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POLL QUESTION

Maine slaps 7% tax on pot brownies sold to medical marijuana patients

John Clarke Russ

After Mainers approved medical marijuana, lawmakers decided that marijuana sold for medicinal purposes would be subject to the 5 percent state sales tax. Now Maine Revenue Services has issued an opinion that prepared foods such as brownies that include medical marijuana will be taxed at the higher 7 percent rate.

By Mal Leary, Capitol News Service

Posted Nov. 03, 2011, at 5:50 p.m.

Poll Question

AUGUSTA, Maine — Baked or smoked? How patients use their medical marijuana determines their tax rate, according to a recent opinion from Maine Revenue Services.

“It again shows how disconnected some people in the taxing department are from the general will of Maine people,” said Paul McCarrier, board member of Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine. He said medical marijuana is just what it says it is — a medicine — and should not be taxed at all.

McCarrier said for some individuals, eating foods that contain medical marijuana is the best way for them to use the medicine. He said smoking or using vaporizers does not work for everyone and patients should not have to pay an extra tax in order to use medicinal marijuana.

“Sometimes it is the best delivery method for people,” he said. “They can ingest it and it helps with their various pains and afflictions. For some people it is their only delivery means.”

In 2009, Mainers passed a referendum allowing medical marijuana dispensaries with nearly 60 percent of the vote. The bill was reworked by a task force named by then-Gov. John Baldacci and became law in 2010, with the first dispensaries being opened this year.

Peter Beaulieu, director of the Sales, Fuel and Special Tax Division at Maine Revenue, said the policy question of taxing medical marijuana was settled by legislation. A provision of the law clearly states the sales tax exemption for medicine does not apply to medical marijuana.

“It is MRS’s position that a food product containing medical marijuana is not a grocery staple because it is not ordinarily consumed for human nourishment,” Beaulieu wrote. “The food product being prepared is not for general consumption. It is primarily prepared as an alternative form of delivering the medical marijuana into the body.”

He said for prepared foods with medical marijuana to be exempted from taxes would take legislative action. He stressed Maine Revenue Services is just interpreting current law.

“I think we are going to have to take another look at this whole area,” said Rep. Meredith Strange-Burgess, R-Cumberland, co-chairwoman of the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.

She said the fact that medical marijuana is taxed at all has concerned her. She said it was not really discussed in any depth because it was part of the bill as submitted to implement the dispensary law voters had approved at referendum.

“My personal opinion is that it should not be taxed,” said Rep. Deborah Sanderson, R-Chelsea. “If they were just making brownies as a snack, that’s one thing, but this is a way to deliver medicine. For many, this may be the only option because they can’t or do not want to smoke marijuana.”

She said the ruling by Maine Revenue Services does not seem logical to her because they are confusing a food product with medicine. She was the sponsor of legislation passed earlier this year that made several changes to the law allowing dispensaries.

“I would hope we could get legislation in this session to address this,” she said. “This really isn’t fair.”

Rep. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, served on the task force two years ago that drafted the dispensary legislation after the referendum vote. She does not remember any discussion of taxing food used to deliver medical marijuana.

“There was not much discussion of taxing medical marijuana at all,” she said. “It was in the bill and we had a lot of issues to resolve in not a lot of time.”

Haskell agrees the Legislature should consider the issue and agrees the taxing of a food because it is being used to deliver a medicine seems strange to her.

“I think of the brownie as simply the delivery method, much as encapsulating a pill so you can swallow the powder you need to swallow,” she said.

Haskell hopes legislative leaders would consider allowing a bill to be considered in January on the issue because lawmakers did not know of the Maine Revenue Services opinion before the deadline to submit bill requests.

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Anonymous

Can you beleive Maine wants to tax anything and everything, its all most funny but no wonder Maine is so poor
Anonymous

like we didn’t see that one coming! They are pathetic
Anonymous

Just saw Lepages new “Open for Business” sign in Calais. Must be how they are paying for it. Sign is much smaller than the one on the “other” end of the state. Nothing big happens here….*sigh*
waynorth1

I never thought I would ever say it (well, type it)….legalize it already. They’re all going to get it anyway. Pot is a minor problem now when compared to the pill epidemic.
Anonymous

I hear the one going up in Fort Kent is the size of a no parking sign.
Anonymous

The whole medical pot clinic stuff is a joke anyway……
Anonymous

I saw it as well!!
Anonymous

then they need to tax methadone also , get rid of some crack heads
Anonymous

As just about everyone who has ever operated a business in the State of Maine knows probably the most difficult agency to deal with is Maine Revenue Services. I know no one likes the tax man, but this organization acts as if they are ready to go to war with you from the time they answer the phone. The entire agency and I mean entire from the person who answers the phone to the highest level department manager act as if you are a bother. Attempting to get a question answered by this agency is like attempting to pull teeth from a lion without Novocaine. You may get an answer, after a long wait, from one manager only to have that answer over ruled later by another manager. We keep hearing how the DEP has been responsible for businesses and jobs leaving or not locating in Maine. I would bet that Maine Revenue Services has driven more jobs and businesses from the State of Maine then DEP could ever do. Now in their infinite wisdom they are taxing brownies containing marijuana at a higher rate then straight marijuana. Why are we taxing medicine in the first place?
http://twitter.com/RomanRuhnke Roman Ruhnke

Taxing pot brownies is fine. But where is the representation? Even hard line people are starting to recognize the potential of cannabis. The drug companies should be afraid. I ate a pot brownie and threw away my norco pain pills! This is real medicine for me and I’d like to see it reclassified as such.
http://www.facebook.com/laplants Seth Laplant

I want my penicillin in brownie form.
Anonymous

The one in calais should say if it wasnt for canada this town wouldnt exist.
Anonymous

It is again the law period
Anonymous

for every legitimate patient who gains relief from MM there is a stoner abusing the system.

so what else is new?
Anonymous

The revenue service tried to tax me $48,000 for a boat I paid $35,000 for.
Anonymous

everyone is afraid of the Feds since it is still illegal on the Federal level. the ‘pro business’ bunch are too afraid of the social conservatives to speak up. i would love to see MOFGA take the lead. there are plenty of organic, medicinal herb farms already here in Maine. and they are ethical, they are Mainers. I HATE seeing the guys from california coming in and setting up shop. errrgh.
Anonymous

Legalize it, tax the hell out of it, and bring it out of the medical model.
Anonymous

Finally – the State wakes up to the idea that the legalization and taxation of marijuana would be an huge boost to the State economy.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_FJI6ISFGYJRNLTXCS4C3CPWMJY Lance

In my humble opinion, I think all “medical marijuana” should be taxed. Legalized all marijuana and tax it and tax it high. No pun intended. Just a thought.
Anonymous

LOL!!! a snack tax on pot brownies, can you imagine it?
Anonymous

Apparently our state has figured out that they can make money off this thing called cannabis, legalize it for all Mainers, tax it, sell it at the liquor stores, they will be shocked at the amount of extra tax dollars they have to spend. But don’t tax the people who already are overwhelmed with medical bills.
Anonymous

