Spokane7
65°
April 21, 2011 in News
Gregoire set to veto part of medical marijuana bill
OLYMPIA — The Senate gave final passage this morning to a bill that attempts to regulate medical marijuana production and sales, setting up a possible showdown with the governor, who opposes provisions for state employees regulating different aspects of the system.
On a 27-21 vote, with members of both parties coming down hard on both sides, the Senate approved amendments to the system adopted by the House earlier this month. That agreement, known as concurrence, sends Senate Bill 5073 to Gregoire.
“This is an important step forward compared to the status quo,” Sen. Lisa Brown, D- Spokane said. The current system, set up by a 1998 initiative that allows medical marijuana but sets up no system for patients to obtain it, is unfair to patients, neighborhoods where dispensaries are springing up and legitimate businesses that could provide the product, she said.
The rules in the bill, such as one that allows a patient to grow 15 plants, and three patients to form a co-op and grow 45, are too lax, argued Sen. Jeff Baxter, R-Spokane Valley. “It is a gateway drug,” he said.
SB 5073 requires the state Department of Agriculture to license control the production and processing of medical marijuana, and the Department of Health to license dispensaries. A letter from U.S. attorneys in Seattle and Spokane warned Gregoire that federal law still lists marijuana as an illegal drug, and state employees could be arrested for any activities that involved marijuana.
Because of that, Gregoire has said she would not sign a bill that puts state employees at risk, even though she believes the state’s medical marijuana law needs clarity. (For more on the controversy over the U.S. attorneys letter to Gregoire, click here.)
Update:An hour after the bill passed, Gregoire indicated she would veto at least part of it: “I asked the Legislature to work with me on a bill that does not subject state workers to risk of criminal liability. I am disappointed that the bill as passed does not address those concerns while also meeting the needs of medical marijuana patients,” she said in a prepared statement. “I will review the bill to determine any parts that can assist patients in need without putting state employees at risk.”
Today’s action by the Senate was no compromise. It approved the same language that passed the House before U.S. Attorneys Mike Ormsby and Jenny Durkan responded to a request for guidance from Gregoire.
The warnings from Ormsby and Durkan were dimissed by some supporters of the bill. “You could look at this as a state’s right,” Sen. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland said. “Tell D.C. to butt out.”
Opponents said the group that lobbies for local police and sheriffs oppose the bill, too.
But far more time was spent debating a basic conflict over medical marijuana that predates the voters’ approval of an initiative in 1998. Supporters said it’s a humane product for cancer patients and some other medical conditions, and people who want to use it should have a system of legal access to a reliable product. “Are they supposed to just find a dealer on the streets?” Rep. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, said. With the bill “patients weill be certain that the product they’re using is safe.”
Opponents said it’s a precursor to other drugs and a stepping stone to complete legalization of marijuana. Some agreed marijuana may be appropriate for a small, and possibly shrinking, number of patients as other treatments become available. But doctors’ recomendations are too easy to come by, they said, and overall use becomes more prevalent and acceptable because of the growth of medical marijuana.
“You are voting for something that is on the cusp of legalizing marijuana for everyone,” Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, said.
Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, said the current system of unregulated medical marijuana is the bigger problem, because it’s too hard to tell what’s legal and what’s illegal. “This is a vote between maintaining the status quo and trying to establish a bright-line, enforceable framework…Law enforcement is not cracking down on the dispensaries. Now is the time when illegal users are hiding behind the law.”
Recent stories by Jim Camden
Recent stories in News
1992 murder trial begins against sex offender May 30, 2012 1- Supermajority for taxes unconstitutional, judge rules May 30, 2012 13
- Man dies following early Saturday car crash May 30, 2012 13
- Sex trafficking suspects released as probe continues May 29, 2012 7
- Center’s activities provide glimpse into network of advocacy groups May 28, 2012 4
MrNatural on April 21 at 1:40 p.m.
Well…so much for resolving the issue….again.
I think the problem with this issue is industry driven policies and vested economic interest…period.
…until the pro side can generate enough money to override the vested con side this will be a stalemate. I suggest dedicating a portion of the generated revenues toward law enforcement and the FBI’s budget and this issue will solve its self…watch and see.
eagleproducer on April 21 at 1:51 p.m.
