Coloradans with medical marijuana cards will see their annual fee slashed nearly 60 percent, Colorado’s Department of Health board decided Wednesday.

The state’s estimated 112,000 MMJ patients will see their fee drop from $35 to $15 under the new order. At one point, medical marijuana card holders paid $90 in an annual fee, which went toward operating the state’s medical-marijuana registry. Patients paid the fee when they signed up for Colorado’s registry or when they renewed their cards.

The department of health came under fire earlier this year in a state audit for keeping excess pot patient fees in reserve when rules demanded fees be lowered when the department collected excess money.

While recreational marijuana becomes legal in the state next year, it’s often more cost-effective for residents to have an MMJ card. Card holders must have a doctor’s recommendation and pay the registry fee, but they don’t have to pay the voter-approved sales and excise taxes for their pot, and they’re allowed to possess more marijuana than a recreational users.

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