Cooperative Gardens have Declined in WA

Despite being among the first states to legalize medical cannabis, Washington state has backpedaled in recent years. Particularly, patients who rely on cooperative gardens are not faring well, according to a document obtained by Ganjaprenuer through a Freedom of Information Act.
Washington’s medical cannabis system evolved for fifteen years following the passage of I-692 in 1998. The system was founded on an innovation in cannabis production known as Collective Gardens — these gardens were based on the old adage “many hands make light work.” Under the state’s medical cannabis law, patients could form a cannabis garden together and subsidize each other to produce the sometimes large amounts of cannabis needed to treat some qualifying conditions, such as cancer. This system was officially put into statute in 2011, but no regulatory framework ever emerged. Eventually, legislative inaction led to a vast, unregulated network of collective gardens across Washington. Some of these, but not all, would eventually make the leap into brick and mortar storefronts — it’s estimated that there were once thousands of these small businesses scattered throughout the state.
After last year’s merging of the recreational and medical markets, however, patient collective gardens were phased out along with the majority of medical cannabis shops. Under the new system, group grows are now known as “cooperative gardens” — and though the name has only slightly changed, cooperative gardens are very different from collective gardens. These new grows can include only four patients or designated providers (down from the collectives’ limit of ten). Participants also must be over age 21, registered on the Marijuana Authorization Database, and must have obtained a medical cannabis recognition card.
Patients are allowed to grow up to sixty plants per co-op, which must be located at a member’s home. Lawmakers also added the barriers that no member can live within one mile of a recreational cannabis store and all gardens are subject to the same geographic restrictions regarding schools and playgrounds as cannabis shops.
Cooperative gardens are required to track their cannabis from seed to consumption, submit monthly reports, and agree to random home inspections by the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB). According to the LCB, these inspections can be held between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm and are legal under the 4th Amendment and Washington’s statute.
According to the Freedom of Information request carried out by Ganjaprenuer, the number of cooperative gardens in Washington has been dramatically reduced. The document reveals that only nine applicants out of fifty have been “Set for Final Process.” Thirty-seven of the applications have been withdrawn, with the reason for withdrawal listed as “Local Authority Restriction” or “Too Close to a Restricted Entity”. The restricted entity type is not noted, which could be a school, playground, or even a recreational cannabis store. Only eleven of the withdrawals are from applicant request or documents not received. Four applications are still in process.
Currently, there are only 36 patients out of 20,224 registered on the Marijuana Authorization Database being served by these cooperative gardens. That is only 0.02% of the registered medical cannabis patients in the state.




First publised at   https://www.ganjapreneur.com/cooperative-gardens-not-faring-well-washington-medical-cannabis/ and published here with permission of the auther.

Help Pass 2021, the Seed and Clone bill, in the Senate

Help Pass 2021, the Seed and Clone bill, in the Senate

      HR 2021, a bill that will legalize the sale of clones to medical cannabis patients on and off the registry, passed the House with a vote of 88-9. It passed through committees with not one “No” vote. However, the committee it has landed in in the Senate can’t be described as cannabis friendly. Ann Rivers ( R ), sponsor of 5052, the so called Cannabis Patient Protection Act, is the chair of the committee.

Please contact the members of the committee and ask them to vote “Yes” on HR 2021, the Seed and Clone bill.  

Ann.Rivers@leg.wa.gov,

Elizabeth.Pebley@leg.wa.gov,

Randi.Becker@leg.wa.gov,

Tiffani.Sanne@leg.wa.gov

Barbara.Bailey@leg.wa.gov,

Vicki.Angelini@leg.wa.gov,

Kuderer.Patty@leg.wa.gov,

Jennifer.Fay@leg.wa.gov,

Annette.Cleveland@leg.wa.gov,

Vickie.Winters@leg.wa.gov,

Michael.Baumgartner@leg.wa.gov,

Matt.McCoy@leg.wa.gov,

Joe.Fain@leg.wa.gov,

Frazier.Willman@leg.wa.gov,

Karen.Keiser@leg.wa.gov,

Jennifer.Minich@leg.wa.gov,

Steve.Conway@leg.wa.gov,

Kimberlie.Lelli@leg.wa.gov

Mark.Miloscia@leg.wa.gov,

Trixie.Harmon@leg.wa.gov,

Mark.Mullet@leg.wa.gov,

Adam.Day@leg.wa.gov,

Steve.OBan@leg.wa.gov,

Michelle.Lewis@leg.wa.gov,

Maureen.Walsh@leg.wa.gov,

Skyler.Rude@leg.wa.gov,

CBD Basics

A great article on CBD.

