Mississippians with certain medical conditions will soon have a new option for managing pain associated with their conditions.
With the passage of a state medical marijuana program in Tuesday’s election, beginning in August residents will be able to legally purchase as much as five ounces of medical-grade marijuana products per month through state-licensed dispensaries through a doctor’s prescription.
Despise entrenched opposition to the program by state legislators and others, the popularity of medical marijuana is indisputable. To get marijuana on the ballot Tuesday, supporters had to collect the signatures of 100,000 eligible voters. As it turned out, more than 220,000 people signed that petition. On Tuesday, almost three-in-four voters approved the measure.
Given those numbers, it’s likely the program will attract a large number of patients.
Yet even though medical marijuana may soon be available, for many it may not be accessible.
Because marijuana is not a legal drug on the federal level, legal prescriptions for it are not covered by private insurance policies, Medicaid or Medicare.
That means medical marijuana will be exclusively an out-of-pocket expense.
According to a survey by Oxford Treatment Center near New Albany, the cost of one ounce of medical-grade marijuana can range from $210.75 (in Oregon) to $383.60 in the District of Columbia. The average cost of an ounce of medical marijuana is $326.06.
For a patient prescribed the maximum amount, the “average” monthly cost would be $1,630.30, all out of pocket.
The good news is that marijuana is often effective in low doses. In fact, because people can develop a tolerance to marijuana, low doses can prove to be more effective over time.
Even so, the out-of-pocket costs could be a serious obstacle for Mississippi, which has a high rate of poverty.
Poor people are not immune to the pain caused by medical conditions, after all.
One possible means of addressing that issue may come from the success of the program. Because all money generated by the program is retained by the state health department, which manages the program, excess funds could be used to offer marijuana at a discounted price based on income, perhaps in the form of a rebate.
We urge the health department to consider such a measure.
Pain relief should not rely exclusively on one’s ability to pay.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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