Medical Marijuana

The Washington Supreme Court today rejected a seriously ill woman’s plea to use medical marijuana to alleviate chronic pain, even though she had a doctor’s written recommendation. The 6-3 ruling points to the need to clarify the state’s medical marijuana law to ensure that patients are able to exercise their rights under the law.

Skamania County Superior Court Judge E. Thompson Reynolds today sentenced a seriously ill medical marijuana patient to 60 days of electronic home detention, despite the fact that she had her doctor’s written recommendation for medical marijuana. The sentence for Sharon Tracy came after the Washington Supreme Court in November 2006 had rejected her doctor’s written recommendation for medical marijuana because the doctor was licensed in another state. Tracy, who is on public assistance, was also ordered to pay $3,000 in appeal costs plus the costs of her home detention.

On October 2, 2008, the Department of Health adopted a rule defining a "60-day supply" of medical marijuana. It specifies that a qualifying patient or designated provider "may possess a total of no more than twenty-four ounces of usable marijuana, and no more than fifteen plants." It makes no distinction between mature and immature plants.

Washington voters in 1998 passed Initiative 692 to allow patients with certain terminal or debilitating diseases to possess and use marijuana for medicinal purposes. After months of negotiations with the ACLU, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) in 2000 issued written instructions for enforcing the Washington Medical Marijuana Act.