![Naturopathic medical conferences 2016](https://cdn3.cdnme.se/5447227/9-3/screenshot_3_64e629479606ee7f889a24a8.jpg)
The ad sought naturopaths for part-time work certifying MMJ and promised good money. First-year residents at Mayo earn $53,270 with benefits. At $39,000 per year, tuition at Bastyr costs nearly the same as the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine-a top medical program. I needed extra income to pay student loan bills from attending Bastyr University. I had already been working for about a year at a naturopathic family practice in what was considered a “naturopathic residency.” I made an annual salary of $29,000 without benefits. My first job authorizing MMJ was at a well-known pot clinic in Seattle. For them, pushing pot is a lucrative calling but not one without legal and ethical problems. Many naturopaths in Washington and Arizona rely on income from MMJ authorizations. The earnings from MMJ jobs provide a much-needed boost to naturopaths struggling to make ends meet. Mainstream medical positions are rarely available to naturopaths and for good reason-we are not trained in medicine, but in a pseudoscientific belief system that resembles medical school only on the surface. The average naturopathic graduate has as much debt as a medical school graduate but has poor job prospects. Like most other naturopaths, I entered the MMJ business for the money. In Seattle and Tucson, I held part-time jobs at such MMJ mills. There are also MMJ mills that cater to large volumes of patients who actively seek out MMJ certifications. My former colleagues who had family-oriented practices certified patients to use MMJ in every naturopathic clinic where I worked.
![naturopathic medical conferences 2016 naturopathic medical conferences 2016](https://www.aznma.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/fullsizeoutput_4e-300x241.jpeg)
That is, I certified patients to use medical marijuana (MMJ) when I practiced as a licensed naturopath in Washington and Arizona.
![Naturopathic medical conferences 2016](https://cdn3.cdnme.se/5447227/9-3/screenshot_3_64e629479606ee7f889a24a8.jpg)