Eliminate Taxes on Medical Marijuana Purchases (SB 5004)
Senate Bill 5004 was introduced in early 2021, and if passed, it would eliminate excise taxes on DOH-certified products when they’re purchased by registered medical marijuana patients.
This bill is obviously a step in the right direction, as no person should ever have to pay a 37% tax on their medicine, but SB 5004 doesn’t go far enough. This rule would only apply to DOH-certified cannabis products which account for less than 1% of the commercially available cannabis products at I502 retail shops, but all forms of cannabis have therapeutic value— even the “shwaggy, moldy, powdery, low-potency, heavy-metal-contaminated ditchweed” grown by University of Mississippi for the federal medical marijuana program— so SB 5004 needs to be revised to create a tax exception for all I502 products.
Without naming names, we know damn well that the main competitor to one of these DOH-certified brands consistently produces far more effective products, and it’s absurd that the state would force seriously ill patients to pay for the less-effective DOH-certified medicine they can afford over something uncertified that actually works. Contact your legislators and ask them to amend and pass SB 5004.
How to Take Action
Check the bill status page to see if the bill is in committee, on the house calendar, or on the senate calendar.
Committee: When the bill is scheduled for a public hearing, go to this page and register to testify remotely or submit a written testimony in favor of the bill.
House: When the bill is on the House calendar, contact your Representatives and ask them to vote in favor of this bill. Feel free to use the sample email below.
Senate: When the bill is on the Senate calendar, contact your Senators and ask them to vote in favor of this bill. Feel free to use the sample email below.
Share this page with fellow patients & users and encourage them to do the same.
Sample Email
Dear [REPRESENTATIVE OR SENATOR’S NAME],
My name is [YOUR NAME] , a [YOUR CITY] resident and member of Patients and Users for Reasonable Policy. I’m writing to request that you support and pass SB 5004 as it would create a tax exemption for medical marijuana patients who purchase their medicine from licensed I502 retail establishments.
It is very uncommon for any state to levy taxes on prescription medications, and requiring a 37% tax rate on one specific form of medication is cruel and unconscionable.
RCW 82.08.021 specifies that taxes do not apply to "sales of drugs for human use dispensed or to be dispensed to patients, pursuant to a prescription," then specifically mentions marijuana as an exception to this regulation. I understand that cannabis is still federally illegal, but the state has already made the decision to facilitate the propagation of this Schedule I drug and profit off of its sale, so the legislature shouldn't get to to pick and choose which aspects of cannabis prohibition it wants to uphold. There is no excuse to continue collecting tax revenue from seriously ill patients who need to supplement or replace the treatment they receive through our healthcare system.
Though SB 5004 represents a step in the right direction, it doesn't go far enough as it would only eliminate excise taxes on DOH certified cannabis products, which represent an extremely small percentage of the products that are commercially available to patients (I believe one I502 licensee testified that they represent less than 1% of the market). Availability aside, this clause would benefit DOH certified I502 producers over the patients themselves, and it perpetuates the myth that CBD-rich products are the only form of cannabis with any therapeutic benefit.
All this is to say that not all medical marijuana patients have the same needs, but all forms of cannabis has therapeutic value, including high THC products. For example, RSO (also known as Rick Simpson Oil, an ethanol based cannabis extract) is an extremely popular medicine among seriously ill patients but I'm not aware of any DOH-certified RSO products. SB 5004 should be amended to provide a tax exemption for all I502 products, not just products with a DOH seal.
If there is any concern that safety testing doesn't go far enough for the majority of I502 products as opposed to DOH certified products, I'd be quick to point out the fact that the state opted to lower safety thresholds for aerobic bacteria, yeasts & molds, coliform, enterobacteria, and residual solvents in 2017, so maybe all cannabis consumers would be better off if the DOH standards (testing for heavy metals, prohibited pesticides, and mycotoxins) were applied to all I502 products.
Some of your colleagues might believe that creating a tax exemption for all I502 products would result in a decrease in the state's marijuana tax revenue, but the truth is that many of these patients are already turning to the gray or black market for their medicine so any positive or negative economic impact would be negligible. More importantly, the health and well being of your constituents should be a bigger priority than making sure seriously ill patients pay exorbitant taxes on their medicine.
Please help us amend and pass SB 5004. Thank you for your time and consideration.
