GREGOIRE VETOES PORTIONS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL

OLYMPIA - Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed the bulk of a medical marijuana
bill Friday.

But she and the bill's sponsor - Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle -
are willing to revive a segment addressing registering authorized
users in the current special session.

And Gregoire indicated she has no problem with the possibility of a
state referendum that could address parts of what she vetoed.

Gregoire vetoed most of the bill because U.S. attorneys Jenny Durkan
in Seattle and Mike Ormsby in Spokane told her that state health and
agriculture department employees involved in the licensing and
monitoring of medical marijuana dispensaries could be arrested under
federal anti-marijuana laws.

"I have to ask if it is a state's right to violate federal law?"
Gregoire said. "The real change must be made by the federal
government at the federal level. ... I will not subject my employees
to federal prosecution, period. I want (patients) to have the medical
marijuana that they need and deserve. But I want it done right."

A union that represents thousands of state employees asked Gregoire
to veto the bill.

Meanwhile, proponents of her signing the entire bill contended that
Gregoire overreacted to the possibility of federal action against
state workers.

Ezra Eickmeyer, political director of the Washington Cannabis
Association, pointed to a 2009 U.S. Department of Justice memo that
said the federal government does not intend to prosecute people in
compliance with state medical marijuana dispensary laws. He said 15
states have such laws, and no state employees have been prosecuted so
far. He contended that the feds are more likely to file injunctions instead.

But Gregoire mentioned the raids of several Spokane marijuana
dispensaries on Thursday. She declined to speculate on whether that
timing was a federal signal to her.

"The federal raids in Spokane yesterday mean we have to take the U.S.
attorney at his word," Gregoire said.

Eickmeyer was unsure about the timing, but noted the feds have talked
about targeting those dispensaries for months.

Meanwhile in a written statement, Kohl-Welles expressed
disappointment over Gregoire's veto.

"I understand the governor's need to protect state employees from
risk of federal arrest and prosecution," she said. "However, I
believe the risk of this happening is low, while the loss of many of
the bill's key provisions mean tens of thousands of qualifying
patients will continue to have difficulty accessing a legal, safe,
secure and reliable source of medicine that has been recommended for
them by their health care professional."

The House passed the bill 54-43, while the Senate passed it 27-21.

The bill's portions that Gregoire signed into law include:

. Allowing a qualifying patient or designated provider to grow
marijuana for the patient's own use individually or in a collective
garden. That segment does not guard such people from federal prosecution.

. Giving the Legislature permission to remove state penalties for
marijuana-related activities that help a patient. That segment does
not guard such people from federal prosecution.

. Allowing the state to set up medical guidelines for marijuana use.

Meanwhile, Gregoire's veto removed sections pertaining to the state
licensing and monitoring dispensaries, a registry for law enforcement
officers to check who is legally allowed to use marijuana,
protections for producers and distributors, requiring homeowners to
allow medical marijuana use in their homes, and removing medical
marijuana use as a probation violation.

"I don't think you could do better than the solution she had on her
desk," said Shankar Narayan of the American Civil Liberties Union
said. "Without a bill like this, everybody is shooting in the dark."

Gregoire and Kohl-Welles said the bill's registry segment - which
Gregoire vetoed because it was intertwined with portions she objected
to - should be revived in the current special session. Both voiced
optimism that a rewritten registry bill could pass before the special
session ends.

Washington voters approved the medical use of marijuana in a 1998
referendum. However, the laws addressing how to put that referendum
into action have been hazy, all sides agreed.