cannabisnews.com: Give Medical Marijuana Fees a Chance To Work
function share_this(num) {
 tit=encodeURIComponent('Give Medical Marijuana Fees a Chance To Work');
 url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/25/thread25728.shtml');
 site = new Array(5);
 site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
 return false;
}






Give Medical Marijuana Fees a Chance To Work
Posted by CN Staff on June 09, 2010 at 04:28:29 PT
Editorial
Source: Morning Sentinel
Portland, Maine -- Maine voters approved such sweeping changes to the medical marijuana law last year that it should be considered an entirely new program. Given that, the fee structure created by the Legislature to implement the new law should be given a chance to work before it gets adjusted.At a hearing this week, some medical marijuana patients made the case that the proposed annual fees — $100 for patients and $300 for grower — are too high.
The patients said many of them would be hard-pressed to pay that much for the right to buy the drug that they need, even though low-income MaineCare recipients would get a $25 annual discount.Their testimony was compelling, but anyone who supports medical marijuana distribution has an interest in seeing this program work. And it will not succeed without strict government oversight to protect against diversion.Registration is necessary to establish who has a right to possess marijuana in case of an encounter with law enforcement.Without a registry, every person arrested for marijuana possession could claim to have an ailment and try to find an after-the-fact prescription for it.Maintaining a registry and keeping track of the dispensaries will require an expenditure of state resources. With the state’s fiscal problems, it cannot afford to introduce this as a taxpayer-funded entitlement.The bill that was approved by the voters anticipated that the medical marijuana dispensary system would be self-supporting.On their face, the fees do not seem to be too high: $100 a year breaks down to less than $2 per week, or 27 cents per day. That does not seem to be too much to be able to maintain reliable and legal access to the drug.If the fees prove to be an unreasonable burden for some consumers, or if they raise more revenue than is needed to supervise the program, the Legislature can make changes. As a new program, it should be expected that modifications will be needed over time when it is introduced to the real world.But the biggest threat to a successful medical marijuana program is too little oversight, not too much.The state should take every step necessary to make sure that legal marijuana gets into the right hands and stays out of the wrong ones.Source: Morning Sentinel (Waterville, ME)Published: Wednesday, June 9, 2010Copyright: 2010 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.Contact: http://tinyurl.com/ytdag6Website: http://www.morningsentinel.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/jBTT6TYFCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help 
     
     
     
     




Comment #12 posted by greenmed on June 10, 2010 at 19:17:03 PT
fees
Despite the fees, despite the fact that cannabis will grow quite well in a personal outdoor garden like any other medicinal herb, it is definitely a good thing that patients can use their medicine in peace. That's the bottom line.And I really don't mean to diss the DMV. I've never had a bad experience there, and the wait is tolerable with a book or magazine to read.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by afterburner on June 09, 2010 at 16:58:12 PT
ekim #6
The Michigan Supreme Court finally got it right. The Court changed the law as passed originally by adding inactive marijuana metabolites and thus made Michigan an unfair per se state.When the "Drug War" was in the drivers' seat, even the courts bowed and scraped before the power of the politicians.Now, that we have passed Michigan's medical cannabis initiative into law, truth is back in the drivers' seat.It is a shame that it took a horrible accident to get Michigan's Supreme Court to see the error of their ways.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by greenmed on June 09, 2010 at 13:36:36 PT
M.C. cards
A color-shifting cannabis leaf hologram would be difficult to counterfeit, and potentially quite visually appealing.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by greenmed on June 09, 2010 at 12:26:03 PT
fees
Why are the fees so high? Why should they be more expensive than driver's licenses, for instance?I've never thought of the DMV as a paradigm of efficiency, but compared to $100 or $300 annually, it really is.In Maine, photo driver's licenses are $5 per year (pro-rated over six years). I expect the amount of paperwork involved with issuing a card would be about the same.http://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/licenses/fees.htmlMaybe after regular hours, DMV or state employees could swap in a template for Medical Cannabis cards and issue them that way, lousy photograph and all.$100 breaks down into several hours or more of personnel time -- more than enough to cover the expense of processing a single application. Anything more is an implicit 'sin' tax, and medicine should not be taxed.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by FoM on June 09, 2010 at 11:39:41 PT
Ekim
Thank you. That is great news.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by Hope on June 09, 2010 at 10:52:44 PT
Ekim Comment 6
That is very good news!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by ekim on June 09, 2010 at 09:02:39 PT
drugwarrant.com comment had this
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/special/michigan_supreme_court_marijuana_metabolites_not_drugged_driving_DUID
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by The GCW on June 09, 2010 at 09:00:45 PT
$100 for patients & $300 for grower — are too high
$100 for patients and $300 for grower — are too high.  
In fact, not only is it too high it is just plain wrong to make citizens pay government to be allowed to use the plant.Why?EXTORTION. It is protection money. Citizens, and it in this case, sick citizens are forced to pay government protection money to thugs or else risk being caged or having property or children taken from them. That's extortion.DRUG. This extortion is made possible partly due to the use of the word in describing the plant as drug. We allow that miss-use of the word drug. IN FACT, MANY CANNABIS ACTIVISTS USE THE WORD DRUG TO DESCRIBE CANNABIS. We gotta stop prohibitionists from using that word drug.Is there any other herb or plant that citizens use that requires they pay extortion money? I don't think so.None of the most dangereous substances available to mankind legally require a government fee to use them.DISCRIMINATION. We are allowing government to discriminate against Us. That's why there's a fee of $100 for patients and $300 for grower. Government discriminating against sick citizens who use the plant cannabis, just isn't right.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by dongenero on June 09, 2010 at 07:55:30 PT
Registry
I wonder how much the state registration fee is for pharmaceutical drugs???"Without a registry, every person arrested for -pharmaceutical drugs- could claim to have an ailment and try to find an after-the-fact prescription for it."I love the transparency in government these days. You can see right through it!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by Rainbow on June 09, 2010 at 07:41:20 PT
Trust the FDA????
And we hear in the news today that NSAIDS cause heart problems, yes they can kill or maim in a different way.And cannabis has hurt whom????Can not trust the FDA to do the right thing that is for sure. They would rather have us get sick on their preferred medicines so that we can take more of their preferred medicines and the Pharmas will be richer.Who is for who? I question the governments sincereity (sic)
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by runruff on June 09, 2010 at 06:37:17 PT
January I, 1937-June 9, 2010
The longest, most expensive, most disastrous war in history! A war declared by a government on it's own people for profit! "...divided we fall"
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on June 09, 2010 at 06:15:01 PT
upside down...1984 is here
"Maintaining a registry and keeping track of the dispensaries will require an expenditure of state resources. With the state’s fiscal problems, it cannot afford to introduce this as a taxpayer-funded entitlement."amazing! The state has fiscal problems - so the solution is to CONTINUE cannabis prohibition - spending millions every year on arrests and prisons. Trying to stop a plant that grows like a weed.And the sick and dying among our friends and families using a medicinal herb is now an "entitlement" that must be "funded" by "taxpayers"it's amazing to me that they think we're smart enough to read the newspaper yet dumb enough to believe this state-worshipping brainwashingOh, sorry to hear you're suffering, you know what that means - let's see your papers! What's next, a yellow star for the sick and weak in our society? Imagine how messed-up our society is - the state feels it must throw the sick and dying in with minorities and immigrants for scapegoating. if you need to do stuff like that to run your country then you're one sick puppy IMO
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment