Cannabis doctor Jennifer Volpe has a practice prescribing medical cannabis as an alternative medicine that is thriving.
She launched her business as a remote telemedicine doctor last year in the middle of the pandemic after seeing a need in the market for an affordable and knowledgeable medical cannabis prescriber.
Volpe lives in Chester, NJ, in Morris County. Professionally, she is an Emergency Room doctor.
“I see patients every day will come in and withdrawing from not taking their medicine or they have mental health problems, Volpe said. “It’s patients like these who really benefit from the effects of cannabis.”
“I opened up this practice where I can help people get cards and, you know, treat their diseases without having to resort to Big Pharma,” she added regarding her alternative medicine approach.
Volpe was born and raised on Staten Island, NY and then went to medical school on Long Island. She has lived in New Jersey since 2013 with her wife and kids.
“People should grow it, people should smoke it, people should do whatever it is that makes them happy as long as it’s not infringing on other people’s happiness,” Volpe said in support of homegrow.
“I just feel like it works so well for so many conditions; anxiety specifically, migraines,” Volpe added.
A Cannabis Doctor Practice
She prides herself on being very accessible to her patients.
“They can call me pretty much any time of day I’m around,” Volpe said. “I tell every patient when we talk, call me, text me 24/7 if you ever need. And so I get calls all the time, people asking me how do you feel about this strain, how do you feel about this should I smoke more or less of this.”
Volpe is unique since she is willing to meet patients at a remote location. In addition, she is very aware of the cost of a medical appointment can be burdensome.
“I’ve never turned someone down,” she said. “I’m not going to have people struggle over, you know, finding money for medicine.”
“I feel like at least personally it made a big difference for these people who are getting hammered with prices from their doctors or are looking for an alternative type of medicine,” Volpe said.
“A big chunk of my practice are people my age, like moms with anxiety who need something else that’s not Xanax,” she added.
Volpe has been a medical cannabis patient herself for two years.
“My qualifying condition is migraines, and there are some days when I will literally take Tylenol, Advil, Tylenol, Advil back and forth all day long. ’ll go home and I’ll, you know, partake a little bit in the cannabis, and my headache is gone,” she said.
A Family Business
Dr. Volpe does not operate her practice alone. Her wife, Brenda Volpe, an ER nurse, is her business partner, making it a family business.
“My wife is my partner in all of this,” Volpe said. She noted her wife has been serving as her assistant administering the business.
“I can’t tell you how many times patients say I loved your receptionist,” she said in her praise.
“My wife’s anxiety improved tremendously when she started using, like partaking in cannabis,” she explained.
Volpe noted they would eventually have to discuss cannabis with their young child and explain the nuances of the medicine.
Medical Cannabis and Alternative Medicine
Volpe plans to expand her practice to include IV infusions and aesthetic treatments like Botox. In addition, she noted that patients struggling with chronic pain and depression see improvements using Ketamine, the club drug popularly known as “Special K,” which has been prominently featured in Time Magazine.
“You can fight sickness. You can strengthen your immune system,” she said regarding the drips.
Vole added it can treat the effects of aging as well.
“I give you a small bag of like an electrolyte solution that has very specific vitamins and nutrients in it that help you replenish your body’s nutrients,” she explained.
“I think that a lot of people don’t realize that their diets and their lives are lacking in a lot of these different nutrients. And once you start replacing them, people feel fantastic,” she added.