Since mofga gets most of their funding from the usda I doubt if you will see them advocating cannibas growing or selling anytime soon.
Anonymous

And how many times did you have to call or write to them to get any kind of response?
Anonymous

Before Lepage and his cronies are done they will try to initiate a poor tax.
Anonymous

Typical Maine government screwing things up as always.
Anonymous

true that
Anonymous

Most if not all blanket statements are false.
Anonymous

What a pretty picture!
Anonymous

Dont panic everyone we knew a tax would be coming, this is only the beginning.
Millicent

then all drugs used for medicinal use should be taxed.
Anonymous

I hate to be the one to say it but in the state of Maine there is the State tax on hot/prepared food. If the tax law applies to anything else in this department ( hot subs, pizza, coffee, hot chocolate, bakery items, ect) then it should be also applied to pot brownies.
Anonymous

As if people and families dealing with injury, chronic or terminal illnesses don’t have enough to deal with to try to survive, now they tax their medicine like it was a snack cake. We live in an upside down world.
Anonymous

What until you or someone that you love is riddled with cancer and modern pharmaceuticals cannot control their suffering. You will sing a different tune.
Anonymous

Those so-called stoners are going to smoke either way. Wouldn’t you rather they be tracked and buying it from a legal source than flying under the radar buying it from the black market?
John Eastman

AGREE !!!!!!! waynorth1 it should be legalized. They don’t tax any other drug, that should be illegal. Nope its the Govt. they can do what ever they like.
Anonymous

So what happens to the cancer patient whose family is losing everything because of the healthcare costs? Or the elderly patient whose only relief from the RA comes from medical marijuana? Or the returning war veteran whose PTSD is controlled? Patients dealing with life threatening, life changing and chronic injuries and illnesses are already struggling to survive. Now you want to tax them like you do people smoking cigarettes?
Anonymous

Except pot brownies are medicine and we don’t generally tax medicine at that rate.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Q4AP5EYCYRCGZGIJGWI6TLIUEA Tom

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http://twitter.com/CareyHaskell Carey Haskell

This is completely asinine. Does Morphine get taxed at 7%? Watch a loved one be forced to break the law in order to keep food down while battling end-stage esophageal and liver cancer and then tell me how continuing to try and keep medicine away from them this is a good idea.
Anonymous

Hmmm, the federal government considers it illegal. By collecting taxes on it, isn’t the state of Maine engaging in/profiting from a criminal enterprise? Makes me wonder if Bureau of Taxation might have made a mistake here.
Anonymous

So let me get this straight. The argument has always been “legalize it and tax it”. Now that the State had de facto legalized it and taxed it, they are a bunch of crooks? You can’t have your brownie and eat it too.
Anonymous

The state has made it legal for people dealing with life threatening, terminal, life changing, chronic illnesses and injuries to be able to use it as medicine to relieve human suffering. That is very different from legalization. When you tax the sick and disabled like you would someone who chooses to smoke cigarettes, yes they are crooks. They are also inhumane to further punish those who are already suffering, sick or injured.

Do not insult the thousands of patients who are relieved of their suffering from this medicine.
kkmousse

If the food was just a brownie we have no issue with the tax. The fact that it now has pot included in the food product to me still makes it a food product. Otherwise the person should have just bought the pot and took it home and made their own brownies. For having the convience of the pot in the brownies is a convience and should be taxes even though it is for medical use.
kkmousse

This way they can be legally taxes. If they have enough money to buy the stuff then pay the tax and help the economy.
Anonymous

Is not your statement a blanket statement? Is not mine? ;-)
Anonymous

7% is cheap for snack tax with a buzz.. now how about a joint tax 3 bucks a pack …. I mean doobie
Anonymous

MRS has a long record of rewriting laws for its own benefit, including retroactively “interpreting” laws to maximize the take, then imposing “penalties” and punitive “interest” to take more. There is no recourse against their bullying. Objective tax law does not exist in Maine, only a rogue agency exploiting extraordinary power it should not have. Commissioner Gerard is a holdover from Baldacci who should have been thrown out long ago.
kkmousse

My personal experience with a family member on haroin and cocain was that they used the methadone as a stop-gap measure when they could not get their fix. Once they got to feeling better they were back out breaking into homes and pawning stolen goods to pay for their habit again. So I wonder what the actual % of people that really do get off drugs are. There is no real cure for these drugs at all. relaps is high. My cousin is clean for now, but she has a good track record of relaps every few years now. No matter how important her children are to her she would put them in harms way to get a fix.
Methadone is just another habit. Better to not have started at all to begin with. Curiosity killed the cat as they say. And the curiosity to try drugs is a one way street for a majority of those that try them……to being a loser for the rest of their life.
kkmousse

If it is anything like cars in value. No matter if you got a great deal on the car and $1000s of dollars of the list price. The town will still assess at the list price of that car. So was your bargin boat a real bargin like the car?
Anonymous

its the snack tax…. keep it as an herb for seasoning or as a salad green, maybe some pesto…but brownies .. prepared are snacks.
Anonymous

How did they miss taxing chemotherapy???
Anonymous

Last year they passed a “tax reform” bill that eliminated itemized deductions which include medical expenses. That meant a $2 to $3 thousand income tax increase for some elderly middle class people with high medical bills such as one of them being in a nursing home. The response I got from many of the people supporting this bill, the majority of the people would get a cut (not true by the way) so I guess these people were collateral damage to them. The response I got from the head of AARP of Maine..the Democrats told him it was a good bill.
Anonymous

But we shouldn’t be taxing sick and disabled. Morphine isn’t taxed. Vicodin isn’t taxed.
Anonymous

That will be next.
Anonymous

They really got you didn’t they? Why not put the facts out there for all to see instead of making the same statement everytime their name comes up?
Anonymous

The federal government expect you to declare you income from illegal activities on your tax return. I don’t think they have a problem taxing illegal activities.
Anonymous

The thugs at MRS have “gotten” a lot of innocent people all over the state. There is no excuse for it. http://MaineTaxAbuse.org
Anonymous

Tax rates are not the only problem. Maine Revenue Services is a rogue agency. There are several procedural reforms required to curtail abuse by MRS:

1. Correct ambiguities and discretionary powers in the statutes so that MRS cannot make up new “interpretations” of tax policy on its own. Require objective laws and regulations so people know what the law is and are not subjected to MRS “interpretations” of whatever it wants, changing established practice.

2. Eliminate the power of MRS to “estimate” anything it wants to impose taxes owed with no evidence of taxes due.

3. Eliminate the power of MRS to demand that citizens prove their innocence of MRS accusations. It is impossible to prove a negative.

4. Institute a statute of limitations time limit like there is for other laws, including Federal tax law, so that MRS cannot arbitrarily go back to any time period it wants to harass and pressure a citizen long after anyone remembers or has records of past activity.

5. Prohibit MRS from keeping enemies lists of people who speak out against its policies and actions.

6. Establish a taxpayer advocate who acts independently of MRS in disputes so the Commissioner can not tell him what to do.

