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Tacoma Medical Marijuana Providers Vow To Fight Shutdown

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By on Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Cannabis Defense Coalition

​The city of Tacoma, Washington, has ordered eight local medical marijuana dispensaries to stop doing business by Saturday, sparking outrage among patients and providers. Cannabis advocates are planning an impromptu rally at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting to support the dispensaries.
In a three-paragraph letter dated October 14 from Tax and License Manager Jodie Trueblood, dispensary operators were told that selling medical marijuana “to more than one patient” is illegal in Washington state, and outlines possible penalties if the shops don’t comply, reports Stacia Glenn at the Tacoma News-Tribune.
Business licenses will be revoked, fines and penalties could be assessed, and criminal prosecution isn’t out of the question, according to Trueblood’s letter.
Dispensary workers said on Monday that they were surprised when they received the cease and desist letters. Some have already appealed the decision, with others saying they plan to do so.
Advocates say that hundreds of supporters have been mobilized for a rally before Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. If they are unsuccessful on getting the dispensary question onto the Council’s agenda, they said they plan to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.
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WA Patients To Protest Marijuana Dispensary Ban Tuesday Night

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By on Dispensaries, Legislation

Graphic: Cannabis Defense Coalition

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Graphic: CDC

​Medical cannabis providers in Tacoma, Washington, were served with cease and desist notices by the city on Friday, a major escalation in what activists are calling the city’s war on medical marijuana.

Most of Tacoma’s dozen or more medical marijuana providers, already licensed to do business in the there, received certified letters from the a city licensing agent claiming that “dispensing medical marijuana to more than one person is illegal” and demanding the dispensaries be shut down by October 24.
The letter, which is copied to several police officials, claims that failure to comply will result in fines and penalties “up to and including criminal prosecution.”
“The City of Tacoma is clearly misinterpreting state law on medical marijuana,” said Douglas Hiatt, chair of the Sensible Washington cannabis legalization initiative campaign and a longtime medical marijuana attorney.
“The city’s reading of the law is inconsistent with what Washington voters approved in 1998,” Hiatt said. “It’s also inconsistent with how the same law is read by King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg and Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes.”
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2011 Marijuana Legalization Campaign Launching At Hempfest

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By on Culture, Legislation

Photo: Owl Jester/Seattle Hempfest
“There’s no place more perfect to announce our plans for 2011’s campaign than at the world’s premier marijuana reform festival.” ~ Douglas Hiatt, Sensible Washington

​​If at first you don’t succeed, try again!
Sensible Washington, sponsor of this year’s Washington legalization initiative I-1068, has announced that it will launch its 2011 marijuana legalization campaign at this year’s Seattle Hempfest.
“There’s no place more perfect to announce our plans for 2011’s campaign than at the world’s premier marijuana reform festival,” said Douglas Hiatt, chair of Sensible Washington and main author of I-1068, which failed to gain enough signatures to qualify for this year’s general election.
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GOP Senate Hopeful Attacks Marijuana Pain Research

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By on Medical, News

Photo: Examiner.com
GOP Senate candidate Dino Rossi captured in a rare moment without his head up his ass

​You’d expect a politician to promote medical research being done at local universities. But Republican Senatorial candidate Dino Rossi of Washington on Thursday tried to gain some traction in his political campaign by attacking a local research project which studies the use of marijuana cannabinoids to control pain.
Rossi thought it would make an easy target, after all: Talk about “wasteful” federal stimulus spending to rile up the Tea Party faithful, and then drag in a tired old stoner stereotype for good measure.
“This is one of those boondoggle projects that forces you to set aside the serious economic consequences of this so-called stimulus for a moment and just laugh at how out of touch Washington, D.C., really is,” Rossi said. “Washington state taxpayers are tired of their money going up in smoke. This bill isn’t going to stimulate anything other than sales of Cheetos.”
It’s time for a diversion, Rossi seems to believe, to distract voters from inconvenient little things like, well, the fact that he was recently named to a list of the 11 Most Crooked Candidates in the United States(!) by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
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No California Pot Money For Washington Legalization Drive

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By on Legislation, News

Photo: Poto’s Blog
Grass will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no grass. But Washington’s weed warriors won’t have either, if they are depending on California

​Sensible Washington, the Washington state group trying to put a marijuana legalization initiative on November’s ballot, came back home empty-handed after a fundraising trip to California, according to an attorney who co-sponsors I-1068.

