frequency, and more
- Learn about the effects of different cannabinoids, terpenes, ratios, and consumption experiences
- Optimize your cannabis regimen for healthy, safe consumption
FAQ
Common Questions
Cannabinoids like THC, CBD, CBG, CBDA, CBGA, and CBN have shown real efficacy across most of the conditions we treat here. Ask us, we're happy to talk through your specific case.
Consultations with Dr. Benavides are virtual medical appointments, built for complex or advanced cannabis needs, including cannabinoid regimen management and medical cannabis card recertification. Coaching with Joelle Rabion happens in person or virtually and centers on practical guidance, product education, and action planning. Which one you choose usually comes down to how complex your needs are and whether you want to meet face-to-face.
Not necessarily. If non-impairing cannabinoids like CBD or CBG are enough for you, legal hemp products are available online with no recommendation required. THC-inclusive plans usually call for a medical cannabis recommendation, and some states require it. We can help with the recommendation or recertification process either way.
No. Impairment isn't a requirement for benefit. CBD and CBG alone can do real work, and we can design your plan around staying clear-headed if that matters to you.
Your action plan lays out the cannabinoids, ratios, and terpenes we recommend, along with custom formulations, suggested dosing, a titration schedule, how often to use it, the best route of administration, specific product picks, and discount codes for the affiliate products we trust. There are as many follow-up visits as needed to adjust your prescription and achieve your health goals.
More than okay. We see patients across the entire spectrum, from people who've never touched cannabis to longtime users looking to fine-tune. Dr. Benavides has educated over a million patients worldwide, including other healthcare professionals, and Joelle has spent years working with older adults who are brand new to this.
Cannabis is often just one piece of a larger integrative plan. Depending on what else you're working on, that might include functional medicine, naturopathic medicine, integrative mental health, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, or Reiki alongside it. At the same time, many patients come to GWCIM to work exclusively with our Medical Cannabis providers.
EDUCATION