7. Prohibit MRS from using “penalties” to intimidate citizens into giving into its demands under threat of penalties doubling an imposed tax if the right to contest MRS demands is exercised. Restrict “penalties” to negligence instead of allowing MRS to routinely double taxes it demands.

8. Limit “interest” on overdue taxes to a reasonable percentage in accordance with prevailing interest rates instead of using “interest” as an additional enormous penalty compounded for years at rates as high as double digits.

9. Implement a reasonable administrative appeal process independent of the same MRS officials who made the initial decision to help avoid the necessity of expensive court appeals. Impose penalties on MRS for denying a right to appeal or making illegal threats to seize assets.

10. Clarify the Privacy Act to prevent MRS from exploiting it to protect the agency against complaints and inquiries into its policies and practices. Prevent MRS officials, including the Commissioner, from spreading rumors to quietly discredit citizens speaking out against MRS actions.

11. Reform the law governing appeals to prevent MRS from running costs up through abusive litigation tactics, harassment through open-ended demands for irrelevant records, demands that the citizen pay for costs of copying records, “slinging mud” to insinuate accusations, and refusing to submit to interrogatories and depositions itself.

12. Guarantee that citizens accused by MRS under its administrative law have at least the civil rights of those accused of a crime. Require disclosure to the accused of accusations and insinuations, including those made by so-called “tipsters”. Impose penalties on MRS and its agents for violation of civil rights of citizens.

All of these principles address serious problems with injustices caused by MRS, especially under the tenure of MRS Acting Commissioner Jerome Gerard who was appointed by Baldacci and is still there.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

The whole thing is stupid anyway. Maine as we seem to always do tax tax tax. The fact remains that cannabis is illegal under federal law and the fact that states can NOT make laws less strict then federal law.

That said the primary reason cannabis is no good for prescription use is there is no standard! One plant may have x amount of the actual drug in it while another plant may have ten times that amount. When a doctor gives a prescription he/ she has to state the amount of the drug to give and the interval of doses.
Anonymous

They got em with the “prepared food” tax. They get hit by the same tax at Mcdonalds after smoking & getting the munchies.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5UNYCGGAJUFC77EA5ZJA7M7QJU xw

If I could goto the Marijuana store and buy a brownie laced with medical marijuana. would I have a problem paying 7% tax on it??? YOU BET your butt I wouldn’t I would be HAPPY to pay the tax and SUPPORT the State OF Maine’s lack of revenue and be glad I could help it. .OMG STOP COMPLAINING PAY THE TAX, AND BE HIGH!
Anonymous

they shouldn’t complain. organic cannabis?
Anonymous

nope. as long as they get their cut. not paying taxes brought al capone down when nothing else could. also remember some prostitutes getting busted for not reporting their income.
Anonymous

You are mocking some of the most ill people among us. Does that make you feel good as a human being to get a good laugh over someone else’s suffering?
Anonymous

Prepared as one way that sick and suffering people can gain benefit through ingestion to relieve suffering.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

Ok am I the only one who paid attention in school? State law can not be less strict then federal law!!! Pot is not LEGAL even if Maine says it is! The ATF can come to your home and charge you for buying it the fact that Maine has a law that says you can will not help you in federal court!!
Anonymous

Except most of the people that would be buying it are suffering, many dying. So we tax dying people for them to get relief from their suffering? Someday you may be the one riddled with cancer, having your house taken, losing all of your possessions. 7% is a lot when people are already fighting for their lives.
Anonymous

So that means that sick and dying people shouldn’t seek out relief from their suffering because our inept government does not want to offer a humane option for those who are suffering?
Anonymous

That is true, and there was a major incident over it in California over this very same topic as an example, but this is about further abuse from a tax agency. Taxes are not supposed to be a punitive tool used by a bureaucracy against people they don’t approve of or simply want to shake down. Criminal prosecution — and all government action — is supposed to be under objective law.
Anonymous

Having a legal, safe and consistent way to distribute medical marijuana will allow patients to get the same type of plant each time that they come to get their medicine. On the black market there is not way to know what one is really getting each time.

There is no need to dosage because one cannot overdose. Each patient is different, each illness or injury different and every day is different for someone who is suffering. Prescription medicines need to be dosed and timed because one can overdose, but not so with medical marijuana.
Anonymous

Since incorporation into a food is far safer and less harmful than smoking, cannabis brownies (or any foosstuff) should be taxed at the same rate as smoking material.
Anonymous

Pathetic.
Anonymous

Wish they would legalize it for other health conditions like anxiety, panic, depression, migraines and other more severe health conditions not mentioned in the laws. Although think in the long run, it can make those conditions worse. And everyone would be going to their dr complaining of headache and anxiety. Easier to get in California.
Anonymous

Don’t you just love the BDN double standard? We’re “slapping” a tax on medicinal marijuana, which sounds punitive and negative, yet when it comes to increasing marginal tax rates, we’ll read something mundane and gooey sounding, like “asking them to pay their fair share.”

Yup. No bias here – just pure objective journalism. Keep moving.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Regina-Hosebeast/100002095287763 Regina Hosebeast

Maine. What a joke. People that qualify for medicinal marijuana are likely not wealthy and by law now, can legally take prescribed marijuana for pain and other debilitating conditions. So “let’s walk it to em”. Tax the living heck out of them.

Excuse me but ” The state of Maine has a 5.0% sales tax with exemptions for food and prescription medications. ” Period.

Maine. The way life should be. (Anything goes as long as we can tax it!) Pathetic.
Anonymous

Turn MRS into the feds you might get a reward.
Anonymous

if they are taxing what is considered a prescription drug, then why are all other Rx drugs not taxed? What is the difference? They are taxing something for medical purposes, not recreation items. We already tax too much..need to overhaul tax system in Maine..take a look at NH.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_5UNYCGGAJUFC77EA5ZJA7M7QJU xw

I have illegally smoked marijuana for 12 years never been caught, never had a problem, and I have paiid a “premium” for my bags… sometimes as much as $70 for 3.5 grams but .. to me its worth it for the quality . …. . but I don’t smoke cigs or drink daily, make my own money, and have no attachments to public money
Anonymous

Is a joke required to be funny, cause you’re not funny, but you’re a joke?
Anonymous

Just thinking about it gives me the munchies!
Anonymous

Can I get my fireworks, penicillin, and pot all in one pill? How about brownies?
Anonymous

Copy that.
Kevin_Of_Bangor

And that is your opinion and your opinion only.

My mother was riddled with cancer and she choose modern pharmaceuticals to control her pain and she choose that method till the day she died. Even if medical marijuana was an option for her she would not have choose it.

My mother’s pain was managed properly via doctors until she died. So yes… Been there, done that.
Kevin_Of_Bangor

And all the pot heads say legalize it and tax it because they think it will solve everything but when we want to tax it at 7% they freak out and say……

No man!!! You can do that….
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

Just because YOU do not like a law or disagree with it does not negate it. I disagree with many laws personally as a firearm collector I have to know allot of real stupid ones. As a former owner of a few businesses I could go on for at least a few hours on laws that make every aspect doing business hard to impossible. Guess what I obeyed them. I had lawyer on retainer for 12 years just to make sure I was doing juts that at a cost of over a quarter million dollars juts for that over the 12 years.

