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Article: Medical marijuana cards abound in Oregon.
- Article from:
- ORian
- Article date:
- January 23, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 The Oregonian. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Don Colburn
Jan. 23--Nearly 10,000 Oregonians carry medical marijuana cards, about 20 times more than officials predicted when the program started six years ago.
The fee-based program, which gets no money from the state general fund, has grown so fast that it built up a cash surplus of nearly $1 million last year.
To reduce the surplus, officials slashed the annual fee for a medical marijuana card from $150 to $55 this month. For Oregon Health Plan patients, the fee dropped to $20.
The number of cardholders has doubled in less than two years. Between 80 and 100 new or renewal applications arrive on a typical day, said Pam ...