Senate Bill 5887
Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Proposed Substitute as Heard in Committee
(Health Care): PRO: This bill is not an attack on medical marijuana. This bill will allow
me to grow enough to treat my son. Many people will not be able to afford marijuana from a dispensary and are also concerned that they will not be able to find the products they need in an I-502 store. The alignment of the recreational and the medical systems that include mechanisms for patient access is supported. The approaches that share revenue with local governments is also good; it is imperative that local governments be provided resources to help implement these systems. The federal government will be watching closely, so the state and the local governments will need to develop a partnership to ensure regulation of these markets is successful. The Legislature must get this right this year and there is no more time for delay. The I-502 system is not ready to incorporate the medical system. We need a transition period for collective gardens. We support appropriated regulation that provides a practical approach and appropriate methodology in regulating the medical system. I-502 stores will underserve the recreational users and we are concerned about levels of care for the medical patients. The 1000-foot buffer rule needs to be amended to be similar to the approach provided for in SB 6178. The bill does not provide standards for medical standards. Standards have been put together for the state to ensure safety of the products used by medical patients. There is concern about the lack of regulation relating to patient safety and addressing quality control; we would like a voluntary board to set out real standards for patient protection. Regulation is necessary. Both bills adopt many of LCB's final recommendations. This bill provides better clarity and a balanced approach to the divergent needs of patients, providers, and law enforcement and addresses the enforcement priorities of the DOJ memorandum.
CON: The federal reasons for these bills do not add up; the federal government does not make a distinction between medical and recreational marijuana. I-502 was not written to work. These bills keep the shortcomings in I-502 in place. The tax structure should be modified to allow for profitability. Physicians are punished by these proposals. Decisions must be based on public process and stakeholder involvement which has not happened here. These bills are products of a secret workgroup and this is not what the public voted for in passing I-502. These bills will cost jobs and create a minor economic disaster in those cities
with dispensaries that will be eliminated. It is appropriate to wait until next session and move forward with input from stakeholders. The Pharmacy Board says that marijuana is an herbal medicine and we already have an exemption for medical cannabis determined by the Board. If you want to get rid of recommendation mills, you can do it with two sentences. You do not need to interfere with relationships between patients and doctors. People will die if they cannot get their medicine. The bills do not address the issues of patients who need more medicine from plants and who do not have the funds to spend on medicine. These bills are taking patients' vested constitutional and civil rights. These bills are not patient friendly and go against the intent of I-692 and I-502. There is no need for a registry when possession of small amounts of marijuana is permitted. LCB is not equipped to address medical marijuana.
OTHER: We want to make sure that patients have safe, reliable, and affordable access to products that will actually help them. The recreational system is being created and the medical system is being squeezed into the recreational system without considering the needs of medical patients. We are concerned that the medical interests of patients will be overrun. We believe that a deregulated medical system will not be able to stand side by side with a recreational system and we want to provide assistance in developing this legislation. My doctor should be the one to decide how much cannabis I need to use. I need to keep my home grow because I will not be able to purchase it in the store.
It is important to have education in what is happening in Olympia. Remember when we all voted against 502? We did it because even though it was a bill to proceed the end of prohibition, we knew it did not cut it. This bill is just like that. We need rules and structure. We need to do it without affecting what is already in place. This bill looks to completely change what is in place and put it into the model that we do not even know is going to work on a rec level much less provide for the patients what they really need. I support rules and regulation but at this time I am going to have to contact every single one in pro and beg them to not settle at my expense. I have leukemia, I do not have a grower. I can not be exposed to others that have colds and viruses. To demand that I go into a retail store and purchase in the same space partiers go, who do not care if they have the sniffles is to further endanger my life. To agree to sign anything that gets rid of my safe, healthy access is to sell me out I fear.
Please Contact the Committee Members and tell them to vote against this bill
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