Testing is paid for from the taxes from cannabis. Also part of the bill is lowering the cost of a card from $150 to $50.
Overall positive move in my opinion. Thoughts?
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These are very positive changes, we should know what’s in consumer products!
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This legislation sounds like a win win for patients of the state of Arizona. I have been a patient for the entirety of the MMJ program and I have spent thousands of dollars to have access to my medicine (just in patient fees and taxes to the state!). Senate Bill 1420 would make medical cannabis accessible to low-income citizens in AZ.
On another note, as the grower for a licensed dispensary in AZ, I was routinely involved in writing S.O.P.'s for integrated pest management (IPM) practices. I also was responsible for interacting with the regulatory bodies (AZDHS and AZ Dept. of Agriculture, respectively) that govern the MMJ program. From my experience, the onus of responsibility for IPM and testing product fell to the grower and, ultimately, the owner of the facility. Unfortunately, the bureaucratic assumption of the integrity of growers and owners (who don’t always see eye to eye on IPM, mind you) may be just a wee bit too optimistic. The loser in this current system is always the patient, as they (all too optimistically) assume the medicine they receive is free of contaminants.
I support both measures included in this legislation. Thanks Sen. Borrelli for introducing the seemingly sensible senate bill 1420!
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I think ultimately it’s a great step forward as it will be a much better product in terms of being safer, cleaner and of much higher quality. The problem is all people involved will need to upgrade their processes with how they handle, grow and cure their product which unfortunately will mean a larger upfront investment in environmental control such as a/c, dehumidification, air filtration and UV purification. That being said in the longrun those that elevate their standard of product will have a much better offering to their customers= win, win.
Here at Excel Air Systems all the above is what we do and have always done specifically for the Cannabis market so if you or anyone else on this forum want to bounce some ideas or go deeper into how they can make sure they meet the new requirements don’t hesitate to reach out. Cheers!
Brandon Kion
Excel Air Systems
www.excelairsystems.com
facebook.com/excelairsystems
1-877-728-0757
info@excelairsystems.com
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Having thoroughly reviewed the language of SB 1420, I find it laughable that samples that don’t pass muster for mold or improper labeling are returned to the respective dispensary to be properly labeled and then re-dispensed. It’s a big step forward and I laud the efforts of Sen. Borrelli and the diverse list of legislators that have signed on in support of the bill; however, once again the majority of onus of responsibility falls into the hands of the dispensary owners.
I especially love reading in the language of the bill, “The sum of $2,000,000 is appropriated from the medical marijuana fund…to the Arizona department of agriculture for the purpose of regulating marijuana as an agricultural commodity.”
It only makes sense to allow cannabis to be regulated as the agricultural commodity that IT IS!
Now let’s just hope the legislature can come together to pass SB 1420 at the required minimum 3/4 majority!
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