Two Minutes Out Of Forty-Five On MMJ

You would have thought the most important legislative issue for the Washington Liquor Board, (LCB) the agency responsible for implementing Washington’s recreational cannabis use initiative, I-502, was a hand full of bills dealing with beer at Bingo parlors and some esoteric law about minors trying to buy booze. Well of course minors should not try to buy booze, it can’t be sold to them, but evidently it is not against any law for them to try to acquire it. And that is important, but after a session where the LCB’s entire regulatory work of the last year and half was made or still is dysfunctional, one would think they would spend a little more time evaluating the missed opportunity to tighten up the state’s Medical Marijuana (MMJ) law. Without this project tucked away, the LCB will role out a well intended growing, producing and retailing scheme for recreational cannabis and put it afloat in a sea of unregulated medical cannabis, easily available, at hundreds of “retail points”, at less than half the price. And all because of finger pointing and lack of a forcing mechanism. Seldom has a regulating state agency been so powerless and ineffective defending it’s turf and pushing for functional legislation. Most state agencies would not have let success slip through their fingers like last week’s juggle of a chance to bring sanity and function to our state’s great social experiment.

Seattle Times Lists Cannabis Clarity Law Failure As One Of The Top Three Session Failures (And they were numerous)

The Times editorial board writes, “Lastly, a needless dispute in the state House seriously complicated rollout of the voter-approved experiment with legal marijuana in failing to rein in the unregulated, untaxed medical-marijuana market.

Rep. Cary Condotta, R-East Wenatchee, wanted cities and counties to share in future marijuana tax revenue, so long as they allowed recreational marijuana stores. Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, adamantly opposed it, seeking to preserve the marijuana tax revenue for education. They couldn’t find a compromise.

As a result, the unruly medical-marijuana market remains, giving many users no incentive to pay the steep sin taxes at new recreational stores.

More seriously, the federal government now may make good on its promise to target unregulated marijuana businesses. With the world watching Washington’s legal marijuana experiment, squabbling lawmakers endanger medical marijuana patients, and the state’s reputation for thoughtful drug policy reform. What a failure.”

When Will It End?

Maybe another week will be enough time to point all the fingers and we will not have to read, over and over about the flame out of the MMJ rewrite. The failure of the legislature to assist the state in developing a rational, single platform for both uses of cannabis brings more than a loss. As mentioned in the Seattle Times editorial, the Feds are watching. And we look like a bunch of chicks without a mother hen to lead us to safety. We all should not be surprised if Federal invasions, “shut-downs” and closer scrutiny of MMJ operations takes up our time and headlines this interim. Will someone, some agency, maybe our governor take a lead on this issue?

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