RCH 8 UPDATE: 5887 passes through the Senate... Roll Call E3SSB 5887 Medical and rec. marijuana Senate vote on 3rd Reading & Final Passage 3/8/2014 Yeas: 34 Nays: 15 Absent: 0 Excused: 0 Voting Yea: Senator Angel, Bailey, Baumgartner, Becker, Braun, Brown, Chase, Cleveland, Conway, Dammeier, Darneille, Eide, Fain, Fraser, Hatfield, Hewitt, Hill, Hobbs, Keiser, King, Kline, Kohl-Welles, Litzow, McAuliffe, McCoy, OBan, Parlette, Pedersen, Ranker, Rivers, Roach, Rolfes, Schoesler, Tom Voting Nay: Senator Benton, Billig, Dansel, Ericksen, Frockt, Hargrove, Hasegawa, Holmquist Newbry, Honeyford, Liias, Mullet, Nelson, Padden, Pearson, Sheldon Absent: Excused: ........................... MARCH 6TH UPDATE: PUBLIC HEARING FOR MARCH 7 HAS BEEN CANCELLED THE BILL HAS A NEW FLOOR AMENDMENT BEING CONSIDERED apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Amendments/Senate/5887-S3%20AMS%20RIVE%20S4972.3.pdf THIS BILL NEEDS TO BE KILLED NOW. We will be down in Olympia tomorrow and Monday. Please join us! Find your LEGISLATORS and district here: app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/ KEEP PUSHING FOR NO CHANGES IN 2014. savemedicalcannabis/ cannabisactioncoalition/ 420leaks/ ................................................... MARCH 5 UPDATE: 5887 PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE IN THE SENATE. IT IS NOW SCHEDULED FOR A PUBLIC HEARING ON FRIDAY, MARCH 7 AT 8AM IN THE HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE. HERES THE LATEST VERSION OF THE BILL AS IT WAS AMENDED BY SENATE WAYS AND MEANS ON MARCH 3. apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5887-S3.pdf PLEASE CONTACT BOTH OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND YOUR SENATORS ASAP AND TELL THEM NO CHANGES TO MEDICAL IN THE 2014 LEGISLATIVE SESSION! EMAILS AND PHONE CALLS TO THEIR OFFICE HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL. NOW ITS TIME TO TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SPEAK DIRECTLY WITH THEM EVEN IF ITS JUST BY PHONE - AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. WE WILL BE IN OLYMPIA FOR THE HEARING AND WILL FOLLOW UP ON MONDAY, AS WELL. PLEASE JOIN US. 2014 WA State Senate Roster apps.leg.wa.gov/rosters/Members.aspx?Chamber=S Find your LEGISLATORS and district here: app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/ KEEP PUSHING FOR NO CHANGES IN 2014. savemedicalcannabis/ cannabisactioncoalition/ 420leaks/ ................................................... MARCH 3 UPDATE: THIS BILL HAS PASSED OUT OF WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE WITH NEW AMENDMENTS AND MOVES ON TO THE RULES COMMITTEE PLEASE CONTACT THESE SENATORS ASAP AND TELL THEM NO CHANGES TO MEDICAL IN THE 2014 LEGISLATIVE SESSION! wE WILL POST OUR LATEST ANALYSIS OF THIS NEW VERSION OF THE BILL ONCE IT BECOMES AVAILABLE ONLINE TO REVIEW leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/RULE/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx ................................................... Well, now you REALLY need to start contacting those Senators and tell them that 5887 is just as bad, if not worse than the Cody Bill. I just found this language in the supplemental budget bill just a few moments ago. This was passed by the Senate on the 27th... apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6002&year=2013 Section 218... (27) $2,194,000 of the general fund--state appropriation for fiscal year 2015 is provided solely for the implementation of Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5887 (medical use of cannabis). If the bill is not enacted If the bill is not enacted by June 30, 2014, the amount provided in this subsection shall lapse. This is the one the LCB favors and is sponsored by Ezra Eikemeyer and his buddies. apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/5887-S2.pdf 5887 is the bill that LCB Member Chris Marr said was going to be used as a cover for them to get into the debate where they had no authority. it was stated that Sen. Rivers would cooperate in this plan. Now here we are. scribd/doc/173172086/LCB-Garza-Marr-the-fix keep pushing for NO CHANGES in 2014 and to keep contacting your state Senators...now more than ever. Make a phone appontment if you cant make it in person. 2014 WA State Senate Roster apps.leg.wa.gov/rosters/Members.aspx?Chamber=S Find your district here: app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/ Anyone telling you that a trip to Olympia is not necessary is not looking out for your best interest. Take the time and do it. Stop by your district legislators offices. Write a letter and hand deliver it to every legislators office. 49 Senators and 98 Representatives. ................................... Feb 19 UPDATE: WATCH THE PUBLIC HEARING tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2014021123 FEB 17th Update: 5887 is back for a public hearing in the Ways & Means Committee apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=5887&year=2013 Feb 19 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 3:30 PM. PLEASE CONTACT THE SENATORS ON THIS COMMITTEE AND TELL THEM NO ON SENATE BILL 5887 leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/WM/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx Heres the full Senate Roster: apps.leg.wa.gov/rosters/Members.aspx?Chamber=S -------------------------------- FEB 8th UPDATE! THESE BILLS ARE ON THE MOVE TO THE SENATE WAYS & MEANS COMMITTEE: leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/WM/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx PLEASE CONTACT ALL THE SENATORS ON THIS COMMITTEE! Phone calls, emails, letters and set an appointment for a phone or in person conversation if they are from your district! -------------------------------- JAN 29 UPDATE: PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED FOR BOTH BILLS! BRING YOUR RED SHIRTS TO SHOW UNITY WITH PATIENTS IN WASHINGTON STATE! Feb 5 Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor at 1:30 PM. PLEASE CONTACT ALL THE SENATE COMMERCE & LABOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON THIS PAGE ASAP ABOUT SENATE