OLYMPIA, WA - Yesterday the Washington State Senate concurred on House amendments to Senate Bill 5052, which regulates medical cannabis. SB 5052 has now passed through the full Washington legislature meaning that the bill will now be sent to Governor Inslee’s desk. Given the final language of the bill the best course of action is for Governor Inslee to protect patients by using his veto powers.  

While legislative solutions that would have addressed well-documented concerns from medical cannabis patients, health care professionals, compassionate designated providers, and those in the industry exist, they have been not been incorporated into the bill’s language.

“As it stands, SB 5052 contains a number of sections that would undermine the ability of patients to maintain their access to a steady supply of essential cannabis products,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access. “These extreme restrictions mean the end of medical cannabis in Washington in the way that patients have come to rely on.”

A number of problematic sections reach beyond the needed regulations and severely undermine the doctor-patient relationship, create undue and arbitrary limitations on the amount of cannabis patients can possess and creates confusion about whether a patient database is voluntary or not. At a minimum Governor Inslee should veto the emergency clause in Section 51 of the bill to allow for additional time for planning and implementation of this complex legislation.

Further information:

April 14th ASA letter to Governor Inslee calling for Veto:
http://american-safe-access.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Inslee-5052%20.pdf

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