Canada Offers Tax Break To Medical Cannabis Patients
March 3, 2005 - Ottawa, Canada
Canadians who buy cannabis for medicinal purposes will receive tax relief under the nation's 2005 proposed budget, introduced yesterday.
According to a review of the budget published by the Toronto Star, patients who purchase medical cannabis from Health Canada or a designated grower will now be eligible for Canada's 16 percent medical expense tax credit. Canada is believed to be the first nation to offer tax relief for medicinal cannabis users.
Under current law, qualified Canadian patients may legally possess and grow medicinal cannabis and/or purchase it from the government. Last year, Health Canada announced that it was also considering a pilot program to make government grown cannabis available in pharmacies. A similar federally run program has been in existence in the Netherlands since 2003.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500.
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