Why Washington state is extinguishing medical marijuana

Discussion in 'Marijuana News' started by Capitalmonger, May 8, 2015.

  1. Excerpt from Mashable:
     
    For the past 10 months, three marijuana markets have been operating simultaneously in Washington state: the street market, the medical market and the recreational market. In the future, however, there will only be two. And contrary to some people's expectations about legal recreational pot making drug dealers obsolete, it's the medical dispensaries that will disappear first.
     
    Washington's medical marijuana market has always been "looser than anywhere in the country,” says Rick Garza, head of the state Liquor Control Board, the agency that oversees the marijuana industry.
    "With I-502 (the recreational market), you have a tightly regulated business that has to make a big investment and pay taxes and fees," says Garza. And while medical marijuana is legal, it has become somewhat of a "gray area" because the "vast majority" of users served by the dispensaries are truly recreational users anyway, says Garza. "You have this unregulated and untaxed [medical] dispensary that's competing directly with the regulated market."
     
    So typical, this is what happens when asshole politicians and unemployable bureaucrats set up new government programs. This is just a micro-example of what goes on in Washington D.C. at the federal level...imagine a piñata filled with cash and a bunch of morons punching holes in it and scrambling around on their knees trying to grab as much cash as possible and stuff it in their pockets. This is how they design, set up and manage new government programs like the one for marijuana distribution and sales.
     
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  2. I think that's pretty dumb considering places like Colorado and Cali have proven the medical side can be successful.  At the same time the medical side is not overly needed since recreational seems to be there to stay.  Hopefully more dispensaries will open up as some people truly need there medicine. 
     
  3. Seems like they could just have cannabis stores and those with a prescription could get a discount...or something similar.
     
  4. It costs $130-150 and a bullshit excuse about some pain to get a medical card for a year. I can then go to a medical shop and pay normal sales tax(9%) on top shelf grade pot.
    Or
    I can go to a rec shop and pay an arm and leg for 1-2grams at nearly 15-20ea then the 25% tax. So which one do you pick? Cheaper the better. Also medical has a lot more options. Wax,drops,edibles,clones,ability to grow. All for the low price of $150.
     

  5. The most BS part of the changes here in Washington state?

    While the state legislature passed, and Gov. Inslee signed into law, SB #5052 "The Patient Protection Act"

    They didn't act on the State Bills that were introduced in both the House and Senate

    That would have made it legal for any citizen 21+ to homegrow 6 plants


    Alaska Colorado Oregon, even Washington DC all have the right to grow their own. Here, the citizens are not trusted to possess that right (the new MMJ law does allow some patient homegrow and 4-person co-ops, but with greatly reduced amounts from currently allowed, and more restrictive on getting a physicians recc -- also have to join a state registry now to get arrest protection, and to be able to possess greater amounts).
    Because that would interfere with the monopoly the state bureaucrats are trying to use as another "sin tax" -- they want to use the tax money raised by the 502 recreational marijuana stores to fund eduacation.......

    Washington State -- the poster child for how NOT to do legalization

    We got REGULATION instead of LEGALIZATION

    I guess not every state can be expected to do it right.......
     
  6. that actually make sense if you think about it in pure ecinomic terms, whoever can get the product to market at the lowest price wins!
     
  7. It has been my general experience that any tax that implies it will be used for education really means they pocket like 90% and then unevenly distribute the rest. IPads for one school and nothing for the one that barely gets by.
     
  8. Why would you need med when you can just walk into a rec shop.
    This was the plan from the start but people were to stupid to realize this.
     
  9. people think med use equals grow your own but not so,it should mean that though and if it did who would not want that.  with the amount of lazy people about 5% of the population would grow it if it were legal...
     
  10. Living in Wa....legalization has worked out just fine. The current changes to mmj will legitimize the current medical stores who actually in it for patients. Patients will be able to be exempt from the sales tax in all stores. The only thing is the lack of personal recreational growing but the only people who need to worry about the law are those who are growing excessively and selling on the black market.
     
  11. just pass by
     

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