If you disagree with the law change it. Choosing to ignore the law because you don’t like it well if that where a defense we would have no jails would we?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

Ok so this state system in Ca that has been going on for all this time all the pot they sell has the same thc in it? NOPE Some have much higher levels then others. Also as there is no regulatory system in place Those who smoke it can be exposed to all kinds of wonderful chemicals that can make them sicker or kill them.

The fact that one can not overdose is juts one small issue. What about those that drive while on it and take out a family? Also the BIG difference is that a prescription is a FEDERAL requirement not state. So to get pot in a state that says it is ok even though it is still illegal there are no requirements on the giving out as there is no prescription for it just permission. Technically speaking using a prescription pad to prescribe pot is in and of itself a federal crime as under federal law pot is illegal.
Anonymous

Sorry Kevin. There is a HUGE difference between a pothead and someone who uses cannabis for medical purposes.
Anonymous

No. By adding the word most, I avoided the blanket statement. ;>
Anonymous

Incredibly expensive brownies they would be, considering some dispensaries are getting $10 for a brownie and $325 for an ounce of cannabis. The patient would also have no idea how much to use and may take too much possibly resulting in anxiety, paranoia etc…
It’s a huge convenience to have the brownies already made for many reasons. The biggest one being the pain it is for some to make cannabutter. I can’t even stand for more than 10 minutes without pain shooting through my upper back down to my feet. My brownies would never get made. I am sure I’m not alone.
Anonymous

It took a combination of both to help my husband.
Anonymous

The law has been changed and it is legal in Maine.
kkmousse

If they want the pot fine. If they want the brownies pay the tax or make your own and avoid the tax. I do know that my niece with a rare form of cateracts (she has had since age 25 now age 32) does use pot to alleviate the pain of the disease. She does make her own brownies. She also lives in a State where it is not legal to buy medical pot. Yes I do feel for those people that are in so much pain that they believe that pot helps with the pain. But I also so believe that there are a good number of scammers out there and they are in no pain at all but have managed to legally acquire pot for some ficticious reason.
Anonymous

This is why it is better for pot to remain slightly illegal like it is now. No taxes and the money circulates locally between the growers and the smokers. No government involvement is always best.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

When Maine Revenue Services says 5% to smoke it and 7% to eat it, how do they plan on enforcing that? How will they know what a person does with it once he/she has it?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

So she probably used Oxycontin which is synthetic heroin to control her pain and in your mind, because the powers that be have determined that synthetic heroin is legal and pot is not that this was definitely the correct decision? How many Oxycontin addicts do we have in Maine – thousands. How many pot addicts, probably none.
http://twitter.com/leokowal leo kowal

Yes……..tax the most safer form of marijuana use the most…….tax the more dangerous smoked in the lungs form less……….who writes these stupid laws anyway……….hell i don’t even use the stuff……but even i say straight up legalize it already.
Anonymous

I appreciate your reply, but you are preaching to the choir. I support MM.

the FDA was not able to approve MM fast enough for the Maine voters. we have created a confusing working environment for patients, providers and police.

the clinics seem to be (exclusively?) from out of State. Probably because the people from CA and MT have business models in place that they can cookie-cutter to Maine.

Again, Maine sits here and says where are the jobs? and out of staters see potential where we see division and finger pointing.

Forget about jobs. Where is the investment? Where are the Maine business people seeing the opportunity for a new legal crop so well suited for the farming culture of Maine?
Anonymous

4.
Anonymous

That is totally wrong. But governments are hardly ever right. What should be done is to put a state tax on ALL marijuana. If some one is caught smoking or in possession, they must show proof that they paid a tax on the weed. If they cannot prove they paid a tax, then they have an additional fine put on their punishment. If and when marijuana finally becomes legal, teh taxes will be in place and the state in the interim starts collecting taxes on some of the weed now.
Anonymous

what’s worse, pot or booze? no doubt, booze. but lets not fool ourselves about addiction.

” …between 10 to 30% of regular users will develop dependency. Only about 9% will have a serious addiction. For an excellent post on the biology of marijuana addiction see http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/all-about-addiction/201001/is-marijuana-addictive-you-can-bet-your-heroin

are there reports that state pot is not addictive? sure, and there are also articles that claim that marijuana is so politicized that any studies are moot.

shopping can be addictive. and gambling too.
Anonymous

more people in all states where mj is legal have little or nothing wrong with them, just well paid doctors, like the one outside of Portland..$300.00 to get diagnosed so yo can legally get mj. He is the pathetic one, and the other doctors that won’t diagnose for medical reasons mj are total hypocrites.
Anonymous

I have to pay taxes on my pain meds. like aspirin, Icy hot, pain wraps, and stuff like that so what’s the difference? If they don’t want to pay the sack tax, then they should boil their pot butter and make their own brownies. If you don’t want to do that, then pay the tax, just as I have to for my Twinkies.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

I agree and its even worse than you said. MRS makes up rules to suit them and will tell you point blank that if you disagree, you can appeal the decision but by appealing, you risk a much higher cost to defend than just paying the tax. Most people just pay the tax, I call it legalized extortion.
Anonymous

The difference is you don’t have to have a prescription for aspirin, Icy Hot, pain wraps, and stuff like that.
Anonymous

I just smoked and had a brownie and I feel good. Come find me…..naaa na na na naaaaa
Anonymous

ok..then lets the stigma of smoking marijauna be just as commor as a saying like “I have a headache…I need an asprin”!!
Anonymous

Yeah and so if I wore a size 9 shoe and it works for me then it should work for Kevin too right?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_SHNOU64ZBOBIKWUF5IM6WSH7WA entitled4life

I was mentioning that Oxycontin is synthetic heroin, highly addictive and that we, as a society, have no problem with taking a handful of that to make the pain go away but smoke a little pot and the mice come out of the walls.
Anonymous

LOVE the Novocaine reference!I’ve dealt with them too as an executor.NOT fun.Thanks for the laugh(and a great post)
Anonymous

Stop giving them ideas.I’m sure workhouses are the next great ALEC trial balloon.
Anonymous

I know someone who is using MM for chemo.She does not smoke,drink or use ANY drugs(legal or not)before now.Her family has an addictive side so she was terrified of MM.
Nothing else helps her and she tried everything her doctor(who does not support MM)said first.
Anonymous

I don’t know how many brownies one needs for relief-is 50 brownies a month a reasonable guess?Than by this,the tax would be $35 on a $500 expenditure.I absolutely think this tax is wrong.
Anonymous

At one time dealers of illegal drugs were required to have a tax stamp-and if they bought the stamp,they wouldn’t be targeted for dealing.Riiiight.
Anonymous

And locally between them and the Mexican cartels?Legalization would break the cartels at least for pot.They’d find some other way to make money.
Anonymous

It’s all about the money. I think I could get a permit for a legal brothel, so long as I gave MRS the towel concession.
Anonymous

Does this mean that the feds can arrest the state of maine for getting directly paid protection money for pot? I mean, when you think about it… that’s kind of what it is in this case, if you pay your taxes the state leaves you alone but the feds may still come after you! Also, there is already pot in pill form, there is really no need for people to need it in the form of baked goods. I know the brownies are a good way to get your high and cut out the munchies in one step, but come on guys, one step at a time!
AionNV

The rate was supposed to be 5%, I’m surprised you’d be all for taxing sick people even more.

