Legal Marijuana/Medical Marijuana questions (Seattle, Vancouver: 2013, lease, insurance)

[Superbear]

1. What's the holdup? Does anyone know the timeline until you can purchase pot in a store?

2. Also, I have Temporal Mandibular Joint Disorder. It's a jaw thing which causes pain. Weed's always helped. Does anyone know how tough it is to get a medical marijuana card in WA or Pdx (I live in Vancouver,WA)?
If a prospective employer tests for pot and I get caught, can my mmj card be my alibi or am I still subject to the same rules?

[Ira500]

1. It takes a while for the authorities to figure out who can distribute and grow. Government doesn't do anything quickly. Plus it is still uncertain as to whether the Feds will allow it.
2. It's supposedly very easy to get a prescription in WA. In the Seattle area there are "Doctor"s offices which do nothing but examine people for marijuana prescriptions. They advertise in the Stranger, Seattle Weekly, and craigslist.
If a potential employer tests for pot and you get caught, you are subject to the same rules, and could either get fired or not hired, especially for positions that are considered "safety sensitive."
Some people get prescriptions for morphine. Doesn't mean they should get a job as an airline pilot.

[amaiunmei]

Originally Posted by Superbear

1. What's the holdup? Does anyone know the timeline until you can purchase pot in a store?

2. Also, I have Temporal Mandibular Joint Disorder. It's a jaw thing which causes pain. Weed's always helped. Does anyone know how tough it is to get a medical marijuana card in WA or Pdx (I live in Vancouver,WA)?
If a prospective employer tests for pot and I get caught, can my mmj card be my alibi or am I still subject to the same rules?

1) The timeline given by the Liquor Control Board has been approximately one year. That is not set in stone, however, since the US Justice Dept has not given official notice of whether or not they will oppose Washington (and Colorado) in these efforts. Stay tuned ...

2) You are still subject to the employer's decision, and many employers are decidedly leery of pot.

Just as an FYI, your chances of being allowed unemployment are decent in that scenario, provided that the only substance in your body that was detected was marijuana. Washington unemployment is more liberal re: pot than Oregon unemployment.

[bobspez]

If your company has mandatory drug testing you could be a clerk or a janitor and you are still subject to disciplinary action if you fail a mandatory drug test. If you are drunk on the job it's the same. It doesn't matter that you were hauling the trash to the dumpster. That's why I stopped smoking in 1982, and stopped having drinks with lunch too. I couldn't afford to lose my job. But if you are impaired due to a legal prescription you get a pass. Tranquilizers, anti-depressants, pain killers, sleeping pills, anti-biotics, no problem at all as long as you show a prescription.

Regarding the government reaction to the public passing laws that legalize pot, the governments are mostly keeping the black markets in business. Exactly why is anyone's guess.

For example, medical marijuana was passed in NJ in 2010. Under Gov. Christie's foot dragging the one and only dispensary in the state wasn't opened until Dec., 2012. As of March, 2013, that dispensary has sold limited quantities to exactly 114 of the 676 people in the whole state that got approved licenses to purchase medical marijuana. The other 562 patients are on a waiting list. The store only expects to service 300 patients by year's end.

So there's something other than bureaucratic incompetence at work here. The state governments have found a way to subvert the mandate by stalling on the dispensaries. In NJ, if you do have a prescription, you cant be busted for having up to an ounce. But without a prescription, having an ounce is just a $500 fine. So the black market is the only viable market whether it is for medicinal or recreational use. It may be the law, but the people who run the state don't feel they need to contribute to it's implementation, or interfere with the black markets. And whether you have a prescription or not, owning a single plant is a minimum three year prison sentence, and a lifetime felony record.

Originally Posted by Ira500

1. It takes a while for the authorities to figure out who can distribute and grow. Government doesn't do anything quickly. Plus it is still uncertain as to whether the Feds will allow it.
2. It's supposedly very easy to get a prescription in WA. In the Seattle area there are "Doctor"s offices which do nothing but examine people for marijuana prescriptions. They advertise in the Stranger, Seattle Weekly, and craigslist.
If a potential employer tests for pot and you get caught, you are subject to the same rules, and could either get fired or not hired, especially for positions that are considered "safety sensitive."
Some people get prescriptions for morphine. Doesn't mean they should get a job as an airline pilot.

