MP calls on Ottawa to drop taxes on medical cannabis
Cost is one of the main barriers for the nearly 400,000 Canadian cannabis patients accessing legal weed
Kathryn Tindale· Jun 17, 2021
An MP wants to see the federal government remove all taxes on medical cannabis, bringing it in line with all other prescriptions in Canada.
MP for New Westminster-Burnaby Peter Julian presented a petition last Friday on behalf of medical cannabis patients.
He calls for Ottawa to drop the taxes on medical cannabis and support motion M-4, which aims for health care to be recognized as a basic human right and that no one should be denied access to a prescription medicine “they need to be healthy.”
Why was their ever a tax on #medicine? There isn’t on #Pharmaceuticals in #Canada?
I presented petitions from Canadians calling on Trudeau govt to drop its excise tax on #MedicalCannabis & support M-4 bit.ly/3wg9ZFu This is very impt to the nearly 400,000 Canadian patients who rely on this prescription #medicine #donttaxmedicine #PharmacareNow #cdnpoli
During his virtual presentation of the petition, Julian also argued for cannabis to be exempt from any additional taxes “in order to allow for reasonable access for all Canadians authorized to use it by a health care practitioner.”
Removing taxes would align medical cannabis with all other prescription medications in Canada. There are more than 360,000 medical cannabis patients whose medicine is subject to federal taxes, like GST and excise duties.
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There’s been support across the aisle to remove the tax on medicine, says Max Monahan-Ellison, chair of advocacy group Medical Cannabis Canada.
“Cost is one of the biggest barriers for patients looking to access cannabis from licensed sellers in the legal medical access program, pushing them towards legacy/unregulated markets,” he told Mugglehead in an email.
Medical cannabis has been considered essential in Canada since last year, following a petition asking for federal recognition.
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