Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The proposed substitute does the following:
• In the section describing that valid documentation may be used to receive arrest
protection, language is added to clarify that this protection applies to criminal
sanctions or civil consequences for possession, manufacture, or delivery of, or for
possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, cannabis under state law.
• Provides a definition of "personally identifiable information."
• The amount of qualifying patients who may participate in a collective garden is
reduced from 25 to three. They may have up to a total of 45 plants and no more
than 72 ounces of useable marijuana (if three patients participate).
• Removes the section relating to employment protections for medical cannabis
patients.
• Adds to the section on housing protections for medical cannabis patients. Housing
providers who enact and enforce prohibitions against smoking in their housing may
apply those prohibitions to smoking cannabis.
• The Department of Agriculture's role in cannabis testing and inspection is limited.
Licensees are required to have their product tested by a private laboratory and
submit those results to the Department. The department may adopt rules on testing
and inspection criteria.
• The Department of Agriculture may adopt rules on facility standards of licensees,
and methods to identify cannabis intended for medical use.
• The Department of Agriculture may notify licensees of requests to examine records.
The penalties for a licensee's failure to respond to these requests remain the same,
However, the Department may seize books, record, and property, but the reference
to cannabis has been removed. The Department may also request law enforcement
for assistance as needed to ensure employee safety.
• Removes the sales tax exemption for qualifying patients, making purchases of
medical cannabis subject to sales tax.
• Requires dispensaries to confirm whether the patient qualifies for medical cannabis
with the health care professional who authorized the medical use of cannabis for
that patient.
• Requires license suspension if a licensee is found in noncompliance with a child
support order.
• Requires license suspension if a licensee is certified as being in default on a federally
or state‐guaranteed educational loan or service‐conditional scholarship.
• Modifies when law enforcement may access the registry for criminal investigations.
The officer must have an articulated individualized suspicion of criminal activity or
of the possession, use or production of cannabis, whether criminal or noncriminal.
• Patients may remove themselves from the registry at any time.
• Modifies the section on probable cause. Evidence of the presence or use of cannabis
does not on its own constitute probable cause to obtain a warrant or to conduct a
warrantless search or arrest. Law enforcement officers must ascertain that the
person or location is not registered with the registry or with DOH or AG as a
licensee, or may have probable cause to believe that the person is disqualified from
the protections of the medical cannabis law, or believes that a cannabis related
traffic offense is being committed.
• Civil penalties for law enforcement and others who allow inspection of the registry
are removed.
• In addition to the University of Washington, the Washington State University may
conduct scientific research on administering cannabis as part of medical treatment.
• The preemption section is modified. Local governments may adopt business
licensing requirements or business taxes relating to the production and dispensing
of cannabis.
• The provision relating to the transition period before the rules are adopted and
permitting current dispensaries to assert an affirmative defense at trial is modifies
to apply to dispensaries who have incorporated with the Secretary of State by May
1, 2011.
• Clarifies that the penalties relating to the advertising prohibition apply only to
dispensaries, producers, and processors. Advertisers are not subject to the
penalties when acting in good faith without knowledge that the advertising
promotes or tends to promote the use or abuse of cannabis.
• Clarifies that the limits are 15 plants and 24 ounces of product, whether in plant
form or processed.