Ask a Stoner: Is a Medical Card Still Worth My Time?

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Dear Stoner: Is it even worth it to get a medical card anymore? Recreational weed is so much easier to get, and it’s really cheap now.
Jan

Dear Jan: Medical marijuana has been getting shafted in Colorado for years now, and it’s probably time to get accustomed to fewer dispensaries offering it. Cannabis prices, both recreational and medical, have plummeted over the last year, according to the state Department of Revenue, but the medical side has it worse, with sales reaching their lowest point since 2014. The shriveling market and a new state law limiting medical marijuana concentrate sales have made the MMJ business a scary trade to enter, so there aren’t many new companies popping up. Even with all of that, though, a medical marijuana card is still worth it.

click to enlarge

A patient card sample from the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry.

Colorado Department of Public Health and Enviornment

There are more restrictions involved and the cards cost more to attain, but they continue to provide value to regular users. For starters, dispensary prices are still generally cheaper for medical patients, and patients also pay a much lower rate of sales taxes, can buy double the amount of marijuana per day, and are allowed to buy edibles with up to 1,000 milligrams of THC (as opposed to recreational edibles, which tap out at 100 milligrams). Those are all reason enough.

Send questions to [email protected].