Alabama one Step Closer to Medical Cannabis

The Alabama Senate has passed a medical cannabis bill, which if passed will make Alabama the thirty forth sate to adopt medical cannabis. The bill will allow patients over nineteen to obtain a medical cannabis recommendation for a variety of conditions like cancer, autism, MS, PTSD and all terminal illnesses. The bill would set up the Alabama Cannabis Commission that will set up a patient registry, issue medical cannabis cards and be responsible for licensing the production, processing and dispensing of cannabis in Alabama. The legislation passed on a 17 to 6 vote and now heads to the Alabama House where a similar bill was introduced in March.   

Legal Clones Still not Easy to Find in WA

First published here
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/washington-patients-still-no-easy-access-to-seeds-clones/

      In Washington state, a medical cannabis patient who is registered on the Marijuana Authorization Database can grow up to six plants at home, while a qualifying patient who is not registered can grow up to four plants — but do medical cannabis patients in Washington really have legal access to seeds, clones, and plants?
We recently decided to check.
When Washington’s medical and adult-use cannabis systems were merged in 2015 with the passage of the Cannabis Patient Protection Act, activists quickly noticed the legislature forgot to include a way medical home growers could legally acquire plants for their gardens. So lawmakers passed a fix in early 2017: in their provision, registered patients can purchase seeds, clones, and small plants (while qualifying patients can buy seeds) directly from I-502 producers.
     Using a Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) list of licensed producers, we called a total of 40 producers from around the state, 20 from the four largest counties and 20 more from smaller counties throughout Washington.
Photo credit: Sarah Climaco
A large majority of the calls ended with an answering machine and no callbacks. Among those who answered, some had heard of the program but were not ready to sell to patients. A few had not heard of the new regulations but were open to eventually participating in the program. However, none of the contacted producers had concrete plans in place to sell to patients, and not one producer out of the 40 on our call list was able to provide clones at the time of our call.
“We don’t really feel the state has explained this enough,” said Rick Roening, a Spokane County licensed producer. “We worry about patients coming into the grow and bringing pests. There is also an extra security risk. We have genetics we’d like to keep under wraps, and no one has said what happens if our plants find themselves in illegal grows.”
“We just don’t feel the return is worth the risk right now, but if there is more clarification from the state we may be open to direct sales to patients at some point,” he said.
     While Roening was unable to provide us with any plants at that time, he pointed us in a direction that did yield, after another call and email, a Washington I-502 producer who is selling clones.
Crystal Oliver, President of Washington’s Finest Cannabis, said that they are ready to sell clones to registered cardholders and are happy to be helping: “We want to get our strains out to patients to help and to share our unique strains, their benefits, and our joy of growing them.”
“Many growers are abandoning diverse heirloom strains in favor of high THC, high producing cultivars, putting some strains in jeopardy of being lost forever. Not only does selling clones to medical home growers help those in need, but it helps keep cannabis biodiversity going in the state. Unfortunately, over-regulation is making this whole process more difficult than it should be,” Oliver said.
Photo credit: Sarah Climaco
     We asked the WSLCB what more could be done to help patients find the rare producers who provide this service. LCB spokesperson Mikhail Carpenter said there may be a way to inform patients about who is selling clones using the new data system set to come online January 1, 2018.
“At the moment, producers don’t have to say up front if they will sell clones to patients, but they must enter them into the traceability system once they are sold. The new system isn’t set up for this yet, but we may be able to do a data search after the fact for producers who have made this type of transaction. Then, provide those names on a list. This is something we are looking into,” Carpenter told Ganjapreneur.

Washingtn Patients Can Finally by Plants for Their Gardens

     Since Washington State was one of the first states in the US to legalize medical cannabis, it was shocking to see how bad medical patients were treated after the state legalized cannabis with the passage of I 502. The legislature in Olympia, squandering an opportunity for good will and cooperation, broke one of the best medical cannabis systems in the world when they passed SB 5052 in 2015. The disastrous bill, also known as the Cannabis Patient Pain and Suffering Act, was passed with the objections of most medical cannabis activist and patients in the state. The act led to the loss of 1000’s of jobs and the disenfranchisement of medical cannabis patients all over Washington. One of the biggest screw ups of the entire bill was the fact that despite being able to grow at home patients had no way to get plants for their gardens.

     Now, finally, after the hard work of medical cannabis activist and a handful of legislators, patients or their designated providers who are registered on the Marijuana Authorization Database can buy small plants, clones and seeds from legal cannabis producers. Also, patients who aren’t registered, but have medical cannabis authorizations can buy seeds from I-502 producers. The interim rules released by the Liquor and Cannabis Board make it clear patients must arrange the pickups themselves and there are no deliveries. To pick up their small plants, clones or seeds patients must show an ID, and their registration cards or authorization paperwork. They may pick up as many plants as they are authorized to grow each month. However, they must wait 24 hours after arranging the sale to pick up the small plants, clones or seeds from the licensed producer.

     If you are a producer who would like to sell small plants, clones or seeds to medical cannabis patients in WA, please email the MMCWS at emailmmcws@gmail.com . We are putting together a list of willing producer participants.

We Have to Let them Know

     With the news recently confirming that medical cannabis patients won’t have access to legal clones after July 1^{st, and with} Countless medical cannabis products patients depend on   going away that same day, ^{it is clear} the Governor and the Legislature have forgotten about the medical cannabis patient in WA. If you are loosing access to medical cannabis on July 1^st, it is very important to call the Governor’s office and your legislator to let them know your story. Here are some links to contact info to call and remind them who they work for.

Contact the Governor

http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/contact-gov-inslee#main-content

Find your Legislator

http://app.leg.wa.gov/Rosters/Members

Be sure to be specific when it comes to identifying how 5052 has negatively impacted your life.