November 25, 2013

Fix it don’t Ditch it | Saving Medical Marijuana in Washington State

Medical Marijuana in Washington Vs. Legalized Pot… let the battle begin!

A Backstory

Residents of Washington state recently voted on and approved an initiative to legalize and regulate the sale of marijuana. A watershed moment in the war on drugs. The people who pushed legalization through promised residents that the state’s existing medical marijuana laws would not be altered. However, the lure of millions in new legalized marijuana tax revenue can’t keep public officials from now pushing for the shut down of the State’s medical marijuana industry.

It’s clear that the state in its bid to scrap medical marijuana is NOT thinking this through. People are beginning to second guess what is happening and the the voices are getting louder from the naysayers who warned from the beginning that Washington’s legalization initiative is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Lets be clear here. Marijuana is an amazing plant that has a great deal of medicinal value. Much more than it has been given credit for even as it continues to buck stereotypes. The state sees the industry full of fakers. Patients who don’t really “need” cannabis. This has in turn led to the misguided belief that it can scrap the entire medical community without much repercussion.

The state wants to maximize its potential for tax revenue from cannabis by clearing out the competition which to them is clearly medical marijuana. Medical cannabis laws in Washington are ‘gray’ and its is easy for almost anyone to start a collective garden. Add to the fact that it is now easier for more and more people to get their ‘green card’ which is causing the states largely unregulated collective gardens to swell and operate with little scrutiny or oversight.

The state is also under pressure from the federal government to rein in medical marijuana in Washington. Many collectives are only about money though for others it is a mix and for a small minority truly helping patients supersedes profit. The state is at a crossroads here and is already making it clear that it does not understand the medicinal value of cannabis or the people who use it. The state’s plan is to regulate all cannabis within the state from seed to store shelf. Taxing it (when sold at retail) at a whopping 75%. This could push the cost per gram to $20 or more. This is on top of hoping to cap potency at around 16% and cutting out cannabis concentrates such as RSO or hash.

Following through with these plans will not only help revive a diminished black market but spark protest of the state’s new legal cannabis retail stores. So isn’t there a way we can have legal pot and keep medical marijuana in Washington?