Americans for Safe Access Steps up to Help Fight the Opiate Crisis

The opiate crisis has hit record levels in recent years. Whether it is the spike in overdoses, the increased crime associated with street drugs or the increase in homelessness due to addiction, everyone agrees from DC to California that something needs to be done. More and more that something looks to be cannabis. Studies have shown that states with medical cannabis have a 25% decrease in opiate related deaths. Many people are turning to cannabis instead of opiates for pain relief. Some studies have shown cannabis is a great tool for helping people endure opiate withdrawals to help them get clean. Now Americans for Safe Access is starting a program to help get labs certified to increase the availability of properly tested cannabis to help fight the opiate crisis.

     ASA will be offering free Patient Focused Certification for cannabis testing labs. They cite the fact many labs don’t have the financial resources to be certified and having properly tested and labeled cannabis is sometimes a barrier for patients. Jahan Marcu PhD, the head of Patient Focused Certification, said. “By increasing the number of certified labs, we can

Increase the availability of accurately tested and labeled medical cannabis, ensuring that this

Medicine is available to patients as an option instead of opioids.”

“If the relationship between medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality is to be leveraged,

The enactment of PFC’s free assessment and certification program for medical cannabis laboratories

Will help the move towards the full realization of the benefits of medical cannabis on public health.

     Labs will need to pass a two step certification process that involves a facility inspection and a review of employee training records, method verifications and other documentation related to cannabis testing. To apply labs can click here.  

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.

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.