Marijuana Blog

While some states want to test food stamp recipients for marijuana and kick them off the rolls if they test positive, the state of Oregon actually lets medical marijuana patients deduct their medicine from their income when determining eligibility for food stamps.

In Oregon, seniors and those who qualify for Social Security Disability Insurance to deduct medical costs such as prescription drugs when submitting income information to see if they are eligible for food stamps.

"Medical marijuana gets treated just like any other prescription drug," said Gene Evans, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Human Services.

Included in “medical marijuana costs” are the fees for obtaining a state-issued medical marijuana card, expenses incurred while growing marijuana and the costs of purchasing it from another grower.

But of course the federal government does not condone such practices.

"No state may deduct the cost of any substance considered illegal under federal law, including medical marijuana," the U.S. Department of Agriculture wrote in response to the Oregonian. "Although there may be state or local laws that permit the cultivation, prescription, and sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes, such activity is not permitted under federal law."

Medical marijuana growers in Oregon can also get reduced fees if they can prove they are on foodstamps.

It seems Maine and New Mexico both have similar language in their medical cannabis laws when it comes to the deduction of medical marijuana expenses.

This is still a very new concept of course, but someday marijuana will be treated like any other medication across the country. After all, why should you get to deduct Percocet or Valium expenses and not marijuana if you are a legal patient in your state?

It’s time to stop discrimination of medical marijuana patients.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com