Pubdate: Sun, 15 Jun 2014
Source: Times, The (Trenton, NJ)
Copyright: 2014 The Times
Contact:  http://www.nj.com/times/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/458
Author: Richard Tkach
Note: Richard Tkach is a New Jersey mobile intensive care paramedic.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA SHOULD NOT BE TAXED

Three years ago, my 35-year-old wife, mother of three children, was 
diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The doctor said she most likely 
won't die from it, but will never have a normal life again. After 
years of being on the medical roller coaster and trying every useless 
drug on the market, a prestigious neurologist led us to medical 
marijuana. What a miracle. I've seen my wife go from being an empty 
shell to having a sense of normalcy. She can think, she can actually 
eat a meal, she can function as a human being, she can sleep at 
night. My wife is back.

The science is solid. Specific medical strains of marijuana are 
arguably the most effective treatment for multiple sclerosis.

The problem is the tax, 42 percent to be exact (35 percent plus 7 
percent sales tax). No other medicine is taxed in New Jersey. Gov. 
Chris Christie has done everything in his power to make this program 
unsuccessful. Only one of the six dispensaries is truly functioning; 
the rest are caught up in red tape. The costs of all these legal 
requirements are passed along to the patients.

There are two tiers of registration fees: $200 if you can afford it 
and $20 if you provide documentation of being low-income. The 
majority of the cards were at the $20 rate. Being sick and becoming 
poor tend to go hand-in-hand in our society. The price of an ounce of 
medical marijuana is $540, cash only, no insurance coverage, and 42 
percent of that is New Jersey tax. An ounce in other states with 
similar programs is as low as $260.

At the very least, if patients qualify for the discounted 
registration, they should not be taxed on their medicine. Paying 
$302, tax-free, is at least a step in the right direction. Allowing 
dispensaries to grow medical marijuana off-site or have a separate 
growing location or state-allocated farmland would help with supply.

Anyone can find themselves in this very same situation. I urge 
readers to write or call their state representatives to help reform 
this broken program. Let's not tax medicine on the poor.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom