Medical marijuana farmers would have to face a $200 annual fee for every single crop they grow if a proposal under review by the Oregon Health Authority is approved. Medical marijuana farmers in Oregon are allowed to grow marijuana for up to four patients. The rules in place now force these farmers to pay Oregon $50 for every patient that the grower takes. However, new changes that expanded the health authority’s oversight of production and processing persuaded officials to bring up steeper fees in order to pay for expenses.
The fee will likely raise revenue from $1.3 million to $5.2 million from 2015 to 2017. Those who grow marijuana for their own purposes will not need to pay ant fees. Also, the $200 price needed to obtain a medical marijuana card will remain unchanged. Oregon is one of the states with the highest medical marijuana patient fees. Minnesota and New Jersey are also along this list, but New Jersey’s medical marijuana license is only valid for two years, ProCon.org reports.
The fee increase proposed in Oregon was decided at a meeting Monday of the health authority’s rules advisory committee, which is currently coming up with regulations for the medical marijuana industry as well as the recreational marijuana industry (e.g. serving sizes). If the fees are decided upon, they will officially go into effect on March 1st. The agency also offered a $4,000 annual fee for those who extract cannabis or produce concentrates.
Medical marijuana patients in Oregon have not been happy about the fees involved in obtaining a card for some time now. Also, there have been complaints about revenue that is being used to pay for Oregon’s medical marijuana program, regulations, and various public health efforts. From 2013 to 2015, medical marijuana fees equated to $22.1 million while it only costs $8.1 million to administer the medical marijuana program. Another $8.8 million in revenue generated is put towards “public health programs, including clean drinking water programs, contraceptive care, school-based health centers and other public health efforts.”
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