Let’s raise the taxes on ALL medicines another 2%, see how much you cry then.
Moose

Lets all smoke pot and act like Us Congress and half of them that work in the Augusta White House..
AionNV

It’s not a mere opinion, pain management is more complex than anecdotal statements.
AionNV

It’s a better option, because a terminal patient can always kill themselves with oxy.

You can’t kill yourself with mj.
Anonymous

I find it interesting that it would require legislative action to address this 7% tax but that legislative action was not required to institute it.
AionNV

If you see “mice come out of the walls” smoking pot, you have far more serious problems than anything weed is inducing, and should seek psychiatric help for your undiagnosed condition.
AionNV

And for every one on preemption drugs, there are how many more ?
AionNV

They are afraid of being harassed by the local cops, working with the DEA, and not supported by the local governments, the way they are in CA.

Maine, as usual, is it’s own worst enemy, economically.
Anonymous

Booze makers will fight this to the end.
AionNV

That makes no sense, medicine should not be taxed. Period.
AionNV

Taxing medicine is wrong.

Legalize it if you want to tax it’s recreational use, and in the process, you’ll cease to be a hypocrite.
Anonymous

This is so ridiculous–this whole med maryjane thing—pot is so easy to obtain–anyone can get it anytime–why frig with a doctor to get it–or pay any tax on it–that’s stupid–just get it and use it how you want–brownies-joint-vaporizers–etc etc–everyone that wants ta do it is doing it and has been for ages–geeeeesh
AionNV

Your argument means essentially that states should always be subservient to federal law.

So you’re good with that ?
AionNV

Then vote them out of office.
AionNV

Literally, tax them to death.
Anonymous

We did.
AionNV

They make prescription painkillers in pop-sickles. Is this not a “prepared food” ?

Absolutely not, it’s medicine. This is merely tax-grab form an abusive government agency.
AionNV

It’s crazy, it’s Maine.
Anonymous

It’s called the Maine State Lottery.
AionNV

Then again, what kind of crime would the cartles then turn to ?
AionNV

Astute observation !
AionNV

You can’t really smoke a brownie, genius.
AionNV

No, no, no, the reason precise measurements are necessary for pharmaceuticals and other drugs is because they are toxic at particular levels. MJ is not toxic, so there’s far more leeway so far as dose is concerned.

And people DO titrate doses, it’s not anything new or unusual.
AionNV

YOu know even less about prescriptions than you do about basic pharmacology.
Anonymous

What the criminy is MRS smoking?
Anonymous

Awful lot of non medical pot users in here.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Christopher-Ruhlin/1588252249 Christopher Ruhlin

Just like many other aspects of Maine’s medical marijuana law this is an insult to sick people.
Another example of how the State is incapable of acting on behalf of it’s people. It is like being ruled by a hundred little kings, with one hand in a fist and the other in your wallet.
Anonymous

just legalize it already ! what a waste of time and money fighting this . just do it already. if you get cought driving under the influence of pot it should be the same as driving under the influence of anything else. move on to the hard drugs !!!!!!
Anonymous

Medical marijuana is a medicine… more than likely those who choose the brownies just never even smoked anything, not a cigarette, not a pipe and certainly not marijuana and they don’t want to start now. How RIDICULOUS is it to punish patients for NOT being smokers? I mean really… are they kidding?

So… okay it would seem the answer to this incredibly odd “problem” is to for patients to get their prescription medical marijuana in normal dried plant form and then bake it into their own brownies – it’s certainly cheaper than paying higher taxes on it.

I’m just stunned that there is any tax on any kind of prescription medication. I mean seriously , this is like the state getting a (tax) percentage on the sale of marijuana and they aren’t doctors, pharmacists, and don’t even have a medical reason for any involvement whatsoever in the sale of prescriptions whether it be medical marijuana or any other kind of prescription drug.

This is not the same as taxing alcohol or other drugs that are intended for recreational use only. It’s more like paying state taxes on one type of prescription medication. I don’t think medications for asthma, arthritis, pink eye or medications for any other illness is taxed. So this is absolutely senseless to single out this one prescription medication for taxing. It’s just WRONG.

OH… and since I can no longer reply to blueskiesaboveme’s comment that “medical marijuana is not a prescription medication”… YES it is. It is a drug and it does require a prescription to be legal otherwise it would be sold over the counter at Rite Aid like other non-prescription drugs.
Anonymous

Those are over the counter medications that do not need any type of prescription or doctor recommendation. Dying cancer patients, elderly patients, those suffering from MS, RA, seizures, HIV patients, patients with spinal cord injuries, those with glaucoma, PTSD, fibromyalgia, IBS, Crones Disease etc., should not have to pay taxes on the medication that allows them relief from their suffering.

Someone with pain needing an aspirin and someone having pain with any of these disease are two entirely different things. Stop mocking the sickest among us.
Anonymous

But those people you mention are going to buy and smoke pot regardless of whether it is legal or not, regardless if they are truly suffering.
Anonymous

When someone is suffering, when they cannot sleep or eat because of their illness or injury, they really aren’t too concerned with developing an addiction. There is no physical addiction with marijuana but there is a psychological addiction for some.
Anonymous

What a disgrace when a doctor dealing with a cancer patient doesn’t support them using a natural substance to ease their suffering. It is unconscionable.
http://www.tohic.com Matthew

The tax rate on any prepared food or beverage sold in the state of maine is 7%. not 5% (and if more than 75% of your business is prepared foods or beverages, you are required by the state to charge 7% on everything you sell, even if it would normally be taxed at 5%)
Anonymous

I have watched many documentaries and news shows that talk about the fact that the patients in CA can get the same grades of MM every time that they go. When the same growers are growing the product, patients get MM that is the same.

I frankly don’t care what the federal government says. I care about what the citizens of Maine have said. Time and time again they have approved and supported MM for the state of Maine.

There are far more people on our highways with legally prescribed medications in their systems that cause impairments when they drive. Many MM patients are too sick to leave their homes or too sick to drive. Most people using MM do not technically get high to get relief. For many, two or three inhalations will last for hours. There is a difference between the recreational user who purposely wants to become impaired and a MM patient who wants relief but does not want to be impaired.
Anonymous

The one that you speak of uses a holistic approach so prescribing MM is one component. He also focuses on diet, supplements, stress reducing practices. Most insurance companies will cover a large portion of the workup.