[Superbear]

Originally Posted by bobspez

I
For example, medical marijuana was passed in NJ in 2010. Under Gov. Christie's foot dragging the one and only dispensary in the state wasn't opened until Dec., 2012. As of March, 2013, that dispensary has sold limited quantities to exactly 114 of the 676 people in the whole state that got approved licenses to purchase medical marijuana. The other 562 patients are on a waiting list. The store only expects to service 300 patients by year's end.

So there's something other than bureaucratic incompetence at work here. The state governments have found a way to subvert the mandate by stalling on the dispensaries. In NJ, if you do have a prescription, you cant be busted for having up to an ounce. But without a prescription, having an ounce is just a $500 fine. So the black market is the only viable market whether it is for medicinal or recreational use. It may be the law, but the people who run the state don't feel they need to contribute to it's implementation, or interfere with the black markets. And whether you have a prescription or not, owning a single plant is a minimum three year prison sentence, and a lifetime felony record.

I imagine Washington's medical marijuana will be much easier to get than NJ's. I'm not too worried about getting arrested (I smoked for years when it was illegal with no issues) Really I just don't wanna have to deal with creepy, shady dealers.

[azoria]

You can get pot at any bus stop in Seattle. The game is up. Over. Smoke it anywhere you want to.

--70 years of stupidity down the drain--

But in regards to your question Superbear, there are medical marijuana co-ops and pharmacies galore. All you need is a ~prescription~from a MD. Easy to get anywhere here.

Just last week a new business opened up in Belltown, a marijuana cafe with coffee and snacks and a marijuana pharmacy in the back of the shop with a walk up the window. There is a free range patio out back.

So it's easy. Bring on your TMJ.

(Employment is a different business. US courts have repeatedly upheld any number of times, the rights of employers to test and discriminate against drug users in the workplace whether the drugs were legal or not.)

You decide.

[Hemlock140]

Because of the federal laws, most banks, insurance companies, and many landlords are not going to deal with the retailers. They could still be held as accessories to a federal crime whether legal in the state or not. While our state government is slow, the long delay is meant to stall in the hope that the feds will either confirm the state laws or announce some kind of penalties. They don't want to spend all the time and money setting up something that gets stopped soon after. Even the lease for the grow operation in Raymond has a clause letting them out in case the feds crack down.

Port of Willapa Harbor inks lease with pot entrepreneur | State Government - The News Tribune

[skrude1]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

Because of the federal laws, most banks, insurance companies, and many landlords are not going to deal with the retailers. They could still be held as accessories to a federal crime whether legal in the state or not. While our state government is slow, the long delay is meant to stall in the hope that the feds will either confirm the state laws or announce some kind of penalties. They don't want to spend all the time and money setting up something that gets stopped soon after. Even the lease for the grow operation in Raymond has a clause letting them out in case the feds crack down.

Port of Willapa Harbor inks lease with pot entrepreneur | State Government - The News Tribune

They posted a timeline for it I believe.

In terms of the laws regarding non-prescribed mj, they're kinda bogus. You can only smoke in your own home, and you can't do it in public. However, you can have up to an oz on you and you won't be charged for a criminal offense.

Your low level jobs like cashier and burger flipper don't really drug test. There are tons of smoke shops around that can help you out with getting around them though.

[Superbear]

I live in Vancouver,WA where marijuana's legal but it appears that most of the dispensaries are in Portland. Would it be better for me to register as a medical patient in Oregon instead? Does anyone know the rules on cross state medical marijuana?

[Ira500]

Originally Posted by Superbear

I live in Vancouver,WA where marijuana's legal but it appears that most of the dispensaries are in Portland. Would it be better for me to register as a medical patient in Oregon instead? Does anyone know the rules on cross state medical marijuana?

You can't have a Washington based prescription and get it filled in Oregon.
So either move across the river and get an Oregon ID, or take a trip to a Washington city with dispensaries.
Olympia might be your closest WA city with a dispensary. It seems like Seattle has a million of them. In my zip code there are no drug stores, and no hardware stores, but there are three medical marijuana dispensaries.