In response to The Columbian’s April 11 editorial, “Balance the Pot Taxes,” I find a small flaw in Sen. Ann Rivers’ assumption. In the April 9 story “Rivers’ bill would tax medical pot,” it was reported that prescription drugs are tax-exempt whereas medical marijuana is not. That is probably due to the huge pharmaceutical lobby.
And we still have a huge problem with prescription drug abuse. Check your local police beat and see how many drug stores are robbed for oxycontin. Because recreational will be taxed and medical will not, everyone will obtain “phony authorizations,” as Rivers calls them, to “game” the system. If there is a policy issue with how prescriptions are obtained, address that issue.
Many medical users cannot afford or do not trust the pharmaceutical industry that has truly “gamed” the system. Don’t penalize someone for making a homeopathic choice in the health decisions.
If Sen. Rivers wants to raise revenue and keep teens off hard drugs, she needs to work on removing the exemption for the prescription drugs.