http://www.cannabisfn.com/cbd-101-buy-much-take/

Help Pass WA Clone and Seed Bill HB 2021 `

The seed and clone bill, HB 2021, has moved to the House Finance Committee. Send over a quick note to the committee members with a personal story how having access to clones or seeds will benefit you or someone you know. The bill does allow patients off the registry to get seeds or clones, so its an ok bill. Here are the emails for committee members and staff.

Kristine.Lytton@leg.wa.gov,

Robin.Howe@leg.wa.gov

Noel.Frame@leg.wa.gov,

Michelle.Butler@leg.wa.gov,

Terry.Nealey@leg.wa.gov,

Meagan.Allen@leg.wa.gov,

Ed.Orcutt@leg.wa.gov,

Michelle.Trzecinski@leg.wa.gov,

Cary.Condotta@leg.wa.gov,

Brandt.Cappell@leg.wa.gov,

Laurie.Dolan@leg.wa.gov,

Eileen.Swarthout@leg.wa.gov,

Gerry.Pollet@leg.wa.gov,

Angie.Weiss@leg.wa.gov,

Larry.Springer@leg.wa.gov,

Diana.Hart@leg.wa.gov,

Drew.Stokesbary@leg.wa.gov,

Gina.Palermo@leg.wa.gov,

Sharon.Wylie@leg.wa.gov,

Megan.Walsh@leg.wa.gov,

JT.Wilcox@leg.wa.gov,

Sharon.Trask@leg.wa.gov,

http://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=2021&Year=2017

Will WA Stand Up for Medical Cannabis Patients ?

Will WA Stand up for Medical Cannabis Patients?

     In 2015 the Washington State Legislature passed 5052, The Cannabis Patient Pain and Suffering Act. In this wide sweeping legislation the legislature took special care to first dismantle the existing patient centered medical cannabis system, limit plant counts for patients, create new criminal penalties for cannabis possession and even sharing and created a patient registry on which patients must register if they want higher plant counts and protection from arrest. All in all, the WA Legislature showed they were no real friend to cannabis, and now that it looks like Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Senator who is a committed reefer madness war on weed politician, will be our next attorney general, will the legislature pass a resolution vowing to protect medical cannabis patients in the state?

     This is especially important to patients who have registered on the Marijuana Authorization Database. By their own hand legislators in Olympia, of both parties, created a ready to use list of cannabis consumers for the incoming anti-cannabis Justice Department known as the Marijuana Authorization Database (MAD). Will Olympia have the courage to stand up and back up their repeated statements that the registry is nothing to fear? Will Democrats strike up opposition to the registry, just as they oppose a registry for Muslims? Will Republicans oppose any interference from the Justice Department in the cannabis affairs of WA on the basis of states rights? Will the Governor stand up for medical cannabis patients in WA? Medical cannabis patients around the state want to know. 

To find out contact your Olympia representative:

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

Find your legislator:

http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/

Contact the Governor:

http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/contact/contact-gov-inslee

Yes, Ask Your Doc for Weed

 

Yes, Ask Your Doc for Weed

     Lately, there’s been a lot on the news about opiate addiction and what can be done to fix this problem that has become an epidemic across the US. The causes are many, but most experts agree that this life crippling addiction usually starts in the doctor’s office. The ill fated journey starts not in some shady back alley with a stereo typical pusher slinging balloons of heroin, but in the “I’ve been to college for at least 8 years and have never heard of the endocannabanoid system” doctor’s exam room. The typical story goes a little like this...

     Patient breaks a bone, or has surgery. Patient is given only one option for pain, pharmaceuticals. There is no mention of medical Cannabis. Patient gets prescribed opiate pain killers. Patient finds after the script runs out, they still want the pills. Patient tries for a re-fill, maybe gets it, but sooner or later the re-fills stop and the now addicted patient has to turn to getting the pills on the illicit market. Eventually as their tolerance grows, that gets too expensive, and leads said patient to a far cheaper fix, heroin. The story goes innumerable directions from here, but more times than not, the tale doesn’t end well. The amount of time for this devolution depends on the person, and often patients jump off the downward spiral at various points, but a fair amount end up loosing everything, living on the streets, overdosing and suicide. The amount of human capital wasted in the wake of such a disaster is immeasurable. We all know the stories, and some of us live them.