It is not up to us to judge who has a real need or not. That is between a patient and their doctor. Looking at someone from the outside, we do not know how much they are suffering physically or mentally.
Anonymous

Except many suffering people might not try it if it remained illegal. Now, many will give it a try because it is legal.
Anonymous

Except we are talking about some of the sickest among us, many who are disabled and can’t work and are barely surviving. Hiking the tax on a medicine for families already suffering financially is not right.
Anonymous

that’s what i mean.

if anything, you would think the libertarian, business is everything GOP would be all over this as an opportunity.

shows how skeeered they are of the people in their own party
Anonymous

no doubt you are right, a huge hypocrisy.
Anonymous

Is this a post from an actual moose or were you typing while running?
Anonymous

Uh if you have a prescription for Medical Marijuana, then shouldn’t it be the same as any other prescription? NO TAX?
Anonymous

TN, please know, I am deeply empathetic towards you and your loved one and what you both endured. But I have also seen addiction first hand. So I am sharing that as a matter of honesty, not as a matter of contradiction.

a brief correction re: your description of addiction. addiction occurs when the pleasure center of the brain is hijacked. The addicts brain is physically altered by addiction. So, I do not see a differentiation between ‘mental and physical addiction’

and of course I am not worried about cancer sufferers becoming addicted. please read my comments again, I am talking about everybody else.
Anonymous

ummmm… when I mix my kiddos med’s with apple juice so he can get it down I have to pay the tax on the juice (5%). If I’m on the road and want the convenience of a glass of prepared apple juice at a restaurant for the same purpose I pay the 7%. It’s a convenience tax. Bake your own brownies if you want to save the 2% :)
Anonymous

I have seen addiction first hand as well. I was meaning that a physical addiction means that your body has become so accustomed to the substance in your body that when you remove it there is an extensive period of physical withdrawal that can be troublesome and bothersome.

If there is a slight physical withdrawal from marijuana, it consists primarily of a slight fever, aches, anxiety. The psychological withdrawal is probably more difficult. One can smoke everyday for years but then have little or no trouble with the physical withdrawal. Where if someone had been on oxycontin for years or who has been addicted to alcohol, there would be a horrid withdrawal period.
Anonymous

For arguments sake it takes 30 says for pot to get out of ones system (symptoms and all). Operating under the influence is already illegal (substance irrelevant). Have you looked at the state of Amsterdam lately??? It’s already as easy as pie (without the 7% tax) to legally obtain mary jane. I find in these arguments the only ones who supported legalizing it are pot heads to begin with ;)
Anonymous

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously disagrees with you on a physician’s liability for ”recommending” the reefer. (See Conant v. Walters, 2002).
Anonymous

This is a fraud. Cannabis is a vegetable plant. It comes from a seed from nature. Vegetable plants are food and as such are not taxable. The leaves are full of anitoxidants to repel cancer and keep the body strong, this is the true value of the plant. “The Emporer Wears No Clothes.” You can fool some of the people some of the time…….
Anonymous

“when WE ??? want to tax it at 7% they freak out and say…… No man!!! You can do that…”

Not to medical marijuana.
What part of the term “medical” don’t you understand ?

New headline;

Maine slaps 7% tax on cancer chemo therapy and chronic pain prescriptions.

There is the right humane perspective.
Get it now ?

Your welcome.
Feel free to ask the next time you don’t have a clue,
but please do so before you go off.
Anonymous

and what’s an apple? It’s taxed the same way. You’re way off the mark on this one.
Anonymous

The compassionate conservatives demanded a sin tax on medical marijuana.
It got it to those that need it.
Deal done.
It’s called compromising.

But rising ONLY that tax is an outrage !!
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_DHPONOGE5MN25UVIYOBH6XEA3A Moon

I think it’s a good idea. But that tax hike is because its a “junk” food tax like you would pay at fast food places. It’s a lost fight to keep the pot smokers away from the Ganja and if it is legalized fully I think the State would make good profit out of the deal. Maine needs everything we can get and myself wouldn’t mind paying taxes on it to do it. It will support the State of Maine and hope that it will drop the pillheads. Spend the tax revenue on putting the junkies in jail and fighting that battle, after all it’s the Government that makes the pills!! Pot can be grown and produced and if we have the right to grow our own stuff and get a license for it, the State can charge a tax yearly or monthly. Utilize that tax money for support and drug enforcement and fight the battle of opiates and put the pill heads away. Alcohol is much worse then pot and pill abuse is even worse than any, but the government makes a lot of money off the pills and cut backs. Use the pot as the pain relief because the people that take pain meds for the pain will keep using and selling. Maine would loose a lot of money if this state don’t fully make it legal, and we all know how Maine likes to not make money but spend it. VOTE NO on 2 as well thanks!!
Anonymous

I think the issue here is two different rates of tax….Plus it’s one thing to tax something used for recreation, and something prescribed by a doctor.
Anonymous

Let’s sit down , be reasonable and have a cup or three of coffee to get the edge off, and then talk about the evils of psychological addiction to pot.
Anonymous

Yeah, you covered it all, that way.

; 0
Anonymous

If they are paying for it how are they abusing the system?
Anonymous

How does it effect you negativity if someone uses pot? Medically or otherwise? Just curious?
Anonymous

Would that be considered double dipping then? lol
Anonymous

Too bad they don’t actually pay for the methadone…..The State would be taxing itself
Anonymous

What’s the tax on alcohol for recreation? Why should the tax be any higher than that? If MJ were going to be legalized…Tax the recreational use and not those with prescriptions…That way those that are smoking for recreation are also helping those who need it to survive the day.
Anonymous

Make it legal for everyone and tax it…..there is a difference!
Anonymous

Conservatives want everyone taxed but themselves!
Anonymous

Don’t you just love the BDN double standard? We’re “slapping” a tax on medicinal marijuana, which sounds punitive and negative, yet when it comes to increasing marginal tax rates, we’ll read something mundane and gooey sounding, like “asking them to pay their fair share.” Yup. No bias here – just pure objective journalism. Keep moving.

I posted this once already last night…but can’t find it.
Anonymous

Just look at the poll to substantiate your observation!
Anonymous

And on the other hand, 20 years ago my mother was on chemo. The anti-nausea meds they gave her basically put her to sleep for four days until the nausea passed. Her doctor told her if she could get her hands on some pot, it might be better. With the pot, she was awake and eating, while still mildly nauseaous. Of the two treatment options, she chose pot. She said the quality of life was much better and she felt more in control of her life.
Anonymous

Except many people are too sick to cook their own brownies. They should not be penalized because of the form that medical marijuana works best. I suspect your kiddos aren’t dying or having debilitating pain and suffering.
Anonymous

… and what’s your point exactly? a snack is a snack is a snack. Either add the drug to it or not. It’s still a prepared snack. I think too many people are missing the obvious and simple big picture. You can make the same argument for a nice, healthy salad. It’s still prepared food.
Anonymous

Medication put into a form where ill or injured people can ingest it is not a “snack.” The big picture is that there are sick, dying and injured people who are being charged tax on the medication that allows them relief from suffering. Does a prepared salad take away someone’s suffering? Does a Little Debbie brownie take away someone’s physical suffering? The ingredients for a nice salad are not taxed.
Anonymous

This is crazy, the Democrats passed this law and again show they are more interested in “inhancing” revenue than for the welfare of the people that they pretend to want to help.

