Today marks a major change for Washington state’s marijuana industry.
The recreational and medical marijuana markets have now been merged, doing away with largely unregulated medical cooperatives and incorporating medical marijuana into the highly regulated and highly taxed recreational system.
Marijuana shop workers are becoming certified as medical marijuana consultants and the state Department of Health is putting together a voluntary database of patients and providers.
Unlicensed shops were required to have already shut down, eliminating competition with Initiative 502, approved by voters in 2012.
It’s a day Lynn Stanley of Joyce hoped would never come.
She uses medical marijuana products to treat endometriosis and fears the new laws will escalate prices and make some medical products unavailable.
She recently told doctors at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle she would need prescription painkillers in the future because she was losing access to the high-CBD (cannabidiol) concentrates she uses to treat pain.
“When July 1 hits, I will not be able to get the higher-strength and larger amounts of CBD oil I need,” she said last week.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to afford it, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to find it between July 1 and whenever these companies manage to get regulated and licensed.”
New rule
The Cannabis Patient Protection Act, signed into law April 24, 2015, effectively ordered medical marijuana collectives to shut down by July 1. Only stores with retail licenses through the state Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) can sell marijuana.
All eight retail stores in Clallam County have medical endorsements and four of Jefferson County’s five shops have medical endorsements.
Under state Department of Health rules, medical marijuana must be tested for pesticides and heavy metals, in addition to other tests already required by the LCB.
The Department of Health’s rules also split medical marijuana into three categories: general-use, high-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and high-CBD.
Anyone 21 and older can purchase general-use and high-CBD products, but patients must have a recognition card to purchase high-THC products.
Retail stores can issue recognition cards to qualifying patients and designated providers after entering them into the state’s medical marijuana authorization database.
That database might not be ready today, according to the Department of Health. The department sent an email to retailers warning the system might not be ready in time.
“We are working with a contractor to have it fully functional on July 1,” said Dave Johnson, public information officer for the department, on Wednesday.
The department said Thursday it had made significant progress on the system, but that there were still challenges it has to overcome before the system goes live.
The database is necessary to produce recognition cards.
Patients with recognition cards won’t have to pay sales tax but will still pay the state’s 37 percent excise tax on marijuana.
Excited for medical cannabis
While some disagree with the new regulations, others are welcoming them.
“We’re really excited about it because everybody who works here is absolutely on board with the benefits of cannabis,” said Molly Fahrenschon, manager of Sea Change Cannabis in Discovery Bay near Port Townsend.
“We couldn’t be more excited to help people.”
Fahrenschon, whose store didn’t sell medical marijuana under the old system, said she understands why some patients would not welcome the change.
But she supports the increased testing that is intended to produce higher-quality products.
“I know all this has been tested for molds, potency,” she said. “Everything’s got a camera on it from seed to sale.”
‘Depends on store owner’
Anthony Owen, owner of Hidden Bush in Port Angeles, Karma Cannabis in Sequim and the former Karma Wellness Cooperative in Port Angeles, said cost will be an issue but he believes retail shop owners can keep prices down.
“A lot of that depends on the tenacity of the store owner,” Owen said.
“It depends on how compassionate the 502 owner is and if they want to push for a consistent, less expensive medical-grade product.”
A University of Washington study released in March found that the amount of marijuana allowed to be grown by state-licensed producers is enough to satisfy both the medical and recreational marijuana markets.
The study found that up to 2 million square feet of plants is needed to satisfy the medical marijuana market.
The LCB had approved more than 12 million square feet of canopy, enough to satisfy the entire market, the study said.
“I don’t see actually providing medicine being a problem,” Owen said.
“Cost of medicine, that’s a whole different story.”
He said Rick Simpson Oil, a concentrate, was going for about $20 per gram in the unregulated medical market.
“It’s double that on the recreation side,” he said.
He hopes to secure a contract with a producer that would allow Hidden Bush and Karma Cannabis to sell the concentrate for $20 a gram.
“We’re trying to make this the least bit intrusive as we can on our patients,” he said. “It really depends on what the 502 owner is willing to do.”
Owen, who has been selling medical marijuana for five years, sees the new rules as temporary and moving toward a positive change.
“I think as a whole, the medical community will be happy with this process,” he said.
“We’ve gotten quality up and pricing down. This time next year, it might be cheaper.”
Stores are closing
While Owen’s businesses were able to transition into the new, regulated market, there were a number of stores that were unable to get a license from the Liquor and Cannabis Board.
Among them is Green Orchard in Port Angeles, which closed its doors Thursday.
The dispensary applied three times for a retail marijuana license when the first lottery opened after I-502, said Nichole Millet, co-owner.
The LCB accepted only one of the three applications, and the store was drawn fourth in the Port Angeles lottery, preventing it from securing a license.
The retail store cap of 334 was then lifted to a new cap of 556 in preparation for the new medical market.
“When it came back around to them giving more retail licenses, you would think because we’re fourth in line, we’d get the next opportunity,” Millet said.
“But they decided to do away completely with the lottery system.”
The Cannabis Patient Protection Act required the LCB to issue licenses based on a priority system, and because the Green Orchard opened in November 2013, the store’s newest application was the lowest priority.
“For us, it was really a disappointing outcome not to get that retail license and be able to continue in the industry,” Millet said.
________
Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
