Medical Marijuana Taxation Amendments Debated in MA Budget
Thursday, May 22, 2014
As the budget is debated and analyzed this week, various medical marijuana supporters have shown their disapproval for the amendments which if passed, would apply a tax to medical marijuana in all forms.
“There are a total of five amendments that we are opposed to,” said Matthew Allen, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance (MPAA). “Medical marijuana should not be taxed; it is simply bad policy and is immoral.”
Three of the opposed amendments deal with the taxation of medical marijuana while the other two deal with increasing efforts to both monitor and inspect prospective medical marijuana dispensaries that have been trying to open up throughout the state.
Disadvantage for Patients
According to Allen, a taxation of medical marijuana is immoral because it directly affects the patients that depend on medical marijuana as a form of medicine.
Medical marijuana patients are often on fixed incomes or are considered low income because of their medical situations. With insurance not covering medical marijuana as a prescription medicine, it is already an expensive treatment option. Adding a tax to that could prove detrimental to patients who are already struggling financially.
“Patients who use medical marijuana are usually on a fixed income so finances are already an issue for them,” said Allen. “The issue here is that this potential tax could force patients who depend on medical marijuana as a form of medicine to go without the drug or to find an alternative. A lot of these alternatives are a lot more harmful to the body than marijuana.”
Allen is worried that politics are getting in the way of treating patients, which is definitely a problem. Because other prescription drugs in Massachusetts are not taxed, Allen believes that medical marijuana shouldn’t be taxed either.
“A tax on any form of medicine that could help a patient is just wrong,” said Allen. “If policy makers are serious about taxing something to receive additional funding then maybe they should look into the taxation and legalization of recreational marijuana.”
Funding for Substance Abuse Programs
While easy to point out that the amendments will potentially take medical marijuana out of the hands of patients, Senator Brian Joyce – who proposed four of the five amendments – hopes that the amendments will also work to take other drugs out of the streets of Massachusetts.
Using the money raised by the proposed medical marijuana tax, Joyce proposes that all of the funds go toward substance abuse programs so that the state can more properly deal with the current heroin epidemic.
“Law enforcement and substance abuse treatment centers struggle to cope with this epidemic,” said Joyce. “The funds collected under the correct application of the state’s sales tax would go completely to substance abuse treatment and give these treatment centers the tools they desperately need to fight opioid addiction in our communities.”
Taking money away from medical marijuana users to pump into opioid substance abuse programs may seem a little farfetched but Joyce sees it as a good way to fund some programs that are very much in need of aid.
When looking at other states and their medical marijuana policies, taxation isn’t a newfound idea either. In New England alone, Connecticut, Maine, and Rhode Island all subject medical marijuana to some form of taxation.
“Not granting marijuana a sales tax exemption would align us with the approaches of virtually every other state,” said Joyce. “Under federal law, marijuana cannot be a prescription drug. That’s why the lobbyist who drafted the referendum on behalf of marijuana sellers was careful not to use the word prescription. Since it cannot be a prescription drug, it should not be exempt from the sales tax as a prescription drug and rather should be treated like over the counter drugs.”
Medical vs. Recreational
Wayne Reiss, a drug policy advocate, feels that one of the largest problems inhabiting both arguments is the politics that has been getting in the way of solving the many issues that people have with marijuana. Rather than concerning themselves with effective policies, Reiss feels that some politicians could be trying to sweep issues under the rug.
“We currently have a war on information, not on science,” said Reiss. “I think that the waters are being muddied by politics. I think that there is some form of separation that people are trying to make between medical marijuana and medicine.”
The easiest way to create a distinction between medical marijuana and recreational marijuana, in Reiss’ opinion, is to legalize and regulate both markets. Because medical usage is aimed toward using marijuana as a form of medicine, regulations should be much stricter about the various chemical levels within the drug, while the recreational market can be a little more lax.
Regardless of whether or not Massachusetts legalizes recreational marijuana, Reiss feels that people should stop trying to cause problems within the medical field. After all, no one seems to fuss about some of the other prescription drugs that have the potential to be more harmful to the body than marijuana.
“I don’t really understand the taxation of medical marijuana,” said Reiss. “At this stage in Massachusetts, policy makers should be more focused on legalization and taxation of recreational marijuana. It just seems to me like people want to have their cake and eat it too. I think that increased regulations for both kinds of marijuana are beneficial but I don’t feel that sick people should be penalized for wanting access to medicine.”
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