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