Pubdate: Wed, 21 Jan 2015
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2015 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Joseph O'Sullivan

BIPARTISAN VOW TO RECONCILE MEDICAL, RECREATIONAL POT RULES

Plans Introduced

Lawmakers Confident of Working Together on a Solution

OLYMPIA -- Democratic and Republican state lawmakers can approach 
issues -- like taxes, minimum wage and global warming -- with wildly 
conflicting views.

But Tuesday, on at least one issue, a glimmer of brotherly love 
wafted across the Legislature. Make that sisterly love. Conceding the 
need to reconcile the state's separate medical-marijuana and 
recreational-marijuana systems, Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, Clark 
County, and Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, pledged to work together.

"Sen. Rivers and I have complementary approaches in many ways and 
similar approaches," said Kohl-Welles in a news conference Tuesday 
introducing her proposal.

"I'm delighted to be working with Sen. Rivers and other legislators 
in the House," she added later.

Between committee hearings Tuesday, Rivers returned the kind words.

"Everyone realizes this is just a job that we've got to get done; we 
can't wait," Rivers said. "I'm super thrilled to hear her say that 
she's willing to work together with me."

Now that the nice words have been put out into the universe, the two 
senators face a more complicated task: actually crafting the 
wide-ranging revisions to for the state's different marijuana markets.

Since voters approved the state's medical-marijuana measure, 
Initiative 692 in 1998, medical-marijuana dispensaries have popped 
up, as well as personal and collective growing gardens.

Washington voters in 2012 approved the sale and possession of 
recreational marijuana through Initiative 502, which set up a 
licensing system for growers, processors and retailers. I-502 created 
a parallel system to medical marijuana. Rivers and Kohl-Welles tried 
to find compromise last year but came up short, Rivers said.

Flanked by fellow Democratic lawmakers, dispensary owners, a county 
prosecutor and the woman who wrote the law legalizing recreational 
pot, Kohl-Welles Tuesday announced her wide-ranging proposal. It 
would phase out collective gardens and dispensaries for medical 
marijuana, and increase the number of licenses allowed so that 
dispensaries could become retailers under the I-502 system.

Among other things, her proposal would allow anyone 21 or over to to 
grow up to six marijuana plants of their own. It would grade 
marijuana products for their amount of the chemical THC and the 
nonpsychoactive ingredient cannabidiol, known as CBD, which is valued 
by some medical users. Under the proposal, products with low-THC/ 
high-CBD contents would remain tax-free for the benefit of medical patients.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg called the proposal "a first 
step toward bringing a bright line" between legal and illegal 
production and sales of marijuana.

John Davis, CEO of two Seattle medical-marijuana dispensaries, said 
he would like to see the grading of more marijuana components than 
just THC and CBD.

But Davis, who is also vice chairman of the National Cannabis 
Industry Association, said he liked the pathway in the Kohl-Welles 
proposal for dispensaries to be licensed.

Rivers describes her proposal, SB 5052, as less sweeping, more as 
"sort of a truth-in-advertising" approach. It would create a database 
listing medical marijuana providers and patients. Patients would be 
able to buy a set limit of medical marijuana, unless a health-care 
professional suggests a higher amount.

Her plan would require medical retail stores to sell only to those 
authorized providers and patients, and only marijuana products that 
aren't smoked for a healthier delivery to medical patients.

The bill, which will receive a public hearing Thursday in the Senate 
Health Care Committee, would also allow authorized patients or 
medical providers to grow up to six marijuana plants.

Rivers said she hopes to fold into her proposal parts of Kohl-Welles' proposal.

"Last year ended up being very close, a cooperative effort between 
the two of us," said Rivers. "And I don't see any reason why we 
wouldn't develop that same working relationship as our bills move forward."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom