[shaftway]

In California (pre-recreational use) I got the impression that it was entirely outside of the health system. To get your recommendation you saw a doctor that only handles cannabis recommendations, and often that's via video conferencing. There's a cursory health check (blood pressure, pulse, etc.), but nothing too in-depth and it was done by a technician. Insurance doesn't cover it, so you pay out of pocket and you're done.

Doctors either only did cannabis recommendations, or they didn't do them at all, so conventional doctors weren't bogged down by this.