The Department of Health will write the regulations and monitor the activity of the dispensaries from growth to transport to possession, and even testing. The Department will even monitor advertising and marketing, which must be consistent with federal regulations. Medical marijuana is to be treated like any prescription drug. Aside from that, everyone involved in the process must be fingerprinted for criminal background checks before receiving a permit or ID card.
Regulations and Taxes
In Pennsylvania, the electronic inventory tracking system will be monitored by the state every day. The medical marijuana will be watched from the time it is a seed to the time it reaches a patient or caregiver. Statistics like daily sales, prices paid, defective medical marijuana, and plant waste will be monitored closely.
The bill also places a 5% tax on gross receipts that a grower or processor collects from the sale of medical marijuana. The sales to patients, however, are exempt from sales tax. 40% of these collections will go to the Department of Health, 30% to medical treatment research, 15% to the additional costs of background checks, ID cards, and purchasing products, 10% to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs for abuse prevention/counseling, and 5% will be used for law enforcement grants in Pennsylvania.