The cotton and fiber lobbies still hold sway, even in states like Washington that don’t produce any of those crops.
I don’t want the government involved in weed anyway. Just legalize it (for everyone) and get out of the way. This idea that it would need to be taxed and regulated (beyond sales taxes) is just an excuse for the state to dig further into your pockets.
detroitdude on April 21 at 1:52 p.m.
Again we keep playing around with this silly medical marijuana nonsense. I agree that it provides pain relief to those with certain medical conditions and they should be able to acquire it (or grow it) without jumping through 20 hoops of bureaucratic red tape.
Then again, I think the discussion needs to shift to it being totally legalized. Nobody ever died from a pot overdose, but you can kill yourself and possibly others when consuming alcohol. Cigarettes are legal and ALL they do is kill you slowly, marijuana might not be so good for the lungs but hell, at least you get a buzz for your trouble.
lewis8457 on April 21 at 2:20 p.m.
Just wait we are broke and getting more so with each passing day. Same with our country, millions unemployed. Here at home our unemployment just keeps creeping up. We wont have the money for the drug war much longer. And then they will finally see they can make money legalizing it and taxing it. But that will not be for a while, just wait it is coming.
When gasoline gets so high in cost and everyone either uses mass transit or fuel efficient fuel cars, there wont be all that tax revenue coming in. With high unemployment people spend less so pay less tax add to that the inability to pay high property taxes it makes no sense to live in the city limits. Sewer costs in the city are now 43 dollars they go up 5 dollars every six months with no end in site. We have been told after the big trash summit our trash expense is expected to rise. And water is going up although we have a river of it running through town. People will move out of the cities buy some land so they can grow food. Put in a septic tank and drill a well.
We have already seen their lunacy. Our local cops waste our taxes busting pot shops that pay 10 thousand dollars in tax every 6 months!! 15 shops in town, they have just said no to 300,000 a year in tax from a new growing industry. While they waste millions fighting it.
Who wants to bet if Bayer or Proctor and Gamble had the pot shops no one would say a word, But when it is normal folk, oh my we cant have that. Non regulated (taxed)
Just wait the collapse is coming and then o’l Obama or who ever is in the drivers seat will wake up and see the potential the mighty weed has, if it isn’t too late.
lewis8457 on April 21 at 2:24 p.m.
The real problem is we have no lobbyists paying off our wonderful senators to legalize it. Just because it makes sense means nothing in America. Now it all has to do with whose hand is getting greased and how much.
terrymr on April 21 at 3:10 p.m.
The attorney general ordered his US Attorneys not to prosecute medical marijuana cases where state law was being followed - How do Ormsby and Durkan get away with ignoring their bosses instructions ?
jddavis on April 21 at 3:19 p.m.
terrymr—I believe the AG is Federal and Ormsby/Durkan is State…am I correct?
Thoreau on April 21 at 3:29 p.m.
“Sen. Jeff Baxter, R-Spokane Valley. “It is a gateway drug,” he said.”
How long will it take imbeciles like this stop uttering this crap?
I would bet anything that alcohol is a “gateway drug”, using their logic: Heroin user X claims he drank booze before he shot up. Meth Head X drank booze before cooking some crystal.
I guess opiates (Vicodin) , which are acceptable to asses like these, are not dangerous, will not lead to harder drugs (are there any harder than heroin?)
I sense the pharmaceutical industry has a hand in this ongoing debate. They are as evil as the tobacco and oil industries.
ManleyPointer on April 21 at 3:41 p.m.
This is a ridiculous argument to be having. We (the voting citizenry) should reject the premise that the government, whether federal or state, has any right to regulate marijuana. The reason alcohol is legal and marijuana is not is simple: it’s easy for the state to rake in huge money regulating alcohol, but with marijuana it’s considerably more difficult to do so, especially if people are allowed to cultivate their own. It’s a money thing. Get the government out of our gardens!!
terrymr on April 21 at 3:45 p.m.
jddavis — Ormsby & Durkan are US Attorneys i.e. Federal Prosecutors.
Thoreau on April 21 at 3:52 p.m.
