Tagged: Medical Marijuana

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Card-holding medical marijuana patients would get protection from arrest under a proposal in the Washington legislature. But some industry insiders say it doesn’t go far enough. That was their message Monday at a state Senate hearing.

By the end of this year, the production and use of recreational marijuana in Washington will be regulated and taxed. That’s because of voter-approved Initiative 502. But medical marijuana – also voter-approved back in 1998 – is largely unregulated.

On Thursday, Dec. 6, it becomes legal in Washington state to possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. But until the state sets up a licensing system, there’s no place to legally buy or sell marijuana, except for medical use. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

Oregon and Washington are contemplating a dramatic shift in drug policy this November. But the initiatives to legalize marijuana are getting little attention from state lawmakers on the campaign trail.

A candidate for Oregon state Attorney General faces an unusual new opposition campaign. Democrat Dwight Holton has become the target of medical marijuana activists. Holton faces retired judge Ellen Rosenblum in the May Democratic primary.