BILLS 5887 & 6178: SENATE COMMERCE AND LABOR COMMITTEE leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/CL/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Then contact the next level if it passes through: SENATE RULES COMMITTEE: leg.wa.gov/senate/committees/RULE/Pages/default.aspx [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- JAN 28 UPDATE: HELP KILL THESE BILLS! THESE BILLS ARE ON THE MOVE! PLEASE CONTACT ALL THE SENATE COMMERCE & LABOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS ON THIS PAGE ASAP ABOUT SENATE BILLS 5887 & 6178: leg.wa.gov/Senate/Committees/CL/Pages/MembersStaff.aspx -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact your legislators and set appointments now. If you are unable to attend, please contact your legislators on the 21st and tell them NO CHANGES TO RCW 69.51a IN THE 2014 LEGISLATIVE SESSION! Its really that easy if you stick to the script. It is making a difference. app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/ --------- SB 5887 Concerning the medical use of cannabis. This is a bill the patient community was able to kill last year, but it has been brought back and will get a new public hearing. It was written by Ezra Eikemeyer and used by the Liquor Control Board to begin trying to take over medical cannabis. You can see the hearing from last year at tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwliveplayer&eventID=2013040127 It would turn over control to the Liquor Control Board, introduce taxes, etc. dlr.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/default.aspx?Bill=5887&year=2013 Cannabis Action Coalition Letter to Washington State Legislators January 27, 2014 at 2:55pm As you’re probably aware, the medical cannabis community is extremely upset with the legislature’s rush to force medical cannabis patients into the I-502 system. This would effectively end the current medical cannabis system in the State of Washington. We believe that the assumptions from the LCB and the Marijuana Work Group used in drafting these current bills are severely flawed. As such, this will lead to unintended consequences that will dangerously impact the lives and health of patients. One of the most critically incorrect assumptions was that the I-502 stores will be able to supply the medicinal needs of patients and eliminate the need for the current system of medical access points, collective gardens and home gardens. The State Attorney General has recently concluded that cities and counties have the legal right to enact moratoriums and bans on I-502 businesses. With over 80 cities and counties already enforcing moratoriums banning these establishments, 85%-90% of the state will not be providing access to medication for patients. A court challenge to settle this issue could easily take two years or longer, leaving patients with no alternatives but to violate the state law or to purchase their medication from the black market. The Liquor Control Board has already stated that several medications currently used by patients to treat serious medical conditions like cancer and seizure disorders will not be available in the recreational marijuana stores. Under the proposed legislation, patients will be forced to illegally manufacture their own medication or purchase it from those who are willing to violate the state law to provide it to them. The current price of medication in Washington is approximately $180-$225 per ounce. We have recently seen the price of medication in Colorado rise to $500 an ounce with only a 15% excise tax. This is more than twice the price of medical cannabis here in Washington. With the new excise taxes on recreational cannabis in the I-502 stores at 35%-60% higher than those of Colorado, prices here could easily top $700 per ounce. That’s more than 3 times the price patients are currently paying for their medication. This will give patients no choice but to go back to the black market or go without medication. Current survey data indicates that 45% of the medical cannabis patients in Washington live below the poverty line. Many of these patients rely on the generosity of collective gardens for free, or low cost, medications that will no longer be available under the I-502 system. The medicine these patients rely on is not covered by any health insurance and there is no provision in any of the new proposed legislation that would provide for these most vulnerable patients. The recommendations made by the Liquor Control Board and Marijuana Work Group concern critical medical issues affecting a doctor’s practice of medicine, the amount of medication a patient is legally allowed to possess, and the number of plants a patient is allowed to grow for themselves. These were admittedly made without the consultation of a single medical professional. The only member of the Department of Health participating in this Work Group was Kristi Weeks, an attorney for the Department of Health. The Work Group also recommended that the legal amount of medication for patients be reduced by 83% and reduce the number of flowering plants by 80%. Ms. Weeks testified before an LCB hearing in front of 600 patients and admitted that this decision was made “very unscientifically”. This overturns a 2008 recommendation that was made through a hearing process that considered scientific and medical studies, along with the testimony of numerous medical professionals. Agency bureaucrats, attorneys and lobbyists should not be making medical decisions or interfering with the doctor/patient relationship. When the legislature follows these recommendations, without any apparent consideration for the health and welfare of patients, or the doctors that treat them, there should be little doubt why medical cannabis patients are angry with our elected officials. We hope that you will reconsider this rush to legislate and have the compassion to put our medical concerns above your desire for increased tax revenues. Sincerely, The Cannabis Action Coalition
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 02:18:40 +0000
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