State of Confusion

I have found the following topic to be of interest to me:
I was informed by the local county medical society that if you are not licensed to practice medicine, you are not permitted by my state from using the professional credential M.D. after your name, nor may you refer to yourself as "doctor", nor may you refer to yourself as a physician.  Regarding the state code that was quoted to me, I will only say that it is ambiguous and leaves one to wonder if it really refers to someone who did not have that academic status using M.D. after their name to falsify being a physician.  That said, I have debated this for a while myself.  I had been keen to signing my mail as Craig Brenner, M.D. in certain professional circusmstances.  As well, until today, I was keen to using Dr. Brenner to refer to myself here on this blog and in other venues at different times.  At no time was I advertising medical services or falsifying myself as a licensed physician.  I had in a few circumstances written a disclaimer that I was not licensed when I was listed with my academic credentials after my name.   I happened upon an article in the AMA News this past week that discussed that the general public is feeling more and more insecure about the credentials of those who are involved in their care or advertising themselves as physicians.  Although it is not a law that one may not refer to oneself this way, I wonder from the gist of the article if this may become a reality at some point.  The article stated that 93% of people in this poll felt that one may not refer to oneself as a physician unless one is licensed.  That said, I must report to you that residents in their first year or more may not be licensend and I would profess that they are indeed physicians.  They may sign M.D. after their names on prescriptions.  They may call themselves Doctor in the presence of patients.   The oath that is taken is a "physicians oath", right?  Or maybe just we may only call it the Hippocratic Oath?  Is it not the Hippocratic Oath for physicians.   I digress.  My own statue of humanity tells me that one who graduates with a medical degree is in fact a physician.  If they are not yet licensed or if they may not renew their license, they are an unlicensed physician.  If they have a license they are a licensed physician.  To pass out ones business card with the professional credential "M.D." after it does to me indicate that you are expressing your interest to be hired as a physician, whether licensed or unlicensed.  It is professional.  That said, i currently carry a business card for personal use in which I only state my name without my M.D. degree listed.  I don't feel that if I meet someone and wish to give them my personal contact information that I am being introduced to them as a physician. So for that reason I have negated to use the M.D. designation. I do have cards that do say M.D. however, and if I was to go on an interview for a medical position, I do believe I would indeed offer that version of my professional card.  Personal vs professional use. Makes sense. 
I had anticipated upon hearing that there was a state Revised code that stated that one without a license to practice medicine may not represent one's self as either of these 3 might be a troublesome and undignified approach to physicians.  I am no longer going to try to fight this fight.  As of today (though perhaps I will return to previous attire), I am no longer going to blog under the name Dr. Brenner.  I will use my name and intials, C.J. Brenner at this time.  I do feel that it does perhaps lessen the professional nature of what I see my calling to be.  That said, I feel that I can be just as effective with or without a 'doctor' designation.  
I do feel that my message here online is that of a professional nature.  It is with some disapointment that I will now let this dogma of present day thinking guide my pen and paper.   I do not feel this is paganism or godlessness, but I do feel that it is a petty insincerity that I will comply with in order to avoid the wrath of state appointed authorities that do in fact have some capacity to fine or impose penalties if this revised code is indeed a law that pertains to someone such as myself who is just using a professional credential to maintain a professional simile.  I will continue to look into this in the future. 
I do realize that in this modern day atmosphere of litigation and dare I say, quackerie of some degree, that there is a looming fear in the general public at some level as to the credentials of those who may be able to offer physician services.   Charlatans are not hard to find in some venues today.  In the interests of professional integrity, I will not challenge this effort to keep our system pure of conflicting information that may appear to be a representation of state licensed medical assistance.