Washington Medical Marijuana Patients Need Legal Protection
Washington medical cannabis patients face obstacles to access. The Cannabis Patient Protection Act (CPPA) (a.k.a. SB 5052) will take full effect on July 1st. The new law fixed a whole host of problems with the initial rules adopted after I-502, such as restructuring the taxation of cannabis, strengthening consumer protections, and merging the medical and recreational cannabis markets.
That last one, merging the medical and recreational markets, has been problematic. Medical patients who are registered with the Department of Health are permitted to grow plants, but in order do so they must actually have plants. Among other kerfuffles with the language and implementation of the law, many patients who grow their own medicine will soon loose access to purchase clones. This could increase medical costs and prevent some patients from being able to access the particular strains and products that help them most, such as high cannabidiol (CBD) strains, and edibles with high content tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) edibles and concentrates.
I have faith that the legislature and Liquor and Cannabis Board will eventually find a solution to this problem. I hope that they will find a suitable option before the July 1st deadline in order to protect those among us who rely most on the healing properties of this fantastic herb.