Medical marijuana bill the right way to go

OLYMPIA – To a room packed with supporters and a number of opponents, Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, testified in favor of her medical marijuana bill in the House Health Care & Wellness Committee today. Senate Bill 6032 passed the Senate on March 14 on a 39-10 vote. Testifying with Kohl-Welles for the bill was Sen. Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane, whose first wife died following an eight-year fight with cancer.

“It is vital that the Legislature does everything in its power to eliminate the suffering that terminal patients go through to comfort them in their remaining days,” McCaslin said. “Making marijuana legal for these citizens is our contribution to their well being.”

“My main concern is to benefit patients,” Kohl-Welles said. She described watching her sister-in-law and best friend succumb to cancer, and the gratitude they and their families felt for their physicians who were compassionate in recommending the use of medical marijuana to ease their pain and make it possible for them to keep down nourishment.

In 1998, 59 percent of Washington state voters approved Initiative 692 on the use of marijuana for specific medical purposes. Kohl-Welles explained that parts of the law remain unclear and some qualifying patients have been subject to law enforcement action. Kohl-Welles also cited a recent poll indicating that 82 percent of Washington voters now support the use of medical marijuana.

“Ambiguities in current law have made it difficult for patients to get the relief they seek,” Kohl-Welles said. “By clarifying the law, we help both patients and the law enforcement community.”

The bill would clarify several points, including:

• Role of physicians in determining which patients may benefit from using medical marijuana;
• Definition of designated provider instead of caregiver, who would not have to be responsible for the housing or care of the patient; and
• Authority of enforcement officers to obtain a sample of marijuana for testing, without arresting qualifying patients or seizing their supply of marijuana.

The bill’s opponents take exception to the directive to the state Department of Health to define a 60-day supply of medical marijuana, the maximum permitted under state law for one person’s use.

Kohl-Welles said she added the language to get the votes necessary to finally pass the bill.

“In a perfect world, the decision about how much medical marijuana is needed would be made by the patient and his or her physician,” Kohl-Welles said. “But I would rather have this included in the bill than have no bill at all. I don’t believe that we should be cutting off our noses to spite our faces.

“Let’s be clear about this point: The bill does not charge the Department of Health with determining what an individual’s 60-day supply should be,” she said. “The department would specify a range of amounts that it believes necessary for patients in general. Nothing in the bill prevents a patient from working with his or her physician to make any necessary adjustments.”

The bill also would require the Department of Health to submit recommendations to the Legislature on efficient access to an adequate, safe, consistent and secure source of medical marijuana for qualifying patients.

In addition, the bill adds Crohn’s disease, hepatitis C, and other diseases which result in nausea, vomiting, wasting and other forms of debilitation as those for which medical marijuana can be used.

Kohl-Welles says she continues to work on perfecting the bill.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s the right thing to do to ensure that qualifying patients can access their approved medical marijuana without fear of arrest and prosecution.”

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