Pubdate: Wed, 18 Dec 2013
Source: Seattle Weekly (WA)
Copyright: 2013 Village Voice Media
Website: http://www.seattleweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/410
Author: Steve Elliott
Column: Toke Signals

LIQUOR BOARD REVERSES ITSELF ON PATIENT HOME GROWS

The Washington State Liquor Control Board-under heavy patient
pressure-reversed itself last week, saying it will recommend to
lawmakers that medical-marijuana patients continue to be allowed to
grow cannabis in their homes. Despite the fact that plant counts have
been reduced, that represents a big victory.

"We're all in agreement on home grows," chair Sharon Foster said of
the three-member board, which also includes Ruthann Kurose and Chris
Marr.

The Board's previous recommendation-that home growing be outlawed in
order to force patients through the recreational channels established
by I-502-had produced outrage in the medical-cannabis community. Since
recreational pot users aren't allowed to grow their own under 502, the
rationale was to also ban patients from growing.

LCB members last week said they now recommend that patients be allowed
to grow up to six plants, three flowering and three non-flowering.
Patients are currently allowed to grow up to 15 plants at any stage of
growth. The Board failed to explain why the 15-plant limit-arrived at
by the legislature after conferring with experts-is being abandoned.

The outlawing of patient home grows was the most controversial
recommendation the LCB made last month. In public comments about the
recommendations, preserving home grows was the most common request,
made by 362 people in written requests.

It was also the most common refrain at an emotional public-input
meeting held in Lacey last month, in which some 600 patients and
advocates packed a room designed to hold 450 people. Patients told
board members that home growing provides them with more affordable
medicine, and allows them to have strains they might not be able to
find in recreational-marijuana stores. Maybe the board was actually
listening, despite intimations by NORML Washington State Director
Kevin Oliver that patients were wasting their time testifying.

The Liquor Control Board still recommends that the legislature shut
down collective gardens, a move that would effectively end the
medical-marijuana dispensary scene. If that happens, the number of
safe-access points in Seattle would drop from more than 200 now to
only 21 recreational-marijuana stores.

State consultants have publicly admitted that they are concerned that
the medical-marijuana system will "siphon" potential customers away
from the profit-making recreational system, and have called the
maintenance of two parallel systems of cannabis distribution
"inconvenient."

The Board wants to allow only those recreational-marijuana stores that
get a state endorsement for medical marijuana to serve patients-but
state officials haven't yet determined what the criteria would be for
such an endorsement. That means that a number of the recreational
stores might not be "endorsed" to sell to medical patients, leaving
medical-marijuana patients with even fewer safe-access points.

Too bad there's not already an existing system of medical-marijuana
collectives which specifically exist to serve patients. Oh, wait-there
is! But the state has decided it's bad for profits.
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MAP posted-by: Matt