A proposal to drastically alter Washington State’s medical cannabis law has been approved 11 to 2 by the Senate Health Care Committee, and is scheduled for a public hearing today at 3:30PM in the Senate Ways and Means Committee, where its passage will set it up for a full Senate vote.

If approved into law, Senate Bill 5052 would combine the medical and recreational cannabis systems, would shut down all currently operating medial cannabis dispensaries and would establish a patient database, requiring all patients who wish to receive arrest protection to submit to a mandatory registry (which has been opposed by activists in the state for years given it would require patients to put their name on a list admitting to a federal crime).

Recreational cannabis retail outlets would be given the opportunity to apply for a medical cannabis endorsement to demonstrate that they’re “knowledgeable in the medical use of marijuana”. The Liquor Control Board would be named to the Liquor and Cannabis Control Board, and would have the authority to determine the number of cannabis outlets throughout the state, as well as establish regulations for the cannabis industry.

Senate Bill 5052 would reduce the amount of cannabis a patient can cultivate from fifteen to six, and would reduce the amount they can possess from twenty four ounces to three. It would also require those in possession of cannabis concentrates to prove that it was purchased at a licensed cannabis retail outlet; if they can’t, they’ll receive a civil infraction (under seven grams), a misdemeanor (seven to twenty eight grams) or even a felony (over twenty eight grams).

The full text of the proposal can be found by clicking here.

– TheJointBlog