It will be interesting to read all of the yahoos posting here blame LePage.
Anonymous

You know for a fact that the single serving,snack size, pot snacks would not be taxed at the snack tax rate?

Remember that both the snack tax and tax on “medical marijuana” were both passed by and signed into law by Democrats. Do you believe that this was not expected? or are they just numb as a pounded thumb?
Anonymous

The Democrats did it, they were in control.

I expect that they were planning on insurance companies to pay the tax.
Anonymous

I say again the compassionate, humane Democrats are responsible.
Anonymous

Actually I get the feeling that both IRS and state tax collectors have the belief that if you don’t just shut up and pay what you owe you are a tax cheat.
Kevin_Of_Bangor

Because we all know some pot head isn’t going to come up with some sort of illness so they can purchase it legally. That will never happen, only law abiding citizens with legit reason will apply.
Anonymous

I haven’t imbibed in anything that wasn’t grown within 20 miles of my home and by someone that I have known for 40 years. The whole cartel thing is a world away to me. My money stays local and is untaxed.
Anonymous

You should careful Big Brother is watching you.
Anonymous

That is not a poor tax, it is more of a stupid tax.
Anonymous

Some how I doubt that there was much danger of opiod addiction for a person dying of cancer.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=580877779 AlWolf Sandlin

(2009 - annual causes of death by cause)
Cause of death1NumberAll causes2,436,652Cardiovascular diseases779,367Malignant neoplasms568,668Drug induced237,485Suicide36,547Motor vehicle accidents36,284Septicemia (infections)35,587by Firearms31,224Accidental poisoning30,504Alcohol induced23,199Homicide16,591Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)9,424Viral hepatitis7,652Cannabis (Marijuana)0
1 Based on the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Second Edition, 20042 Drug induced include both legal and illicit drugs.
Source: Kochanek KD, Xu JQ, Murphy SL, et al. “Deaths: Preliminary data for 2009.” National vital statistics reports; vol 59 no 4. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2011. pp. 17-20.http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_04.pdf
Moose

From a real moose on the run.
Anonymous

There will be recreational users who will get a doctor to recommend it but at least this way that are tracked and are no longer buying it from the black market. Most don’t want to go through the bother though and will continue to do as they have done for a long time. At least now the truly suffering patients who wouldn’t have tried it before because it was illegal, will now have access to it without feeling like a criminal.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

“I frankly don’t care what the federal government says. I care about what
the citizens of Maine have said. Time and time again they have approved
and supported MM for the state of Maine. ”

State law can not be more lenient then federal law no matter what the people vote at the state level. While I also do not agree with that it is however the LAW.

I woudl call you attention to the Maine constitution article 1 section 16 “the people have the right to keep and bear arms this right shall never be questioned” According to this you should not have to any type of background check to buy any type of firearm. This was what was wrote when Maine was made a state and is our states founding document. However to buy a firearm in Maine you have to fill out a 4473. You have to apply and get a permit to carry a firearm. You can not carry even with a permit in courthouses schools and post offices. How can this be? The state law says you right to keep and bear arms shall never be questioned. Back to the simple facts we learned in school state law can never be less lenient then federal!

If you don’t like it fine. When you get arrested by the DEA for selling or buying pot you juts tell the judge that the state said you could and see how far you get. IF you do not like it you have to change the FEDERAL law. The state law is pointless and non binding in a court of law.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

“The law has been changed and it is legal in Maine.”

No it is not! As stated State law can not be less lenient then federal law. Just go read about those in CA doing time for pot. Better yet get your self a prescription for pot then get yourself some. Then go to a federal building in Maine and when you go through the screening throw it in the basket. When they arrest you say it is legal in Maine. When you go before the judge say “but it is legal in Maine now” then when you go to jail let me know how the law saying it is legal in Maine is going.

There are thousands in CA in jail for both buying and selling pot by those who had prescriptions.

It has been proven in courts over and over that this is not legal. The only way to change this is to make pot legal on the federal level. until that happens Maine saying it is legal means nothing!
Anonymous

Quote your source please. I would like to see the statistics for myself. When my husband was dying of cancer, it didn’t matter that it was illegal. When you see someone start their day every day vomiting for two years, whether or not it is legal or not doesn’t make a difference. The only thing that matters is relief from suffering. Most patients like my husband are very respectful and do not flaunt the fact that they use this medication.
Anonymous

I do not sell or buy pot. I am an advocate for medicinal use because of my experience with my husband who fought cancer nonstop for 10 1/2 years. Whether or not it is legal under state or federal law, people who are dying and suffering aren’t concerned with the legal ramifications. They are merely trying to get through another day.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NXPTPFL746OV2VGR5WBOEUF6W4 Roger

I did not say I liked it or agreed with it. Just because I do not like a law or disagree with it does not mean I do not follow it. Without laws we would be what? There are countless laws I think are stupid and useless. But allowing people to pick and choose the laws they follow based on there liking or disliking them would be anarchy.

I really hate the laws that take so much of my money for taxes. But I pay them.

If you do not like a law you have three choices. Obey it. Try to change it. Ignore it and pay the price. Your choice. The jails are full of those who don’t like some laws. They chose there path though.
Kevin_Of_Bangor

It is still illegal. The DEA could stop you on the street and take your pot. They have done it before in California.
Anonymous

A Dr. cannot prescribe marijuana. It is a recommendation. Just as the Dr. recommends that I take aspirin for my heart. I still have to pay taxes on it.
Anonymous

If it was legal for me to make my own pain meds I would do it. You missed my point, making pot brownies is as easy as making toll house cookies. If you don’t want to take the time to do it yourself to save money then that’s your problem. Pay the tax.
Anonymous

The sickest among us are not smoking pot. And there is a recommendation for pot for people with headaches. Do you know how many M.S. prescriptions cost over $6000 per month? Does anybody care? Only if you don’t have insurance. To me that’s mocking the sickest among us. Pay this or else you will die. And that’s just M.S.. Think about all the others you listed, the sales tax is nothing compared to the cost for them to stay alive. Really isn’t fair for the people who have one of these illnesses and don’t have insurance.
Anonymous

Are you disabled and dying?
Anonymous

Many people are too sick to do this.
Anonymous

When my husband was using it, it didn’t matter to us if he got caught or not. We were just trying to get him through each day.
Anonymous

As I posted above, they are recommending it for migraines. My migraines are controlled by ibuprofen that I have to pay a tax on.
Anonymous

The law has been changed in Maine.
Anonymous

that’s a good argument for overall legalization, which I would support.

but to answer your question, if the voters approved medical use, and all the stoners are buying from ‘medical providers’ then they are all abusing the system, since it is for medical use.
Anonymous

How can they tax medical marijuana any different than they do any other medicine? Many medicines are chewable, bubble gum flavored etc. Are they also going to charge 7% for vitamins that are made like gummy bears and calcium that is made into chocolate caramel?? Where is the common sense!!!!
Anonymous

Some people have debilitating migraines that are not controlled by ibuprofen. Many take prescription meds for migraines that have unwanted side effects. Some cannot be helped with prescribed medications. I know someone who ends up in the ER with IV meds on occasion because they get too bad.