Among the marijuana luminaries in California who refused to contribute to Washington’s legalization effort were Richard Lee, arguably the most famous pot entrepreneur in the Golden State, reports Nina Shapiro at Seattle Weekly.
Seattle marijuana attorney Douglas Hiatt, who co-sponsors I-1068, Washington’s legalization initiative, said he and co-sponsor Vivian McPeak, director of Seattle Hempfest, met with Lee on their April fundraising trip to California.
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Washington: Pot Legalization Has Poll Numbers, But No Money

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By on Legislation, News

Photo: Emerald Sun

​The people of Washington state want to legalize marijuana — and they would vote to do exactly that — if it were only on the ballot, according to the latest polls. But they may not get that chance.

Even though poll numbers show a majority of residents support it, an attempt to legalize marijuana in Washington state for adults may not make the ballot in November, as the signature gathering phase enters its final three weeks.

Initiative 1068 would remove all state penalties for the possession, cultivation, use and sale of marijuana. Statewide polls have suggested it would pass, reports Gene Johnson of The Associated Press.
According to campaign chairman Douglas Hiatt on Monday, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition to get the initiative on the ballot. The group’s goal is to gather 320,000 signatures. It needs 241,153 valid signatures by July 2 to qualify for the ballot.
The cash-strapped I-1068 campaign can’t afford to pay signature gatherers, so it has depended entirely on the efforts of volunteers.
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Web Weed War Breaks Out On Seattle Collective Scene

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By on Dispensaries, News

Graphic: Cannabis Defense Coalition

​At first glance Seattle would seem a pot patient’s paradise, with abundant, potent marijuana, a thriving dispensary scene, and $10 a gram prices for medicine. But this week, some ugly internecine strife has become very public, with three pot-related websites being commandeered and rumors swirling as to who’s responsible and why.

Persons affiliated with all three of the sites affected — Compassion In Action, Seattle Green Cross, and the personal site of Seattle marijuana attorney/activist Douglas Hiatt, who heads the statewide I-1068 marijuana legalization initiative — allege that the person responsible is the head of Green Buddha Patient Network, Muraco Kyashna-tocha.
On Sunday, patients attempting to visit the Compassion In Action site were first treated to a profanity-laced telephone message from an understandably upset Dale Rogers (who leads Compassion In Action) to Steve Sarich (who runs local patient collective CannaCare). Visitors are then redirected to competing organization CannaCare’s website.
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Washington: Marijuana Legalization Gaining Momentum

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By on Legislation, News

Photo: Emerald Herb

​“It’s an idea whose time has come,” said Douglas Hiatt, co-author of Initiative 1068, which would legalize marijuana in Washington State.

And now it’s time for voters to take matters into their own hands, according to Hiatt. “This year, one in six legislators sponsored marijuana reform legislation,” the activist attorney said Tuesday at a press conference on the steps of the Capitol Building in Olympia.
“And again this year, major reform did not get out of committee,” Hiatt said. “So we formed Sensible Washington and wrote an initiative that removes the criminal and civil penalties for adults.”
Every poll taken shows that if I-1068 gets on the ballot, it will win. Washington voters support sensible marijuana laws.
Tuesday’s press conference detailed a wide and diverse array of endorsements, from former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper to Republican legislator Toby Nixon.
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WA: ‘Old Generation’ Kills Pot Legalization Bills; Measure May Let Voters Decide

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By on Legislation, News

Graphic: KOMO 4
HB 2401 would have legalized and taxed marijuana in Washington; the herb would be sold in state liquor stores. Since the Legislature dropped the ball, now it’s up to the voters.

​For the first time ever, the Washington Legislature looked at not one, but two bills to reform marijuana laws in the state. And although both were voted down in committee, advocates say marijuana legalization is still alive, with an initiative campaign trying to get a measure on the ballot in November, reports Matt Phelps of the Kirkland Reporter.

“My motivation was to get the criminals out of the business and stop the harm that the current prohibition is doing,” said Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland), who cosponsored House Bill 2401 with Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle).
“Many polls in Washington and nationwide show a favorability toward decriminalization,” Goodman said.
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Washington Legislature Says No To Pot, Yes To ‘Continued Chaos’

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By on Legislation, News

Graphic: The Seattle Times

​The Legislature in Washington state displayed a trait Wednesday for which they are becoming well known: spinelessness, especially when it comes to marijuana law reform.

Despite the fact that a majority of state voters favor legalizing pot, cowardly politicians in the State House voted down a pair of bills aimed at changing Washington’s failed marijuana laws.
House Bill 2401 would have legalized and regulated the adult production, use and distribution of marijuana, in a manner similar to the regulation of alcohol.
The roll call vote on HB 2401, to legalize marijuana, went like this:
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