The Exact Opposite of Compassionate Conservatism
Drew Carey has put together another extraordinary reason.tv video on a dispensary raid in California.
This afternoon, I'll be visiting a medical marijuana patient in the Seattle area who was arrested recently, and is facing trial later this summer. Tragedies like the one described by Carey are happening everywhere right now. The problems in Washington State are different than in California, primarily because we don't have sanctioned public dispensaries. Patients are still forced to essentially fend for themselves, either by growing for themselves, or by relying on providers who grow for them. This has been inadequate as police across the state continue to arrest medical marijuana patients and providers. Here's another recap of what's been going on in this state.
To fix Washington's situation the legislature passed a bill to force the state Department of Health to establish - by July 1, 2008 - 60-day limits for what a patient can possess. The DOH initially proposed a limit of 35 ounces and a 100 sq ft growing area. This proposal was essentially rejected by the Governor, as the Olympian points out:
A subsequent meeting was held, at the Governor's request, that was only open to the public at the last minute. At the meeting, the police continued to maintain that the limits should be established by the medical community, while the one physician at the meeting, Dr. Bob Wood, said that the limits should err on the side of being too high than too low in order to reduce anxiety among patients.
Exactly what Governor Gregoire is doing within this process is still a mystery to me. Despite the optimism expressed in The Olympian article, it seems pretty obvious to me that the Governor is interfering with the process while giving reasons that are clearly false. Many are predicting that the DOH will come out with limits that are absurdly low (3 ounces), while others think that Dr. Wood's testimony may even lead to established limits higher than the initial 35 ounces proposed.
For now, the bigger concern is that there are a number of medical marijuana patients across this state being arrested. And neither the Governor nor the Attorney General seem concerned that it's happening.
This afternoon, I'll be visiting a medical marijuana patient in the Seattle area who was arrested recently, and is facing trial later this summer. Tragedies like the one described by Carey are happening everywhere right now. The problems in Washington State are different than in California, primarily because we don't have sanctioned public dispensaries. Patients are still forced to essentially fend for themselves, either by growing for themselves, or by relying on providers who grow for them. This has been inadequate as police across the state continue to arrest medical marijuana patients and providers. Here's another recap of what's been going on in this state.
To fix Washington's situation the legislature passed a bill to force the state Department of Health to establish - by July 1, 2008 - 60-day limits for what a patient can possess. The DOH initially proposed a limit of 35 ounces and a 100 sq ft growing area. This proposal was essentially rejected by the Governor, as the Olympian points out:
The governor said law enforcement officials, prosecutors and other key players were under-represented during the public hearing process.To the people within the medical marijuana community, this excuse is laughable. Prosecutors and law enforcement officials were in attendance at the workshops, but maintained that the decision should be left up to the medical community.
A subsequent meeting was held, at the Governor's request, that was only open to the public at the last minute. At the meeting, the police continued to maintain that the limits should be established by the medical community, while the one physician at the meeting, Dr. Bob Wood, said that the limits should err on the side of being too high than too low in order to reduce anxiety among patients.
Exactly what Governor Gregoire is doing within this process is still a mystery to me. Despite the optimism expressed in The Olympian article, it seems pretty obvious to me that the Governor is interfering with the process while giving reasons that are clearly false. Many are predicting that the DOH will come out with limits that are absurdly low (3 ounces), while others think that Dr. Wood's testimony may even lead to established limits higher than the initial 35 ounces proposed.
For now, the bigger concern is that there are a number of medical marijuana patients across this state being arrested. And neither the Governor nor the Attorney General seem concerned that it's happening.
posted by thehim at 9:13 AM
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