It is best to leave the decisions to the patient and their doctor as each is unique rather than make a judgement against someone.
Anonymous

Some people have debilitating migraines that are not controlled by ibuprofen. Many take prescription meds for migraines that have unwanted side effects. Some cannot be helped with prescribed medications. I know someone who ends up in the ER with IV meds on occasion because they get too bad.

It is best to leave the decisions to the patient and their doctor as each is unique rather than make a judgement against someone.
http://www.infowars.com Pat Riote

No, conservatives (like me, anyways) want everyone taxed at the same (fair) rate.
http://www.infowars.com Pat Riote

Yeah, and the DEA is out of control. To *heck* with the DEA.
Anonymous

“”" He stressed Maine Revenue Services is just interpreting current law.”"” More like manipulating! If they are gonna tax it then legalize it.. This is a medicine and this should not be taxed..
Anonymous

“All the Stoners”…..do you call everyone who uses alcohol and Alcoholic? As far as I know even with prescription these people are paying for it….”Stoner” or not how are they abusing the system? No one is paying for or paying for transportation for these people to get weed.
Anonymous

How can you compare medication to juice? If your kid’s medication came in a tasty liquid or a flavored gummy it would not be taxed. But food products like juice are going to be taxed like any other non-prescription item. In fact if this person who is taking prescription medical marijuana has other prescriptions and they, like your kiddo, use juice to wash the medication down they are taxed on the juice. Maybe it might be more logical and equal to compare to juice to juice and prescription medication to prescription medication.

Some prescriptions come as gummies, some as flavored liquids, chewable tablets and yes, some come in brownie form or tobacco-like form for smoking. It’s not relevant what form the prescription medication comes in… it is still prescription medication and that can’t be compared to any grocery item.

You know what really bugs me about hard-nosed people who have no problem with very sick people having to pay taxes and extra taxes for their medication? It’s that it demonstrates an absolute lack of human compassion. It’s heartless.

People who receive a prescription for medical marijuana are not getting it for recreational use. They are generally very, very ill and most typically dying from cancer. The truth is I don’t think any prescription medications should be taxed at all for anyone and I particularly think it’s pretty tacky of the State of Maine to target cancer patients for extra taxes on medications. It’s a bit revolting to think of the State trying to get all they can in taxes before these very ill people “kick the bucket.”
Anonymous

It’s not a prescription.
It’s medicine, that is recommended with a “written doctors recomendation.”
Yeah, it’s a semantic gray area.
But, prescriptions are regulated by the FDA.
And until marijuana is downgraded from its Schedule 1 listing on the Control Substance Act, there’s little wiggle room.
Hence the semantic gray area, doctors recomendations, sales taxes etc.
Anonymous

Medical Marijuana is not a prescription medication.
Anonymous

Marijuana is a medicine as much as , say gin. I like gin. It makes my pain go away. Like a pain medicine would. It relaxes me, like an anti anxiety medicine would. It is not good for my health, and is not a medicine. I pay taxes on it, as should marijuana users.
Anonymous

Don’t raise taxes on medical patients! If you want to raise taxes for recreational users then legalize it and then tax it properly. But DON’T tax medical marijuana patients.
Anonymous

Medical Marijuana is not a prescription medication.
So it is taxed, like over the counter medications.
But since you need a dr’s letter of recomendation to get legal access,
access is limited to the general public.

Medical Marijuana is non-toxic. You cant overdose on marijuana.
Medical Marijuana is versatile, and can help with a wide range of ailments.

Studies have shown, the main ingredient THC, can help prevent tumor growth.
I know I dont want to have tumors, or tumor growth in my body,
I (and everyone over 21) should be able to use Medical Marijuana as a Preventive Medicine.

So legislatures,
When you reconvene and address the Medical Marijuana tax issue,
make it a flat tax for marijuana in any form.
But also classify it, as a over-the-counter medicine, for adults 21yrs and over,
as a preventive medicine.

Thank you.
Anonymous

I’m not passing judgement on any one. The story is on tax not conditions or who qualifies. pot is not a lifesaving drug treatment. It is to make you more comfortable. Anything I buy to make me more comfortable I have to pay taxes on. Everyone has been saying for years “legalize it and tax it to help the economy” Now that it’s happened you are crying foul. You can’t have it both ways.
Anonymous

If they are that sick then someone is taking care of the cooking for them.
Anonymous

I’m not disabled yet but I am dying. We all are, some sooner than others. Pot does not save your life. But the medications that do save your life is priced so high that if you don’t have insurance you can’t afford it. That’s when you turn to Oxys and marijuana to make your road to death a little more comfortable.
Anonymous

Hey Dude pot brownies should be free, man cause they’re a food source too, dude food shouldn’t be taxed
Anonymous

You helped me prove my point, thank you. You don’t care about people who can’t afford life saving drugs, you only care about high side of killing ones pain. How much is one pot brownie? $5.00? If so that’s a whopping .35. You spend 4 times that on your morning coffee.
Anonymous

It’s too late to be careful: Once freedom of speech is gone it’s gone and a bureaucracy like MRS uses its extraordinary discretionary powers to persecute its perceived political enemies. MRS is already doing that and has acknowledged that it keeps an enemies list. It doesn’t make any difference that you conscientiously follow the labyrinth of rules the best you can and pay your taxes. They don’t tolerate dissent and behave like vicious, paranoid bureaucrats when suspecting that someone is opposed to their policies — that makes you a “tax protester” who “must be” doing something wrong. The only hope is to speak out against this and try to reform the abuse before the precedents become much worse. A rogue agency behaving this way is very dangerous to a free society and civil rights and must be opposed.
Anonymous

It is not a rogue agency, it’s the entire government that has become rogue.
Anonymous

It is worse than that. Part of the “expense” of challenging them is that they threaten to impose “penalties” doubling the alleged tax if you don’t shut up and pay them off (in addition to enormous, punitive interest rates). This is clearly an extortionist abuse of power contrary to the original purpose of “penalties”.

Then the administrative appeal (“reconsideration”) turns out to be meaningless because the same people who imposed the original decision rubber stamp themselves. They have also been known to illegally threaten to seize your property if you don’t pay them off, claiming that you have no right to an appeal. The “taxpayer advocate” is a farce — he works directly for the commissioner and does what he is told.

If you try to challenge them in court the nightmare has only begun. They use abusive litigation tactics to harass, intimidate and drive up costs while refusing to submit to routine procedures themselves. They have enormous extra-constitutional powers under ambiguous administrative law exempt from respecting civil rights that even criminals have. The court system doesn’t care about the abuse and only looks at MRS ambiguous taxing authority, typically deferring to bureaucratic discretion — “they must know what they are doing”.

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