I received the following legislative alert out of Michigan:
A series of critical bills emerged from committee and are heading to the House floor for a vote. While the vast majority of their provisions are significant improvements over Michigan’s current medical marijuana system, the price tag is high. To offset some of the cost, patients would face an 8% tax on medicine.
Let your state representative know that to succeed, it has to be a program patients can afford.
Few would argue with the fact that Michigan’s medical marijuana program is in need of an update. The current system offers few protections for individuals and businesses that provide medical cannabis to patients. HB 4209 is designed to establish statewide protections and consistent regulations. A companion bill, HB 4210, improves on the program by clearly including non-smoked forms of cannabis products. Finally, HB 4827 establishes tracking requirements for those who cultivate, process, transport, and provide medical cannabis to patients.
While most of these changes are welcome, there are several troubling provisions. The most obvious is the program’s estimated price tag. Seriously ill patients should not have their marijuana taxed, particularly when more harmful pharmaceutical medicine goes untaxed. This is unfair.
Please take a moment and get word to your representative to amend HB 4209 to make it affordable for patients. Then, please forward this email to friends, family, and supporters in Michigan!
Source: Marijuana Policy Project
