MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL HEADED TO HOUSE FLOOR

Legislation that would allow but tightly regulate the production and
sale of medical marijuana across Washington state is on the move in
Olympia.

A heavily amended version of Senate Bill 5073 was narrowly approved
this morning by the House Health and Wellness Committee and is headed
to the full floor.

Legislative intervention is being closely watched in Spokane, where
medical marijuana advocates and law enforcement officials disagree
over whether the state's current law allows commercial
dispensaries.

A Spokane County Superior Court jury last week rejected the broad
interpretation advanced by dispensary operators and convicted a
medical marijuana supplier of drug-trafficking charges for selling to
doctor-approved cannabis users. Local politicians have stayed out of
the dispute by arguing that it's a legislative matter, not a city
council issue.

Here's a look at SR reporter Jim Camden's latest posting from Olympia
on the issue:

OLYMPIA -- The House Health Care Committee voted 6-5 this morning to
send a new version of the medical marijuana bill to the floor.

The now heavily amended bill, SB 5073, would allow the state Health
Department to decide how many medical marijuana dispensaries to be
located in each county, and would set up a lottery for licenses for
that number, so there's no guarantee the current dispensaries could
stay in business after July 2012 when the new law takes effect.

It also provides additional protection from arrest for persons who
receive a letter from their doctor that marijuana would be the right
treatment for their condition. A patient can be on a voluntary state
registry, which would protect him or her from both arrest and
prosecution for possession of 24 ounces or less of marijuana, or have
the doctor's letter, which would protect from arrest, but could still
result in prosecution where the medical marijuana defense could be
argued.

The bill also forbids medical practices that are "solely" for
recommending marijuana. That's a small but potentially significant
change from the previous language, which banned practices "primarily"
around recommending marijuana.

The requirement that dispensaries by non-profit operations is also
gone, and a collective marijuana operation can serve 10 people, rather
than three under the old proposal. The Department of Agriculture would
still be in charge of licensing marijuana growing and processing operations.

Health Committee Chairwoman Eileen Cody, D-West Seattle, said she
thought the new version had enough support to pass the House,
predicting it would lose a few Democratic votes but pick up a few
Republican votes. the original Senate bill had bipartisan
sponsorship.

The Health Care Committee had a busy morning in executive session,
also sending to the floor a revised version of a bill to establish a
health benefit exchange -- a system that would allow small businesses
and individuals to shop for health insurance from different companies
and take advantage of potential discounts for larger numbers that some
bigger employers receive. The exchanges are called for in the federal
health care reform law that passed one year ago today.

An amended version of SB 5445, which Republicans said would slow the
process down while federal courts decide if the Affordable Care Act is
constitutional and Congress decides how to pay for it, passed 9-2.