Pubdate: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 Source: Seattle Times (WA) Copyright: 2015 The Seattle Times Company Contact: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409 ADDRESS THREATS TO A BUDDING MARKET COLORADO'S neighbor states recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to toss out the Centennial State's recreational marijuana law, based on frustration that its pot is washing over its borders. Washington - Colorado's pioneering companion in state legalization - should view that demand as a warning. Lawmakers this session must act to clamp down on the leakiest element of the Evergreen State's marijuana experiment - its medical-marijuana market. Washington has done a good job in tightly regulating a handful of new recreational marijuana stores. But the Legislature has given the far more ubiquitous medical-marijuana dispensaries a free pass: no licensing, no inspections and almost no enforcement. Reconciling the recreational- and medical-marijuana markets would require lawmakers to finally clamp down on abuses of medical-marijuana authorizations by doctors and naturopaths. State Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, the Senate Republicans' point person on marijuana, cites the case of a 14-year-old who gained an authorization - and access to dispensaries - via Skype, without his or her parents' knowledge. Lawmakers should find a bipartisan solution that legally protects legitimate patients, gives them a break from steep sin taxes at recreational stores and brings dispensaries into the fold of rational regulation. Failure to act this year invites a serious threat to the integrity of Washington's landmark marijuana experiment, most likely from the federal government. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom