SEATTLE OFFICIALS SUPPORT MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL

Seattle's elected officials joined together Monday to urge the
Legislature to pass a bill that would regulate medical marijuana.

The letter, signed by Mayor Mike McGinn, City Attorney Pete Holmes,
Council President Richard Conlin, and the eight other council members
said that although medical marijuana has been permitted under state
law for more than a decade, there's no clarity regarding how it is to
be produced, processed and distributed.

"It is in everyone's interest -- the state's, local governments' law
enforcement's, health-care professionals', and patients' -- to put in
place a consistent, coherent, and rational regulatory system spelling
out precisely how dispensaries and production facilities can operate
in a way that provides legitimate patients with medical marijuana
while protecting the health and safety of our communities," the letter
says.

The letter is written in support of Senate Bill 5073, sponsored by
Jeanne Kohl-Wells, D-Seattle, that would establish a regulatory system
for the sale and purchase of medical marijuana for qualifying patients.

The letter also sugests that amendments to the bill would enhance
local flexibility in enforcement and protect health-care professionals
who authorize the use of medical marijuana.