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State Employees Urge Gregoire To Veto Pot Bill 
Posted by CN Staff on April 29, 2011 at 13:11:29 PT
By Jim Camden, The Spokesman-Review
Source: Spokesman-Review
Olympia, WA --  The state employees union joined the fray over the medical marijuana bill, urging Gov. Chris Gregoire in a letter today to veto it.The letter from Greg Devereaux, executive director of the Washington Federation of State Employees, said the law would put them in a “precarious position of enforcing a state law which could potentially lead to their prosecution under federal law.”
That missive comes on the heels of Thursday’s letter from University of Washington Law Professor Hugh Spitzer, one of the state’s top constitutional law experts, who contends those types of prosecutions are highly unlikely, despite a letter from federal prosecutors to Gregoire. Spitzer accused U.S. Attorneys Mike Ormsby of Spokanke and Jenny Durkan of Seattle of “federal bullying” and argued such prosecutions haven’t occured over other conflicts between federal and state laws for decades — maybe not since the Civil War.Gregoire is scheduled to take action on the bill at 2:30 p.m., and said earlier in the week she’d like to salvage the state registry for medical marijuana patients if she can find a way to separate that from provisions that call for state agencies to license growing, processing and dispensary operations. Just can the whole thing, Devereaux said in the letter.If that happens, the Legislature could take up the issue again in the special session if there’s an agreement by the leaders of both parties in both chambers and Gregoire. That kind of OK would be needed because medical marijuana isn’t directly connected to the budget, which is supposed to be the focus of the special session.Source: Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA)Author: Jim Camden, The Spokesman-ReviewPublished: April 29, 2011Copyright: 2011 The Spokesman-ReviewContact: editor spokesman.comWebsite: http://www.spokesman.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/hkv16msNCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 29, 2011 at 15:14:10 PT
Gregoire Vetoes Some Medical Marijuana Reforms
April 29, 2011Washington State -- Gov. Chris Gregoire opted Friday to veto the most critical parts of a bill that made major reforms to the state's medical marijuana law passed by state lawmakers, reiterating her concerns that state workers could be prosecuted by federal authorities under the way the measure is written.The legislation would establish regulations and a licensing system to protect patients, doctors and providers from criminal liability. Seattle's mayor, city councilmembers and city attorney have lobbied for the measure's passage.State lawmakers passed the landmark reforms to clarify Washington's marijuana law for police, patients and providers. In 1998, Washington voters approved an initiative that legalized marijuana for medical use. Washington is one of 15 states where pot use for medical purposes is legal.Gregoire said early on she likely would veto the legislation or parts of it, although she was supportive of creating a patient registry. But she cited letters from Washington's two U.S. attorneys that warned the legislation would permit large-scale marijuana growing and distribution systems in violation of federal law.Snipped:URL: http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Gregoie-vetoes-medical-marijuana-reforms-1358951.php
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 29, 2011 at 15:10:46 PT
Maybe Now
Hopefully now that the line has been drawn in the sand we will see an awakening to once and for all change the Federal Law. It's way past time. If the Federal Law isn't addressed many more raids will happen and people's lives could be turned upside down. Who wants to be the last soldier killed in a war? No one I expect.
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