“Enormous disappointment” over pot bill

The special legislative session in Olympia ends with no plan to legally recognize and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington.

State Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, who had been pushing for a medical marijuana bill gave up for this session, saying in a press release, “By far, this represents the greatest disappointment of my legislative career.”

That’s quite a statement considering the Seattle Democratic leader has been in the legislature since 1990. She started her career as a member of the House of Representatives, and in 1994 was elected to the Senate. Kohl-Welles has served on powerful committees in Olympia. She’s worked on hundreds of bills related to consumer protection, education, civil rights, and ending human trafficking.

Why was the issue of medical marijuana so important to her?

“It was terribly disappointing for me – both on a personal and legislative level. I had worked for two years on the legislation—the first draft was February, 2010, but I’d met with stakeholder groups and individuals beginning two years ago – June, 2009,” Kohl-Welles tells me. “To get the bill all the way through the Legislature – which was significant and very challenging, to say the least, and then have it mostly vetoed was an enormous disappointment and frustration.”

This issue hit her on a personal level also.

“My best friend and a sister-in-law died of cancer,” says Kohl-Welles. “They had used medical marijuana, which had been recommended by their oncologists prior to its being legal for them to use. I saw on a personal level how it helped them get relief from pain and the effects of radiation and chemotherapy.”

The failed legislation means that there will not be a statewide registry of medical marijuana patients.

Medical marijuana sales will continue under hazy state rules. Medical pot dispensaries are not specifically allowed current state statutes, but they’re also not forbidden. Dispensaries are operating in many counties in Washington.

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Photo: Jars of different types of marijuana on sale at a market in Seattle for those with doctors’ permission to buy and use pot.