To:Senator Kohl-Welles

May 9, 2011

Memorandum

Date:11/07/2018

From:Kathy Buchli

Re:Medical Use of Cannabis Bill Draft.

May 9, 2011

This memorandum summarizes the bill draft you requested in response to the Governor's partial veto of E2SSB 5073, AN ACT Relating to the medical use of cannabis. In her veto message, the Governor indicated that she is open to legislation to exempt qualifying patients and their designated providers from state criminal penalties when they join in nonprofit cooperative organizations to share responsibility for producing, processing, and dispensing cannabis for medical use. The Governor further stated that she would be open to Legislation that establishes a secure and confidential registration system to provide arrest and seizure protections under state law to qualifying patients and those who assist them.

Accordingly, your request was to address these two items: provide for a cooperative system to distribute cannabis to members of that cooperative; and create a patient registry within the Department of Health to provide arrest and prosecution protection to those patients who voluntary register. You also directed that local governments be provided the tools they need to enact zoning requirements necessary to address these cooperative operations should they choose to do so.

The resulting bill draft is entitled, AN ACT Relating to the medical use of cannabis, and does the following:

Establishes a Medical Cannabis Registry (Registry) to be administered by the Department of Health (DOH). The Registry is to be a secure and confidential registration system for qualifying patients, designated providers, collective gardens, and Nonprofit Patient Cooperatives (NPCs). The DOH has until January 1, 2013 to adopt rules to create, implement, and maintain the Registry. Qualifying patients and their designated providers who voluntarily register are provided with arrest and prosecution protection. Collective gardens and NPCs must register their locations with the Registry.
Permits NPCs to distribute cannabis for the medical use of its members. NPCs are permitted only if the local government in which it is located adopts an ordinance that does not prohibit NPCs. Requirements for NPCs are provided in the bill and include: That they must be nonprofit; may obtain cannabis from collective gardens or may produce cannabis, subject to limits set in statute or as further limited by the local government; must keep patient records (valid documentation or proof of registration and proof of identity); and must register their locations with the Registry.
Provides that local governments are not preemptedfrom imposing zoning requirements, licensing requirements, permitting requirements, health and safety requirements, taxes or other conditions upon any entity producing, processing, or dispensing cannabis within their jurisdictions. Local governments may adopt requirements relating to NPCs including: security requirements; inspection standards; limits on size of membership; and limits on number of plants and amounts of useable cannabis.
Modifies the collective garden section that was signed into law by the Governor. Collective gardens may produce for their members or for NPCs. No more than one collective garden is permitted per parcel and collective gardens must register their locations with the Registry. Local governments may enact zoning requirements relating to collective gardens.
Provides for maximum amounts of cannabis permitted to be at the locations of collective gardens and NPCs. Collective gardens are limited to ten members and may contain up to 45 plants and 72 ounces of useable cannabis. There are no membership limits on NPCs; however, local governments may adopt ordinances establishing membership limits. NPCs may contain up to 99 plants and 144 ounces of useable cannabis, but these amounts may be modified by local government action.
Combines the sections providing an affirmative defense to those qualifying patients and designated providers who are not registered with the Registry. This section is modified to provide that these patients may assert an affirmative defense if they are within the possession limits set in statute and are in compliance with other terms and conditions of the Act. (Please note, patients are able to establish an affirmative defense if they possess more cannabis than the statutory amounts. This section was in E2SSB 5073 and was signed into law by the Governor.)
Provides that sales of cannabis for medical use are not subject to sales or use tax.