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Washington State legislators are considering changing the existing medical marijuana system to prevent future recreational users from taking advantage of it, reforms that could affect thousands of patients. Three bills to align the currently unregulated medical system with the future recreational system are now being considered in legislative committees. The federal government has warned the state that its current medical system is untenable. "I want to ensure that legitimate patients have the access to the medicine they need," said Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, the prime sponsor of one of the medical marijuana bills. "But we don't want to have people from the recreational market go to the medical system because they don't want to pay taxes."
Members of the medical marijuana community have expressed concern that aligning the two different systems will hurt patients who rely on the drug. "From the 30,000-foot level, what's going is that in the effort to create a well-regulated recreational system, the medical patients are being squeezed into that system," said Craig Engelking, a representative from the medical marijuana advocacy campaign Health Before Happy Hour. "And they're fundamentally different. Recreation is about having fun, and the recreation system is about revenue. The medical system is about ending suffering. It's about health."
Initiative 502, passed in 2012, legalized marijuana for recreational use and established a state-regulated system for sales. A 25 percent excise tax is applied to the sale of the drug at three different points of sale: between producer and processor, processor and retailer, and retailer and consumer. The current medical marijuana laws allow patients to grow up to 15 plants for themselves and to possess up to 24 ounces of dried marijuana. Medical marijuana patients can designate a provider to grow for them and up to 10 patients and providers can pool their resources to grow in a collective garden. There are no regulated dispensaries for medical marijuana. Current laws offer providers and patients a defense in court but no protection from arrest.
All three bills currently in committee — Senate Bills 5887 and 6178 and House Bill 2149 -- would drop the standard medical possession limits to three ounces of useable marijuana and six plants. Kohl-Welles' bill, SB 6187, and Sen. Ann Rivers' bill, SB 5887, both allow health-care professionals to authorize a patient to possess up to eight ounces and 15 plants if necessary for the patient's health. "I would probably have it higher," said Kohl-Welles of the proposed possession limits. "But I also try very hard to be realistic about what are reasonable levels for patients but that also can get through the legislature."
Rep. Eileen Cody's bill, HB 2149, allows health care professionals to authorize the possession of any additional amounts they deem necessary for the patient. Kohl-Welles said a lack of possession limits could present problems with the federal government, because actually prescribing marijuana is still against federal law. "If the health care professional can authorize any additional amount if necessary, they really wouldn't be able to put down a precise amount, because that could be viewed as a prescription," Kohl-Welles said. "So I think it's better to say 'up to' a certain amount." Patients could continue to grow for themselves under the potential new regulations, and they'll be able to purchase marijuana at I-502 stores. State-regulated stores will need endorsement from the Liquor Control Board to sell to medical patients. When they sell to medical marijuana users, retailers will not pay the normal 25 percent excise tax associated with recreational marijuana, and savings will be passed down to the patient.
All three bills establish registration for medical marijuana patients through the Department of Health. Patients would be protected from arrest if they provide evidence of registration. Kohl-Welles' bill would give patients the option of not registering with the state health department. Patients choosing not to register would not receive the tax break or arrest protection, but they could still mount a court defense based on their need for medical marijuana. "Some patients and advocates are very concerned about the registry," Kohl-Welles said, noting that her bill was the only one that gave patients the right to opt out.
Medical marijuana patients have expressed worry that a registry could infringe on their privacy and confidentiality. The registry is one of many concerns brought forward by members of the medical marijuana community. At public hearings involving the three bills, medical-marijuana users have expressed concern that they will not be able to afford their medication should the two markets be aligned. All three bills also eliminate the ability for medical marijuana users to have collective gardens. Several people who testified at a public hearing on the two Senate bills worried that eliminating the gardens would put many people out of work and prevent many patients from getting their medicine. Kari Boiter, a coalition partner with Health Before Happy Hour, said she sees major problems with getting rid of cooperative grows, noting that many patients are getting the medicine they need for free or at a very low cost from their providers. "This has been true cooperative cultivation," Boiter said, referring to collective growing. "The people who have been providing medicine for others will have to choose between those they are providing it for."
Boiter said there are patients who cannot grow for themselves and will not have the money to purchase marijuana at state-regulated stores, even with an exemption on the final excise tax. Boiter supported House Bill 2233, which did not align the two systems and allowed noncommercial collective grows to continue with a clearer set of parameters. According to Boiter, that bill satisfies the request from the federal government to change the system. House Bill 2233 currently is sitting stagnant in the House Health Care and Wellness Committee. "The 502 system is not ready for patients yet," said Philip Dawdy, a representative from the Washington Cannabis Association. "We need a transition period."
