new medical marijuana bill received a cold reception

mcwow

New Member
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A brand new medical marijuana bill received a cold reception at the state Capitol on Wednesday.

Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed most of the original bill, fearing state workers could face federal arrest. But this second effort was not well-received by the people the bill is designed to protect.

"You guys are creating chaos if you pass this measure," said medical marijuana user and activist Steve Sarich.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, recrafted the bill after the governor's veto of her first bill, which would have set up state regulation of the dispensaries.

"This bill before you is not perfect. It was done very quickly," the senator said.

The new bill leaves it up to cities and counties to regulate the dispensaries if they choose to, and also establishes a statewide volunteer registry of medical marijuana users. The Cannabis Defense Coalition fears law enforcement will use that list for the wrong purpose.

"If a registry was created, we're afraid law enforcement wouldn't use their discretion but merely arrest anyone not on the registry," said Rachel Kurtz, a member of the coalition.

And if the regulation of dispensaries is left up to local jurisdictions, there's concern the result would be a hopscotch map of where it is and isn't legal.

"And I'm legal in Seattle and I'm legal in Spokane, but I could be arrested in 10 different cities in between here and there," said Sarich.

The governor hasn't decided what she'll do if the bill gets to her desk, but she likes the idea of tighter control on medicinal marijuana.

"That is the only way, I think, we avoid the kind of arrests that are happening around the country by U.S. attorneys," she said.

Wednesday's was the bill's first public hearing. And there's no guarantee that the bill will go much further in a special session that was called to tackle the budget and not anything else, unless the both parties in both houses and the governor want to squeeze it in.
 
Back
Top Bottom