THE FATE OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA ….

I whole heartily support adult use of cannabis and believe it should be considered part of wellness. The medical facts and personal testimony to the effectiveness of this plant for healing are well documented. I find it insulting when I hear people refer to medical marijuana simply as a stepping stone or ploy to legalization. I came into this arena to speak for those who have yet to find their political voice and I will continue to do so.   We MUST NOT lose the progress we have made in understanding Medical Marijuana’s (MMJ) healing contributions.

PRICE…

Some may ask won’t 502 simply make it more readily available for everyone including patients? Absolutely, but herein lies the concern. It has become increasingly clear to me that our lawmakers in Olympia are focused on 502 and they appear to believe that clearer laws for medical cannabis are no longer needed. This was demonstrated when the bill to give patients protection died on the floor last week.

THIS SIMPLY IS NOT  ACCEPTABLE. Patients who have had their DOCTORS tell them that cannabis should be part of their treatment plan should not and cannot be held to the 75% excise tax structure 502 will impose and should always be able to affordably grow their own medicine. A pure 502 world will take this away from us which is why we need clearer medical cannabis laws. In the world of broken health care and under insured citizens, cannabis provides an affordable solution for treatment and relief. We must come together and make sure our lawmakers hear from us and understand the difference between the laws of 502 and the needs of Washington’s sick. YES, medical cannabis users want and expect to pay their fair share in taxes – but we also know the state of Washington would not want to make our access unobtainable when a decision between meds and food has to come into play.

NATIONAL LEADER AND A STRATEGY SESSION…

We need to come together and fight not only for ourselves but the thousands of Washingtonians who cannot. I’ve asked Nationally renown director and founder of Americans for Safe Access, Steph Sherer, (www.safeaccessnow.org)  to come share her thoughts as well as ideas around a winning strategy for Washington patients. Look forward to the outcomes of this planning session the week of the 25th.

Greta Carter
Founder, Coalition for Cannabis Standards and Ethics (Seattle)
National Political Activist
Greta.Carter@yahoo.com

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