States with medical cannabis programs issue special medical cannabis cards to patients with appropriate doctor recommendations. Have you ever wondered why that is? In other words, why does a patient carry a card rather than just getting a regular prescription from a doctor? There are a number of reasons.
For starters, doctors cannot write traditional prescriptions for medical cannabis because marijuana and THC are still illegal under federal law. Yet that alone does not create the fundamental need for a medical cannabis card. In fact, some states have accepted recommendation letters from doctors instead. And in states that allow recreational use, it may not make sense for a patient to go through the hassle of getting a card.
That leads us back to the central question of why states issue the cards. Below are just some of the reasons. Keep in mind that states have different reasons based on how their laws are written and the goals they hope to achieve.
Legal Protection for Patients
Utah is one of the more conservative states when it comes to medical cannabis rules. If you were caught with any marijuana on your person in the Beehive State, you could be arrested and prosecuted. That is, of course, unless you possess a valid medical cannabis card. The card provides a certain measure of legal protection as long as the amount of cannabis you possess is within legal limits.
A medical cannabis card also offers some legal protection in states that allow recreational use. How so? A card allows qualified medical users to possess more potent THC products, and larger amounts of cannabis, than they otherwise could.
Controlling Access
Some states issue medical cannabis cards in order to control access to products. For example, you could not even get inside the Deseret Wellness medical cannabis pharmacy in Provo, Utah without a valid card. You cannot order online either. It is a valid card that gives you access to your medicines. No card means no purchase.
Relying on cards to limit access is more prevalent in states that do not allow recreational use. Access is much less of an issue in states where anyone over the age of twenty-one can purchase cannabis for any reason.
Implementing Tax Breaks
Yet another reason for issuing medical cannabis cards is to provide a way to implement tax breaks. There are states that do not charge sales and other state taxes on medical products, despite charging them on recreational products. So possessing a medical cannabis card would mean paying less at the counter.
Offering the tax breaks requires some means of proving eligibility. Otherwise, anyone buying cannabis could simply claim to be a medical user to avoid the higher price. A medical cannabis card provides a way to verify eligibility with just a glance.
Statistical Tracking
From the government’s point of view, a medical cannabis card is a perfect instrument for statistical tracking. Getting a card requires submitting information that is entered into state databases. When you buy medical cannabis products, the transaction is entered into the database as well. All the data is compiled in a centralized location for easy access and analysis by the state.
At this point, issuing medical cannabis cards might seem like a wasted effort. However, states still do it for a variety of reasons. Whether they want to control access, implement tax breaks, or track data over many years, issuing cards gives them the platform to do so. Do not expect the cards to go away anytime soon. They may change the form, but what they represent will exist as long as cannabis regulation exists.
