​Last week, Washington Governor Chris Gregoire said she plans to veto a medical cannabis bill that has the support of many doctors, patients, city governments, and the Legislature. According to its supporters, the bill, SB 5073, had been carefully written and amended to ensure that Washington would have the soundest medical cannabis regulations in the country, protecting patients, providing clarity for law enforcement, and allowing cities to enact smart zoning regulations to keep dispensaries from being located near schools.

Instead, the governor appears to be misinterpreting established federal policy in order to veto it, potentially leaving Washington with its existing mess of unregulated dispensaries and inviting more conflicts between law enforcement and the communities they’re supposed to protect.





​”This development makes it all the more clear that Initiative 1149 is the solution,” said attorney and NORML board member Jeffrey Steinborn. “If the state of Washington, by initiative, repeals all criminal penalties for adult involvement in cannabis, and instructs the Legislature to pass some reasonable regulations, the Feds are left with but two choices: first, they can defer to the will of the people of Washington and allow the state to regulate it. Second, they can invalidate any regulations that the state passes, leaving cannabis totally unregulated.