Washington Gov. Signs Overhaul Of Medical Marijuana Market

(AP) — Nearly two decades after voters passed a medical marijuana law that often left police, prosecutors and even patients confused about what was allowed, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill Friday attempting to clean up that largely unregulated system and harmonize it with Washington's new market for recreational pot. Among the law's many provisions, it creates a voluntary registry of patients and, beginning next year, eliminates what have become in some cases large, legally dubious "collective gardens" providing cannabis to thousands of people. [...] those patients will be able to purchase medical-grade products at legal recreational marijuana stores that obtain an endorsement to sell medical marijuana, or they'll be able to participate in much-smaller cooperative grows, of up to just four patients. Washington in 1998 became one of the first states to approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes, but the initiative passed by voters did not allow commercial sales. The measure did not prohibit patients from pooling their resources together to have large collective gardens on a single property, but the size of some made law enforcement queasy, and raids sometimes resulted. Medical marijuana growers repeatedly sought legislation that would validate their business model, coming closest in 2011, when the Legislature approved a bill to create a licensing framework for medical dispensaries.

Topics:  ap    nearly   gov jay inslee   medical   legislature   washington   market   patients   law   voters   large   passed   collective   recreational   bill   gardens   
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