Dawdy said he thought Rivers' bill offered a better timetable than Kohl-Welles', giving collectives a longer sunset period to transition. "The reality is if we went and shut down collective gardens right now, in sixth months there would be thousands of people put out of work, and they would be filing unemployment claims," Dawdy said. "And those would hit in this biennium, and it would be tens of millions of dollars." Kohl-Welles said she thinks it is likely but not certain that medical marijuana legislation will get to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk this session. Each bill needs a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House to pass, because they all amend I-502 within two years of its passage. "I think the odds are good," Kohl-Welles said. "But I don't think it's a slam dunk."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Oregonlive.com
Author: Conor King Devitt
Contact: Contact Us | Oregonian Media GroupOregonian Media Group
Website: Recreational marijuana causing changes in Washington's unregulated medical marijuana system | OregonLive.com
Members of the medical marijuana community have expressed concern that aligning the two different systems will hurt patients who rely on the drug. "From the 30,000-foot level, what's going is that in the effort to create a well-regulated recreational system, the medical patients are being squeezed into that system," said Craig Engelking, a representative from the medical marijuana advocacy campaign Health Before Happy Hour. "And they're fundamentally different. Recreation is about having fun, and the recreation system is about revenue. The medical system is about ending suffering. It's about health."
Initiative 502, passed in 2012, legalized marijuana for recreational use and established a state-regulated system for sales. A 25 percent excise tax is applied to the sale of the drug at three different points of sale: between producer and processor, processor and retailer, and retailer and consumer. The current medical marijuana laws allow patients to grow up to 15 plants for themselves and to possess up to 24 ounces of dried marijuana. Medical marijuana patients can designate a provider to grow for them and up to 10 patients and providers can pool their resources to grow in a collective garden. There are no regulated dispensaries for medical marijuana. Current laws offer providers and patients a defense in court but no protection from arrest.
All three bills currently in committee — Senate Bills 5887 and 6178 and House Bill 2149 -- would drop the standard medical possession limits to three ounces of useable marijuana and six plants. Kohl-Welles' bill, SB 6187, and Sen. Ann Rivers' bill, SB 5887, both allow health-care professionals to authorize a patient to possess up to eight ounces and 15 plants if necessary for the patient's health. "I would probably have it higher," said Kohl-Welles of the proposed possession limits. "But I also try very hard to be realistic about what are reasonable levels for patients but that also can get through the legislature."
Rep. Eileen Cody's bill, HB 2149, allows health care professionals to authorize the possession of any additional amounts they deem necessary for the patient. Kohl-Welles said a lack of possession limits could present problems with the federal government, because actually prescribing marijuana is still against federal law. "If the health care professional can authorize any additional amount if necessary, they really wouldn't be able to put down a precise amount, because that could be viewed as a prescription," Kohl-Welles said. "So I think it's better to say 'up to' a certain amount." Patients could continue to grow for themselves under the potential new regulations, and they'll be able to purchase marijuana at I-502 stores. State-regulated stores will need endorsement from the Liquor Control Board to sell to medical patients. When they sell to medical marijuana users, retailers will not pay the normal 25 percent excise tax associated with recreational marijuana, and savings will be passed down to the patient.
All three bills establish registration for medical marijuana patients through the Department of Health. Patients would be protected from arrest if they provide evidence of registration. Kohl-Welles' bill would give patients the option of not registering with the state health department. Patients choosing not to register would not receive the tax break or arrest protection, but they could still mount a court defense based on their need for medical marijuana. "Some patients and advocates are very concerned about the registry," Kohl-Welles said, noting that her bill was the only one that gave patients the right to opt out.
Medical marijuana patients have expressed worry that a registry could infringe on their privacy and confidentiality. The registry is one of many concerns brought forward by members of the medical marijuana community. At public hearings involving the three bills, medical-marijuana users have expressed concern that they will not be able to afford their medication should the two markets be aligned. All three bills also eliminate the ability for medical marijuana users to have collective gardens. Several people who testified at a public hearing on the two Senate bills worried that eliminating the gardens would put many people out of work and prevent many patients from getting their medicine. Kari Boiter, a coalition partner with Health Before Happy Hour, said she sees major problems with getting rid of cooperative grows, noting that many patients are getting the medicine they need for free or at a very low cost from their providers. "This has been true cooperative cultivation," Boiter said, referring to collective growing. "The people who have been providing medicine for others will have to choose between those they are providing it for."
Boiter said there are patients who cannot grow for themselves and will not have the money to purchase marijuana at state-regulated stores, even with an exemption on the final excise tax. Boiter supported House Bill 2233, which did not align the two systems and allowed noncommercial collective grows to continue with a clearer set of parameters. According to Boiter, that bill satisfies the request from the federal government to change the system. House Bill 2233 currently is sitting stagnant in the House Health Care and Wellness Committee. "The 502 system is not ready for patients yet," said Philip Dawdy, a representative from the Washington Cannabis Association. "We need a transition period."
Dawdy said he thought Rivers' bill offered a better timetable than Kohl-Welles', giving collectives a longer sunset period to transition. "The reality is if we went and shut down collective gardens right now, in sixth months there would be thousands of people put out of work, and they would be filing unemployment claims," Dawdy said. "And those would hit in this biennium, and it would be tens of millions of dollars." Kohl-Welles said she thinks it is likely but not certain that medical marijuana legislation will get to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk this session. Each bill needs a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and the House to pass, because they all amend I-502 within two years of its passage. "I think the odds are good," Kohl-Welles said. "But I don't think it's a slam dunk."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Oregonlive.com
Author: Conor King Devitt
Contact: Contact Us | Oregonian Media GroupOregonian Media Group
Website: Recreational marijuana causing changes in Washington's unregulated medical marijuana system | OregonLive.com