Manly- That’s a valid point. Out of the many expensive drugs out there, not one can be “manufactured” by simply planting a seed and providing some TLC (not to be confused with THC - nature takes care of that!)
davidw on April 21 at 3:58 p.m.
@terrymr — The USAG’s 2009 directive is far more ambiguous on the issue of commercial distribution. Here’s a link to the actual directive:
@jddavis — The follow up description by terrymr on Ormsby and Durkin roles is correct. Here’s a slightly fuller explanation: Mike Ormsby is the U.S. attorney for the eastern district of Washington (based in Spokane); Jenny Durkin is the U.S. attorney for the western district of Washington (based in Seattle). They are the top federal prosecutors within their districts, but report to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who oversees the U.S. Justice Department.
Thanks for keeping the comments civil and mostly on point. We’ll have full coverage of this issue in tomorrow’s edition of The S-R,
David Wasson, deputy city editor
SugarShane on April 21 at 4:26 p.m.
If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so. ~ Thomas Jefferson
D Statler on April 21 at 5:25 p.m.
Lobbies for local police and sheriffs oppose the bill too. This might cut into the millions of dollars the drug and gang taskforces misappropriate in Spokane. This is big buisness of course.From the big drug companies not wanting competition to the States prisons system not having enough people to fill all their beds. From the confiscated property,cash and drugs the local police enjoy. None of these people want to give up their cash cow. The same cash cow that could be paying taxes and creating good jobs for the people of our state.It is hard to set back and have alcohol legalized and not have weed legal as well.Statistics on alcohol related illnesses and deaths show that alcohol should be illegal. Weed should be grown and sold in state run weed stores.Cut out the middle man and reap all the profits!
karl2002 on April 21 at 5:41 p.m.
Just legalize it for everyone. Tell the feds to pound sand.
jddavis on April 21 at 7:11 p.m.
Thanks terrymr and David Wasson for clarifying for me!
greenlibertarian on April 21 at 9:32 p.m.
Baxter is an idiot.
Everyone knows mothers’ milk is the gateway to heroin.
nslopeofw on April 21 at 10:34 p.m.
“Sen. Jeff Baxter, R-Spokane Valley. “It is a gateway drug,” he said.”
BullDooDoo!
““You are voting for something that is on the cusp of legalizing marijuana for everyone,” Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, said.”
And the problem with eliminating all the money and resources for fighting pot is? If it were legal, then it be less of a burden that alcohol is, and we’d save billions not dealing with it.
Cannabis Defense Coaltion on April 22 at 12:42 a.m.
The medical cannabis bill that has reached Governor Gregoire’s desk is now a ghost of its former self, and is set to dramatically weaken our state’s voter-approved medical cannabis law. For some folks, anything one can paint as a victory to donors helps their bottom line, and for some, adding myriad restrictions to our law is a necessary evil in a long-term political and public opinion strategy. But please be informed that the bill as amended in the state house is, on balance, shockingly horrible for medical cannabis patients in our state.
On the arguably positive side, SB 5073 implements a very limited and licensed dispensary and grower network in Washington State. It promises to provide limited protections to patients who register with the government in a future state-run database run by our Department of Health, whose current director has a history of refusing to implement medical cannabis legislation and of surreptitiously supplanting rules created in the public rule-making process with the will of our governor. It provides an affirmative defense to patients visiting from out of state. It also defines “useable cannabis” and “plant” much more favorably.
Cannabis Defense Coaltion on April 22 at 12:42 a.m.
THE BILL IS BAD FOR DOCTORS:
THE BILL IS BAD FOR PATIENTS:
THE BILL IS BAD FOR DISPENSARIES:
READ THE BILL:
5073-S2.E AMH ENGR H2509.E.pdf
Cannabis Defense Coaltion on April 22 at 12:42 a.m.
Our only hope to secure real arrest protection for all authorized patients — now, not later — is for it to be included in the trailer bill legislators are preparing for introduction in the upcoming special session.
Protection from being terrorized by police should be afforded to all authorized patients, not withheld from some of them in an attempt to coerce them into registering their medical treatment decision with the state. Such manufacturing of incentive to use the future “voluntary registry” is shameful.
Ed Byrnes on April 22 at 1:38 a.m.
Count me among those who assert that full legalization of cannabis is the correct and evidence based path.
