Washington State Senate Bill 5052, which was signed by Gov. Jay Inslee on April 24, sets new regulations about the medical use of marijuana. It was named by the state as the Cannabis Protection Act, which will be effective on July 1, 2016.
This bill will provide tax-free, regulated and tested cannabis for medicinal patients who file under the new registry database that will be established by Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB), which was previously Liquor Control Board, but renamed under 5052.
The new law reduces the legal amount for medicinal possession. Previously, patients were allowed to hold 28 ounces of dried cannabis and grow 15 plants, now they are allowed 3 ounces and can grow 6 plants. These limits are supposed to reflect a 30-day supply for patients. Possession limits may increase with a doctors note.
Patients can still form grow-ops of up to four patients, which will allow medical access for those who live in cities where marijuana sales are banned.
Ardin Hoyt, manager of Green Leaf Recreational located on Meridian Street in Bellingham, Wash. says the bill, “Is probably the best it can be, but its not perfect by any means.” She says the bill will help recreational users, as it will decrease the tax, but says that most of her medicinal using friends are unhappy.
Hoyt adds that patients will be upset about the registry system at first, but will hopefully get over it, as most other states also have registry systems. Hoyt says she is from Oregon, which has much more strict of laws on medical cannabis. She is not surprised by the new regulations.
Kyle Nolan, a medical cannabis patient says, “Medical marijuana is being privatized by the LCB for control and profit.” He also says, “The restriction of a 30-day supply to 3 ounces can be insufficient for certain conditions.”
Nolan also says that he fears for his privacy with the updates of the new database system the LCB will be implementing.
Hugh H. Newmark, owner of Best Buds Collective Gardens, a medical cannabis store also located on Meridian in Bellingham, says the bill is despicable and completely devastating for medicinal users.
Newmark says he likes that the growing laws are so relaxed right now because it allows patients to grow more plants, so they can process the entire plant and can create a more concentrated product. He says that this is very valuable for patients, especially those with cancer, and under this new bill, this will no longer be be allowed.
Shaunna Quiroga, manager of Top Shelf Northwest Bellingham #4 says that she has patients that need more cannabis than what the new legal limit will be because they juice the plant to get a higher concentrate.
Quiroga says, “[The government] can enforce restrictions to us, but don’t take the availability away from the people that use it for their own good.”
“Patients will go back to buying on the black market,” Newmarks says, since the prices of medicine will be too high for some patients to afford.
For owners of medical cannabis stores across the state like Newmark, this bill brings bad news. He says that owners of stores like his can’t compete with millionaire recreational store owners.
“I spent a long time building this network,” he says, “I’m totally community supported.”
Bellingham is home to 13 marijuana dispensaries, seven of them being medicinal stores. Along the Guide Meridian, there are three medicinal dispensaries (including one that is technically in Lynden, Wash.) and three recreational.
There will be quite some competition to see if these medicinal stores will be able to survive the new senate bill.
On April 24 Inslee posted on his Facebook page, “I understand people’s concerns about maintaining patient access, and this bill works to make sure medical marijuana is safe and accessible for patients, like other medicines.”
In Inslee’s post, he also wrote, “While this bill takes a tremendous step forward, we still have much to do on medical marijuana, tax policy, enforcement, local revenue sharing and funding for public health prevention programs.”
To read the Seattle Times’ most recent article on SB 5052, visit:
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/inslee-signs-overhaul-of-medical-marijuana-market/
