City Council Hopes to Salvage Vetoed Medical Marijuana Provisions

Although Governor Gregoire has vetoed the most sweeping elements of the state’s new medical marijuana law, changes to Washington’s cannabis regime could still be on the way. Supporters of the law, designed to protect patients and doctors from criminal liability, hope to pass a similar bill amended to address the Governor’s concern that it could leave state employees exposed to federal prosecution.

Craig Engelking, the City’s state legislative director, told the Council this morning that work was already underway to draft a revised bill. Both the Mayor and the City Council had supported the bill, including the vetoed sections, which mostly included provisions for licensing and regulating dispensaries, and creating a registry of patients. Governor Gregoire has said that she supports a licensing regime and patient registry in principle, but that such a system cannot leave state workers at risk of prosecution. The State Legislature will be in a special session for the next three weeks to address the budget deficit, and medical marijuana supporters hope to bring a revised bill to the floor within that time frame.