Ed
martinmegan on April 22 at 10:49 a.m.
Former US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders said that marijuana is NOT a gateway drug. She said if anything, tobacco is the gateway drug. This is based on scientific evidence. So maybe the opponents should do some research to back up their claims:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/ProCon.org/159593575001
martinmegan on April 22 at 10:51 a.m.
Sorry, I meant to post the link to the page on ProCon with Elders’ quote: http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000247
Duncan20903 on April 23 at 6:12 a.m.
“The reason alcohol is legal and marijuana is not is simple: it’s easy for the state to rake in huge money regulating alcohol, but with marijuana it’s considerably more difficult to do so, especially if people are allowed to cultivate their own.”
Flapdoodle. The California Board of Equalization reported the California pocketed more than $100 million in sales and use tax collected by their medicinal cannabis vendors in 2010. Every single person that has license to make purchases at California dispensaries also has license to grow their own, as well as license to purchase from black market vendors that don’t collect sales tax for the State.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2010/09/09/california-marijuana-tax-stamps-readied
One needs to be clueless about drinking alcohol production and tobacco growing to think those items are not products easily created at home. Go over to Ebay and take a look at how many stills are being offered for sale.
It would be nice if we could finally put such nonsense reasoning behind us. It’s nothing but a waste of time because there’s no substance or supporting evidence. This nonsense belongs in the same category as the “gateway” myth that still survives with no basis in fact.
LLLou on April 23 at 9:24 a.m.
Outright legalization of Cannabis for Adults IS going to happen, the sooner this State works out a growing and distribution system the better.
Let’s be honest, a large portion of the MedMJ patients are just using the Medical MJ program as cover from being a victim of the insane war on drugs and I do not blame them one bit. We should legalize Cannabis and allow for personal grows,that way the recreational users will contribute to our tax base instead of enriching the drug cartels,Quality and Safety will be monitored ,instead of having dangerous indoor grows and illegal grows that pollute our forests,people who use Cannabis for Medicine can grow their own or become a member of a Cannabis Co-Op, and the government can collect taxes instead of pissing them away on a failed War on Drugs.
–––––––––––
@ Mr.Natural wrote”…until the pro side can generate enough money to override the vested con side this will be a stalemate.”
I don’t think the pro side needs to outspend the con side, all the pro side needs to do is keep a spotlight on how much more money the government will have when they stop pissing it away on the failed WOD.
””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
Lewis8457 wrote”We wont have the money for the drug war much longer. And then they will finally see they can make money legalizing it and taxing it.”
Exactly!
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Duncan20903 on April 23 at 9:22 p.m.
“Everyone knows mothers’ milk is the gateway to heroin.”
I’ll bet you think that’s a bit of fun poked at the Know Nothing prohibitionists, but you might look into how for the first day or two after giving birth Mom’s milk is lousy with endo-cannabinoids. You think your making fun of the Know Nothings, but in reality your right on the money. It seems there’s actually a scientific reason for men being so infatuated with teats.
……………………………………………………………
One other point to the people that think there’s no money for the pharmaceutical companies. You people are crazy as bat chit. Go do a search of the USPTO data base, and today there are 5,391 items returned for the keyword cannabinoids.
http://www.patentstorm.us/search.html?q=cannabinoids&s.x=0&s.y=0&s=s
I only stumbled onto this about 4 months ago, and at that time there were 4,917.
http://www.drugwarrant.com/2010/12/were-not-lying-to-teens-enough/comment-page-1/#comment-53627 (long post, it’s closer to the bottom than the top)
That’s pushing 500 newly issued patents just in 4 months. Perhaps I’m missing something and there’s another reason to patent cannabinoids other than for medicinal use? Just because I can’t think of any doesn’t mean there isn’t, but then again I follow this subject in depth. Attorney’s and USPTO fees for that many patents is worth over $200 million not counting a penny for R&D. Seriously, it’s gotten to the point where you’re presenting yourself as laughing stock for claiming that the pharma’s have no interest in cannabinoid medicine much less claiming they have an interest in suppressing the science. I remember for years after the price of gold recovered from the price trough in the late 1990s potheads would claim that pot was more dear than gold, despite the fact that it hadn’t been for years.