     The solutions offered by the mainstream are usually limited, but more often than not involve taking various pharmaceuticals used to manage opiate addiction such as methadone.  The obvious dark, apparently accepted, irony is big Pharma is getting paid on both ends. They start the house fire, and then sell the unfortunate home owner the bucket to put it out. What if there was a way to not start the fire to begin with? Well there is a way to avoid these all two common stories.   Unfortunately it will take one injury, one surgery, one trip to the doctor and one turned down pain killing prescription at a time to make the change. Here’s how we can get started.

     At that inevitable moment at the end of the visit when the doctor pulls out his prescription pad and thinks back to which pharma rep brought in the best lunch this week at a pain med sales meeting to write you a prescription, ask him or her to stop. Maybe say “Instead of pills doc, I’d like to get prescribed medical cannabis.” You may need to use its more familiar name “marijuana”. Expect some awkwardness, but it may just start a conversation. And, maybe you take the prescription just in case you need them, or can’t find any cannabis. The problem now of course for many Americans is obtaining medical cannabis, but with a little planning it’s not too hard to find cannabis in the US. Thankfully, for nearly half the states, medical cannabis is legal, so obtaining the needed pain killing cannabis might not be that difficult. (Can we just declassify it already.) A quick YouTube search will reveal some easy ways to consume the safe, nonaddictive pain medicine. The burden is just getting the word out that medical cannabis is a safe viable option for most any pain. Since they are heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical companies, we won’t be able to count on the medical profession, the government or the media to stop the deadly opiate addiction disaster going on in our country right now,   So we have to spread the word one person at a time.

Terpenes in Cannabis

Terpenes are the molecules that give aromatic plants their smell. There are over 20,000 terpenes. According to Chem Wiki, terpenes are made up of smaller units called isoprenes. Isoprene (C5H8) in its natural form is a gas that is released from plants as a byproduct of metabolism. Isoprenes are the second most common volatile family of compounds in the atmosphere, second only to methane. According to Leafly.com there are over one hundred terpenes found in the marijuana family. New research is demonstrating that these terpenes are central to the specific effects of each strain, rather than by their historically popular identification as Sativa or Indica. The most common terpenes in cannabis are...

Alpha-Pinene

This terpene is what gives pine trees and other conifers their smell. In the past, pinene in the form of turpentine was used to treat breathing ailments, parasitic infections and skin conditions. Pinene is present in many strains. These terpenes act as an analgesic and an anti-inflammatory medication. It also is known to be a bronco dialator.

Myrcene

Myrcene is found in fresh mango fruit, hops, bay leaves, eucalyptus, lemongrass and many other plants. Myrcene is the smallest terpene. The tiny terpene is used as an anti mucus agent, as well as, has anti-bacterial and anti viral properties. 

Linalool

This terpene is found in lavender, coriander and is the base ingredient of Vitamin E. Linalool, like lavender, has sedative effects. According to the Leaf Online, Linalool is also known to have anti-inflammatory properties, anti-psychotic effects, anti-seizure effects and may be helpful in treating depression. Researchers at the American University of Beirut showed that small concentrations of linalool stopped the growth of liver cancer cells

Limonene

Limonene gives strains of cannabis their citrus lemony smell. Limonene is known to be anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, as well as anecdotally being supportive of stress and anxiety relief. According to Web MD, limonene may have anti-cancer properties, and can be used to treat bronchitis

Caryophyllene

 

This terpene is a molecule that works behind the scenes when cannabis is ingested or smoked. The terpene activates the protein known as C2, the cannabanoid receptor that does not produce a high. However, researchers have shown beta Caryophyllene to be effective in treating inflammation, osteoporosis, and other conditions.

     These terpenes and their medicinal use are known in the herbal community. Perhaps, medical cannabis dispensaries can better serve patients’ needs by understanding these molecules and how they can be used in conjunction with THC to treat debilitating conditions. Yet, their uses are not completely understood. More research is needed to better understand the potential uses of terpenes in cannabis.