Senior citizens in Washington, D.C. are on the verge of being able to access medical marijuana without having to get a doctor’s recommendation.
The D.C. Council voted unanimously to pass a measure on Tuesday to expand access to the District’s medical marijuana program, Marijuana Moment writes.
The “Medical Marijuana Patient Access Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2022” will help patients in the jurisdiction and encourage people to get their medical cannabis from licensed retailers instead of from gray market vendors.
The proposal will allow senior citizens over 65 to access cannabis products based on self-certification for medical needs until September 30 - without having to go through physicians for a recommendation and renewals, which can be prohibitive.
The measure sheds light on the rising cost of cannabis at licensed dispensaries and “the continuing threat posed by illicit cannabis storefronts and delivery services,” the document writes.
To alleviate that situation for seniors, many of whom are on fixed incomes, the measure will create a 4/20 Medical Cannabis Sales Tax Holiday Week where patients would not have to pay the normal 6 percent sales tax from April 20 through April 24, 2022.
Washington D.C. residents voted for cannabis possession and home growing back in 2014, however, the market is still unregulated and people are not allowed to accept any form of remuneration for gifting.
“It is estimated that the illicit cannabis market in the District logs $600 million in sales annually, including those by illicit cannabis storefronts and delivery services, and this, in turn, is economically harming the medical cannabis program,” according to the resolution that was presented by chairman Phil Mendelson (D) and councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D).
New York Paves The Way For Other States
In the meantime, this latest breakthrough in Washington DC comes on the heels of the New York State Office of Cannabis Management's (OCM) launch of a program that expands eligibility for patients who can benefit from medical cannabis by allowing the certification of a patient by a practitioner for any condition that the physician believes can be treated with medical cannabis.
Cannabis Control board chair Tremaine Wright called the new system "terrific."
Photo: Courtesy of CRYSTALWEED cannabis on Unsplash
