Drug Task Force Commander: medical marijuana law needs clarifying

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Story Published: Mar 5, 2007 at 6:44 PM PST

Story Updated: Mar 5, 2007 at 6:44 PM PST

By Molly Blancett and Greg Meyer

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ASOTIN COUNTY - The Quad Cities Drug Task Force raided two alleged medical marijuana growing operations in the L-C Valley last Friday, conducting search warrants at 140 Meador Street in Asotin and 1015 Maple Street in Clarkston.

The Task Force said the warrants were the result of an investigation into so-called "co-op marijuana grows."

Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers, who is the Task Force Commander, said Monday that the occupants were briefly taken into custody, but not arrested.

According to Myers, police seized about 75 plants and some packaged marijuana in Asotin and about 77 plants and about a pound of marijuana in Clarkston.

Medicinal marijuana use in the state of Washington is legal under certain guidelines. But Myers says the law allowing that is too vague and needs to be clarified. For example, it doesn't specify the number of plants a patient may possess.

"It does indicate that you can have a 60-day supply,” said Myers. “What's a 60-day supply? I don't know what a 60-day supply is. So, that's something we have to look at. I can tell you right now that there are a lot of people out there that smoke marijuana on a regular basis that couldn't possibly consume in 60 days the amount of amount of marijuana that is produced off of a 77-plant grow."

Myers said law enforcement agencies have approached lawmakers about this very issue.

"Law enforcement officials have pressed the legislature to define this more clearly,” he said. “The other thing is we still have state and federal laws that are in violation of each other. The federal law does not allow for this. The state law does. Those two are in conflict at times."

As it stands, Myers said the law doesn't do a good job of protecting those it was intended for and he would like to see that change.

"We're not actually out to stop the person that smokes marijuana because they have cancer or they have a serious illness and this is the only thing that helps them,” he said. “I hope the law comes around and either figures out some way to benefit those people more or at least gives us more guidelines in law enforcement."

This case was forwarded to the Asotin County Prosecutor's Office for review. Prosecutor Ben Nichols was not available for comment on Monday.

Legislation has been introduced in the Washington Senate to amend parts of the medical marijuana law. To read this bill and check on its status: WA Medical Marijuana Bill

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