Importance of MMJ Card after 207
Tom Dean – Attorney For Cannabis Explains why it is important to keep a medical marijuana card even though 207 is the law to Fox 10 Phoenix.
Click here for the video
It’s important more than ever to have your medical marijuana card as a patient to get many benefits including.
- As a patient with the card, you will get the highest quality cannabis products. Arizona governor signed the AZ Senate Bill 1494 requires that all medical marijuana products sold in licensed dispensaries be independently lab tested by November 1, 2020. Testing labs must be accredited and must have no financial relationship with any dispensaries. The measure also reduces application fees for medical cannabis card holders.
- Without the card, Recreational marijuana would be subject to the normal sales tax rate and an additional 16% excise tax a total of 25% (AZ Medical Marijuana cardholders will not have to pay the excise tax). Besides the direct tax savings, “you can write off your meds” on your state taxes if you’re a cardholder
- Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Act (“AMMA”) is one of the most unique in the nation. It was the first law to explicitly provide statutory protection against employment discrimination for one’s status as an MMJ cardholder.(A.R.S. § 36-2813 )The ballots for Prop 207 were certified by the Arizona Secretary of State on Nov 30, 2020, officially making the voter-approved ballot measure into a new law.
“It’s decriminalized once the initiative passes and is certified by the Secretary of State, but legal sales won’t begin until around March of 2021,” Campaign Manager for Smart and Safe Arizona Stacy Pearson told 12 News.
Marijuana possession and consumption became legal for adults 21 and older in Arizona once the ballots were certified. Home cultivation also became legal once the initiative was certified.
Dispensaries will not be able to legally sell recreational marijuana until they get licensed, which should be sometime in March 2021 (but could be early).
Key facts about the new law:
– Allows adults 21 and older to buy and possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana with no more than 5 grams being concentrates (extracts).
– Limits personal home cultivation to six cannabis plants per individual’s primary residence and twelve plants at a residence where two or more persons 21 or older reside.
– Recreational marijuana dispensaries will open. The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) will issue licenses following the application acceptance period from Jan 19 – Mar 9, 2021. Many medical marijuana dispensaries will get a recreational license which will allow them to sell medical and recreational marijuana from their current medical marijuana dispensary location(s).
– A 16% excise tax (similar to alcohol and cigarettes) will be imposed on recreational cannabis sold at state-licensed dispensaries. The tax revenue will fund various state agencies and community programs.
– Marijuana use is still illegal in public places but is only a petty offense for any offenders.
– Arizona lawmakers have until April 5, 2021, to establish regulations for the state’s new, voter-approved adult-use cannabis industry.
In many states, the launch of a recreational marijuana industry has improved the state’s medical marijuana programs by reducing the annual medical marijuana card fee and by reducing the cost of medical marijuana.
The new industry should generate thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars in annual revenue that will improve the state.
“This is a monumental achievement for Arizonans,” AZmarijuana.com stated. “This law will create new jobs, new revenue for state programs, and give law enforcement more time to focus on preventing and solving real crimes instead of on people who are just using or possessing small amounts of marijuana.”
Arizona was one of four states that voted on legalizing recreational marijuana this November.
View Arizona’s new marijuana law: the Smart and Safe Arizona Act.
