Department of Health adopts rule defining a 60-day supply of medical marijuana
Last update: April 20, 2009
New medical marijuana possession limits
On October 2, the Department of Health adopted a rule defining a 60-day supply of medical marijuana as 24 ounces of usable marijuana (stems, stalks, seeds, and roots excluded) and 15 plants at any stage of growth. The new rule became effective on November 2, 2008.
This recent development comes on the heels of over a decade of confusion and problems between patients and law enforcement regarding how much medical marijuana a patient can legally possess. Until now, different law enforcement agencies have arbitrarily imposed different limits throughout the state without input from patients, physicians, or horticulturists.
24 ounces and 15 plants is a presumptive limit representing the total combined amount of marijuana that a patient and her designated provider can possess, which could prove to be problematic given Washington's current 1-1 patient/designated provider ratio. However, this presumptive limit can be "overcome with evidence of a qualifying patient's necessary medical use."
While the numbers adopted by the department will be insufficient for some patients, particularly those who ingest rather than inhale their medicine, the ability to show a need for more and the removal of the mature/immature distinction are welcome improvements. To learn more about the various ways medical marijuana can be administered, as well as what experts, including the federal government, consider to be an adequate supply of medical marijuana, check out the white paper that MPP submitted to the department during the rule-making process.
ACLU continues public education project
Earlier this year, the ACLU launched a pilot project called "Marijuana: It's Time for a Conversation," which is aimed at educating the public about the failure of marijuana prohibition.
The ACLU, which opposes punitive marijuana laws, makes its case against marijuana prohibition by chronicling the racial hysteria behind the drug's criminalization in the 1930s and examining the impact of our current marijuana laws, under which about 800,000 people are arrested in the U.S. each year — a rate of one citizen every 36 seconds.
What you can do
The time for discarding our failed policy of marijuana prohibition in favor of a system that tightly regulates marijuana by setting strict government controls and levying taxes on it is now. The same has worked for alcohol, so why can't it work for marijuana? It can and it will, but we need help from people like you to get the word out.
You can help by downloading and distributing our brochure on taxing and regulating marijuana, which explains how this real solution would save taxpayers money, make our communities safer, and keep marijuana out of the hands of minors. This is a great piece of literature to leave with your legislators, community leaders, family, co-workers, and friends who might need a little educating on the subject. You can also take these to events and hand them out to attendees, or simply leave on car windshields.
To help in your discussions with those willing to listen to reason, use our "Marijuana Prohibition Facts" handout, which gives statistics on the failures of marijuana prohibition.
Another excellent tool that you may find useful is our "Effective Arguments for Taxing and Regulating Marijuana," which will help you respond to common arguments you'll encounter while engaging others in conversation about this crucial issue.
Stay Connected
Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project and all of our allies. If you have questions about the 60-day supply issue or marijuana policy reform in Washington, please contact us by email at state@mpp.org for more information. Don't forget to subscribe to MPP's free legislative alert service if you haven't done so already.
