Marijuana Policy Project

Advocate aims to clarify system for legal users 

An Olympia man will open a resource center outside Olympia next month for patients who use medical marijuana and for those who want to learn more about the medicinal use of cannabis.

Jeremy Miller, 36, said he wants to help people navigate through the state's medical marijuana law that remains complex despite an effort last week by the state Department of Health to bring more clarity.

The opening of the resource center was "semi-inspired" by the agency's action and resulting need to educate people.

"It's a legitimate law just like any law that should be functional and, right now, it's not as functional as it should be," Miller said. "There's several things we can do, but I think it's going to take independent counties throughout the state and possibly independent organizations to take it upon themselves to keep patients out of harm's way."

The Olympia Patient Resource Center will provide its members referrals to doctors and lawyers, equipment to grow and use marijuana, classes to cultivate the plants and a social setting for the legal use of the drug. It will not grow medical marijuana for patients.

Membership cards

Miller said he will request that local governments and law enforcements agencies recognize the center's membership cards as legal verification for the holder to use medical marijuana.

The cards eventually will have security features so they can't easily be forged. He said he's made contacts with the county commissioners and will make presentations to them and the Olympia City Council soon.

Miller, the founder of Olympia Hempfest in 2003 and a strong local voice for legalizing marijuana, is blind in one eye after being shot with a pellet gun and has a doctor's authority to use marijuana to treat debilitating headaches.

Miller said the proposed rule by the state Department of Health defining a 60-day supply is reasonable if the limits on immature plants were removed. That inclusion means patients easily could run into trouble if they got sick and weren't able to care for their plants for a short period of time.