Save on State and Local Taxes Recreational use taxes attract higher state and local taxes through a 15% excise tax and additional sales taxes. Having a medical marijuana card can save you up to 25% of your purchases, since taxes don't usually apply for medical use. A medical marijuana identification card is optional, patients do not need to obtain one to legally use medical marijuana, just a doctor's recommendation. A California Medical Cannabis Card is a document that identifies the bearer as a legal patient of medical marijuana.
If your card is lost, damaged, or stolen, please notify the Medical Marijuana Program at (86 621-2204). The recommending physician should review existing patient medical records before making a recommendation, including reviewing any other medications patients are already using. Qualified patients are exempt from state sales tax if they present a valid medical marijuana identification card issued by CDPH at the time of retail purchase of medical cannabis products. After Proposition 64 legalized recreational marijuana, the legislature passed the “Cannabis for Medical and Adult Use Regulation and Safety Act (“MAUCRSA”), which created a combined regulatory system for medical and recreational marijuana.
The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (Health & Safety Code, section 11362) ensures that seriously ill Californians and their primary caregivers, who possess or cultivate marijuana for the patient's personal medical purposes on the recommendation or approval of a physician, are not subject to California criminal prosecution or sanction. A doctor may recommend that a person's health benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other disease for which marijuana provides relief. In 2004, the California Department of Health Services established the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP) to facilitate the registration of qualified patients and their caregivers, through a state identification system. With a host of benefits to help patients get the medications they need, a medical card could be the first step in taking control of your life.
This will also place you in a database that contains information for all medical marijuana patients in California. SB 420 also required the Department of Health Services to establish and maintain a statewide medical marijuana identification card and registration program for qualified patients and caregivers. The San Diego County Medical Marijuana Identification Card Program (MMIC) provides patients with the State Medical Marijuana Identification Card, a voluntary card registration program that identifies medical marijuana patients under the Compassionate Use Act. With a Medical Cannabis Card, you can legally buy marijuana at medical dispensaries anywhere in California.
If you live with a qualifying condition and think MMJ could ease your symptoms, there's no reason not to get a California medical cannabis card.
