By Lawmakers in Arizona have approved a bill that expands the list of medical marijuana eligibility criteria and lowers treatment costs.
Bill, SB 1466, was approved on Monday by the Legislative Committee. If it becomes law, the bill would bring many changes to state medical marijuana laws. Perhaps most notably, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder will be added to the list of eligible conditions.
It was approved by a 7-2 vote of members of the Health and Human Services Committee hearings.
Outlet AZMarijuana has desolation Key points of the bill include: His 100% waiver of medical marijuana card costs to veterans. Add post-traumatic stress disorder to law. Added autism spectrum disorder as a debilitating condition. Alignment of advertising, packaging and branding with Smart and Safe rules. Request protections for children – child-safe packaging, prohibition of child-attractive advertising, addition of advertising restrictions. aligning definitions of marijuana and marijuana products; codifying the use of telemedicine; Update details for QR code and tracking/traceability requirements. Provide a unified cover sheet for COA to simplify the consumer/patient experience. Eliminate government-led lab examination boards and replace them with fully public forums. ”
The Arizona Medical Clinics Association group strongly supports this legislation.
“ADA supports SB1466, which allows veterans to obtain medical marijuana cards for free,” said Ann Torrez, executive director of the Arizona Dispensaries Association. by AZ Marijuana“Many veterans suffer from PTSD, insomnia, heightened anxiety, and chronic pain. You can still get medical cannabis treatment.”
“ADA’s primary mission is to promote and defend Arizona’s safe, consumer-focused cannabis industry.” Torres continued“We aim to continually educate consumers about the importance of visiting only licensed pharmacies and consuming only laboratory-tested and approved THC and CBD products.”
The bill is being considered at a time when Arizona’s medical cannabis industry is struggling with sales declines.
State medical marijuana sales hit just over $31 million in October, the eighth straight month of decline.
Meanwhile, the state’s adult-use cannabis market, which launched in January 2021, continues to thrive.
In the same month, recreational cannabis sales in Arizona totaled $73.8 million, a record high.
As AZ Miller reported earlier this year“Health care program collapse follows a pattern other states have seen, with recreational sales outstripping health care markets following legalization.”
The outlet reported in January: “The state collects a 16% sales tax on recreational sales in addition to the standard sales tax. Medical patients pay about 6% in state sales tax. Local jurisdictions impose a surcharge of approximately 2% on all marijuana sales One-third of the recreational tax collected goes to community colleges and transitional communities 31% for Public Safety — Police, Fire Departments, Fire Districts, First Responders — 25% for Arizona Highway User Revenue Fund, 10% for Judicial Reinvestment Fund, Public Health Services , dedicated to providing counseling, vocational training and other social services for communities adversely and disproportionately affected by the arrest and criminalization of marijuana, years after establishing the medical cannabis market. The medical market continues to bleed both sales and participants following the trend of some states legalizing adult-use cannabis.”
