WA State Health Department: Allow Medical-Marijuana Patients 2Lbs Every 2 Months

Medical marijuana: How much is enough?

Seattle Times
By Carol M. Ostrom
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 - Page updated at 01:00 AM


CHRIS JOSEPH TAYLOR / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Muraco Kyashna-Tocha, 48, of Seattle, has
grown marijuana legally since 1999.

A state Health Department proposal that medical-marijuana patients be allowed more than 2 pounds of pot every two months took law enforcement by surprise and prompted the governor to tell health officials to start over.

Faced with a legislative mandate to spell out what constitutes a "60-day supply" by July 1, the department in February briefed Gov. Christine Gregoire's office on its recommendation: Patients or caregivers could possess up to 35 ounces of cultivated marijuana and be allowed a plant-growing area of 100 square feet.

Gregoire promptly directed Department of Health Secretary Mary Selecky to solicit more comment from law enforcement and medical providers. "I wouldn't say she was upset" by the amount, said Gregoire's spokesman, Pearse Edwards, but she believed input had been one-sided.

The issue of how much marijuana a patient needs remains one of the most contentious parts of the law voters passed in 1998, which allows patients with certain chronic, fatal and debilitating diseases to possess a 60-day supply of marijuana with a doctor's authorization.


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