MEDICAL MARIJUANA: FEDERAL WAY ELECTED OFFICIALS DISCUSS DISPENSARY
REGULATION LAW

There is mixed support among Federal Way's elected officials for a
proposed state law in the works that, among other actions, would set
up a regulatory system for medical marijuana dispensaries.

Federal Way Mayor Skip Priest, state Sen. Tracey Eide and state Reps.
Katrina Asay and Mark Miloscia were all asked to give their opinion on
a bill in the Legislature that would permit medical marijuana
dispensaries under regulation by the state. This comes at a time when
at least three dispensaries are trying to operate in Federal Way, but
have been barred from doing so.

Eide -- who voted in favor of the bill in the Senate -- showed the most
support. Asay and Priest expressed concerns over the fact that
marijuana, however it's being used, is illegal under federal law.
Miloscia did not return requests for comment.

Legislation to regulate dispensaries, Senate Bill 5073, was introduced
this session by state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36th District). The
measure passed March 2 in the Senate 29-20; it was voted out of the
House Committee on Health Care and Wellness on March 23 with a "do
pass" recommendation. It is scheduled for a hearing in the House Ways
and Means Committee for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The law regulates how medical marijuana is produced and distributed to
qualified patients. Key points include:

Establishing a regulatory system through the state Department of
Agriculture to give credentials to producers, who would be allowed to
"plant, grow or harvest cannabis for medical use for wholesale to
licensed dispensers and processors."

Establishing a regulatory system through the state Department of
Health to give licenses to dispensers, which are defined as "medical
organizations that are licensed to dispense medical cannabis for
medical use to qualified patients."

No dispensary could operate within 500 feet of a school or church. A
dispensary would not have to be licensed by local governments, and
dispensers could have their licenses revoked or suspended for
drug-related offenses other than for marijuana.

In Federal Way, at least three medical marijuana dispensaries, or
co-ops, have sought to open. Two have been denied business licenses by
the city, which are required under penalty of a $500-a-day fine. At
least one, Conscious Care Cooperative, continues to operate. Conscious
Care and another dispensary, Cascade Medical Center, have appealed
their business license denials.

Federal Way city code allows business licenses to be denied if a
business is conducting activity that's illegal under state and federal
law.

The theory that the dispensaries seeking to operate here are
conducting illegal activity has been based on the businesses'
websites, and the fact that they have not denied that they intend to
distribute marijuana. The business owners say that they only serve
certified medical marijuana patients.

The state's medical marijuana law allows an affirmative defense for
patients and caregivers. Though no law specifically outlaws medical
marijuana dispensaries, marijuana possession, use and distribution is
illegal under state and federal law. Some jurisdictions, like King
County, have indicated they will not prosecute medical marijuana
patients who adhere to state regulations.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed in other cities, including
Seattle and Spokane. Tacoma recently revoked the business licenses of
19 dispensaries after having allowed them to operate.

Support among legislative delegation

The strongest support came from Eide, who released a statement about
her yes vote for the bill in the Senate. The law would ensure public
safety and discourage abuse of medical marijuana laws, she said.

"To maintain a necessary medical avenue and provide the greatest
public safety while doing so, revision to current law is necessary,"
Eide said in a statement. "The proposal would establish a regulatory
system for the growing, sale and purchase of medical marijuana by
authorized patients with qualifying medical conditions. These are not
individuals with headaches or the stomach flu -- these are patients
with serious, oftentimes life-threatening medical conditions. They
have cancer or HIV/AIDS or another serious illness and need medicine
in order to eat or just get through the day.

"Currently, patients are discriminated against for seeking out this
medicine. They are then forced to seek it out underground, often
subject to dangerous and trying situations."

Eide described the state's medical marijuana law -- Initiative 692 of
1998 -- as ambiguous on how medical marijuana patients obtain their
medicine. She underscored that King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg
has come out in support of clarifying the law.

Asay, who has yet to vote on the law, said she is not up to speed on
the latest medical marijuana reform bill. But she does support medical
marijuana dispensaries, as long as distribution is regulated "like all
pharmaceuticals."

"If they're regulated," she said when asked, in general, if she
supports allowing medical marijuana dispensaries. "If we're going to
have medical marijuana, we have to have some sort of dispensary system
for that. It's just fraught with conflict. There's federal law in
conflict with state law. We have to be able to work it out so that
we're legal.

"Something needs to be done. I just don't know if this bill does it; I
haven't seen it," she said.

Miloscia could not be reached for comment. After several requests for
comment, Miloscia spokesman Robin Boyes wrote in an email, "He's
apparently too tied up to call. There's nothing I can do at this point."

Legal concerns for mayor, city

In an interview and through a statement from city spokesman Chris
Carrel, Priest pondered the effect of medical marijuana if it's still
illegal under federal law.

"If the sale of marijuana is illegal under federal law, the question
is, does the supremacy act apply or not? Then we assume it does,"
Priest said.

Priest was referring to the Supremacy Clause, a part of the U.S.
Constitution that holds that federal law is ultimate and that judges
in states must adhere to it. The Supremacy Clause has been used, for
example, by the Supreme Court to nullify some state laws on school
segregation.

But the federal government's stance on medical marijuana has softened.
In 2009, the United States Justice Department issued a memo stating
that it would not focus resources on prosecuting medical marijuana
patients who adhere to state law.

"The prosecution of significant traffickers of illegal drugs,
including marijuana, and the disruption of illegal drug manufacturing
and trafficking networks continues to be a core priority in the
Department's efforts against narcotics and dangerous drugs," wrote
Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. "As a general matter, pursuit
of these priorities should not focus federal resources in your states
on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance
with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana."

"I have very strong concerns no matter what action the state takes,"
Priest said. "The city of Federal Way will be in a very difficult
position if in fact (marijuana) continues to be illegal under federal
law."

Carrel's statement listed several concerns that the city wants
addressed as the Legislature moves forward with regulating medical
marijuana:

Cities could be exposed to liability under federal law, and
liability under state law if the city denied business licenses to
dispensaries

There may be an unfunded mandate included in any
law

A medical marijuana distribution system "invites the participation
of individuals with criminal records."

Priest gave tacit support to regulating medical marijuana like
pharmaceuticals.

"I can say that going forward, we should be using medical marijuana
that's produced by a regulated pharmaceutical company or the state as
opposed to an unregulated approach to marijuana," Priest said.