What About Medical Cannabis Patients

What about the Patients?

      Recently, the legalization of adult use recreational cannabis in Nevada has brought to the for front an issue many legal states have struggled with. As cannabis becomes legal, often the needs of the medical cannabis patients of the state are put on the back burner in favor of recreational cannabis. Patients struggle with new regulations, cannabis shortages and outrageous price increases. All the while the fact many have debilitating conditions is over looked by regulators and the media and patients are left to fend for themselves.

     Nevada’s problems arise from an issue with distribution. Due to hastily written regulations, there is no one to restock the shelves once retail shops run out. In the Silver State, the high prices and shortages have pushed patients back to the streets to buy their needed medicine. Unfortunately, there has been little reporting on how the misstep has effected medical cannabis patients. Oregon and Washington medical cannabis patients have suffered under newly written regulations. Citing illegal grows Colorado ended cooperative grows, joining Washington State in reducing this system of growing that has helped many suffering patients. All the new regulations, compounded by high taxes, have produced a market of scarcity, which have led directly to the higher prices.

     The problem arises when regulators think of recreational cannabis consumers and medical cannabis patients are in the same cohort. In fact, both groups are very different. with the main difference being access to disposable income. Most recreational cannabis consumers’ have jobs. Many medical cannabis patients are on Social Security, with very little extra income. The high prices often lead to patients going without, or turning to the illicit market for their cannabis. This is the very reason medical cannabis activist undertook medical legalization to begin with. And now regulators are forgetting about the very people who need cannabis the most. Regulators must think of medical cannabis patients first when they write legal cananbis regulations.           

Senators Cantwell and Murray Should Sign the CARERS Act

Senators Cantwell and Murray Should Sign the CARERS Act

      In 2015 a group of bi partisan Senators introduced the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States Act, or CARERS Act, in the Senate. This first of its kind bill in the Senate forbids the Federal Government from interfering with state medical cannabis laws, expands research into medical cannabis, clarifies banking rules for cannabis businesses and allows VA doctors to prescribe medical cannabis to Veterans who need the life saving plant. The bill didn’t pass in the Senate in 2015, but now it has been reintroduced in response to the new Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, latest attempt to go after cannabis.

     Democratic Senators Cory Booker, Kirstin Gillibrand, Al Franken and Republican Senators Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski and Mike Lee Have all signed on to this historic piece of legislation, but 2 names are conspicuously missing. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell’s names are not on the bill. This despite Washington passing one of the nation’s first medical cannabis laws. This in spite of the thriving medical cannabis system that once existed in Washington. This in spite of the millions of Washingtonians who use medical cannabis. This in spite of billions of dollars being spent in the Washington economy from medical cannabis. This in spite of Washington passing one of the first recreational cannabis laws. This in spite of “fill in the blank with how medical cannabis benefits Washington”.

To ask Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray to sign their names to the CARERS Act call 202 225 3121 and follow the prompts to reach their offices. Ask them to sponsor the CARERS Act to stop Jeff Sessions from attacking medical cannabis and save Veterans lives.

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