CCSE Members and Interested Public,

We have vetted 8 and are vetting 3 additional DOJ letters so far. We believe we have them all but it is very important that we make sure that all information that we work with is correct so we can draw the right conclusion. We have comment from the US Attorney’s office: “You’ll have to ask the DEA, they sent them.” DEA’s comment is that it has nothing to do with recreational marijuana which is odd since the letters say “Please be advised that distributing, possessing with intent to distribute or manufacturing controlled substances or aiding and abetting such offence violate Federal law.”

It is not entirely clear whether the US Attorney and the DEA are working together. Only the US Attorney can commence a Civil Asset Forfeiture proceeding. Most but not all of the spots we checked seem to have a less than 1000′ relationship with an accredited school or playground. We do have at least one instance where one has not been able to be located within 1000′. We are looking into the implications currently.

Additionally, 9 letters from Snohomish County went out and were received on 4/20 for establishments mainly on highway 9. These have a history and we have been tracking the issue for about 8 weeks. At least one will be appealed. The two appear to be unrelated.

Initial reports from activists stating that the letters were from a different agency are false. The letters appear to be identical and were signed by the same individual at the DEA, Special Agent in Charge Matthew G. Barnes. Direct action has been discussed but initial action was taken to shop the story to the media. We got an Editorial response from the Times denouncing the letters and have been able to spin a number of news stories. Rallies take a large amount of resources. Rallies are used to get media. We believe that we can get sufficient media without a rally. Additionally, no CCSE members and certainly no certified members have been ordered to close.

I believe that the letters are an attempt by the DEA to cool down investor enthusiasm. There have been several stories about millions of dollars in investment money being in town recently. All of the letters seemed to have gone to shops within the City of Seattle. We know that it wasn’t asked for by the City. The City would have come to us and asked us to help them fix the problem. The purpose of the letters, I believe, was to make sure everyone is nervous. Serving letters in the City of Seattle will make people nervous.

The position that “those owners should have known better” is fundamentally flawed. Firstly, Title 21 USC Section 860, which the letter quotes are penalty enhancements. It is not a primary violation of federal law. Secondly, this is the Federal Government that is enforcing arbitrary policy in a community that hasn’t asked them to. What is wrong with a well-run, respectable Access Point being 501′ from a school if the locality allows it in zoning? Alcohol can be sold next door to a School. Access is restricted to children. Thirdly, many shops pre-date this apparent policy that was only articulated in August.

In California at least 56 similar letters were sent in Orange County and 7 to city licensed facilities in San Francisco in the past few weeks. These letters did not cite school or playground proximity. These do not appear to be a crackdown by the Obama administration as the policy is run by the local US Attorney but they certainly don’t signal an Obama administration that is “evolving on policy”.

It is unclear at this time that the US Attorney’s involvement with this is great. The DEA cannot enact a civil asset forfeiture proceeding. They do not carry the ability to do what they say they are going to do in the letter. Whether or not the US Attorney would prosecute is still unclear. In August the US Attorney sent out a press release.

In the past, an initial larger round of letters has gone out followed by later rounds of 3. I think personally that, unless they can get pushed back enough in the media, they will continue this tactic. So far no CCSE members have been sent letters in this round and no certified facility has ever been targeted. Perhaps our outreach to the US Attorney’s office has served us. But we cannot rest easy.

The letters historically have given 30 days to comply. In the event that you do get a letter, call me. I need to see a copy of the letter to see what we are dealing with. You do not have to close your doors immediately so take some time to understand the situation. You may choose to stay open. In the past they have gone out on Thursday so that they are received on Friday. We believe this is so it will get buried in the news cycle. This last round went out on Monday and was received on Tuesday. Monday letters hit Tuesday which is what you do if you want publicity. The day of the week may be modified if the press spin is unfavorable. I believe that subsequent rounds would go out either Monday or Thursday unless they are attempting to be random. Usually they leave a few weeks between rounds to monitor the media spin. We will, of course be monitoring the situation closely and continuing the vetting process.

Information will be put out at intervals but a number of us are working very hard on this issue. We appreciate your patience and please feel free to call me.

Thanks,

John Davis
Executive Director
Coalition for Cannabis Standards and Ethics

There has been debate among the state of Washington about whether we need to set our own medical cannabis standards and be compliant within those parameters since the government is working on setting them. We do not presume that you have to be a member of CCSE in order to be compliant within the legal cannabis industry but if you become a member of CCSE there are many benefits. Our growing core of compliant members simply look desirable within the public and government spheres. This is beneficial to our members from a business and legal point of view.

The more we grow, the more it matters- we are stronger in numbers. It makes it easier when government officials can look at organizations who self-regulate; it saves American tax dollars and time. Most trades have organizations that create their own standards of operating aside from government standards and the cannabis industry should not be any different. For more information about joing the coalition, contact ccsewa@gmail.com

Official Event Info:

Join DOPE Magazine and 7 Point Studios for “Studio 4/20″ – Seattle’s largest 4/20 event! This ground-breaking event will be the first 4/20 event in Washington state since prohibition has ended. DOPE Magazine has joined up with the brand new 7 Point Studios in their amazing 20,000 sq. foot space to bring you an evening of cannabis culture, art and music.

Location:
7 Point Studios
1300 S. Dearborn St
Seattle, WA 98144
United States

Some of the evenings highlights will include:

-> The 2nd Annual DOPE Cup – awarding some of the best strains, concentrates and edibles from suppliers and growers across the state.
-> “Dab Bar” we are bringing back our most popular feature from the first DOPE Cup!
-> “The Flower Room” five vendors will be on-site to get your cannabis from! (patients only)
-> Live glass blowing by world renowned artists.
-> The DOPE vape lounge where you can relax and enjoy your cannabis.
-> A latex fashion show.
-> Music from DJ Cide (Redbull Thre3style Seattle Champion) and DJ Ikon (Las Vegas superstar DJ)
-> “Glass Alley” take a trip to visit some of the best glass vendors in the state to buy your next piece.
-> “Vendors Lane” a one-stop-shop for everything cannabis related from topicals to finding a cannabis friendly lawyer will be here.
-> Beer Garden – grab a local brew!
-> Food Trucks – two of Seattle’s favorite food trucks will be on-site to keep your munchies in check.

The bill had a hearing on February 4th, but so far has not been brought to a vote.  It absolutely needs to be voted out of committee BY THIS FRIDAY!  We need to you to

• CALL Senator Randi Becker at (360) 786-7602

or email her if you live in the 2nd legislative district (Eatonville, Graham, Orting, Lacey, Etc.) and

• Ask her to put SB 5528 to a vote and vote YES!!

You should also contact the other members of the committee to let them know to vote YES, especially if you live in one of their districts:

• Dammeier, Bruce (R) Vice Chair, 25th District, (360) 786-7648
• Keiser, Karen (D), 33rd District, (360) 786-7664
• Bailey, Barbara (R), 10th District, (360) 786-7618
• Cleveland, Annette (D), 49th District,            (360) 786-7696
• Ericksen, Doug (R), 42nd District, (360) 786-7682
• Frockt, David (D), 46th District, (360) 786-7690
• Parlette, Linda Evans (R), 12th District, (360) 786-7622
• Schlicher, Nathan (D), 26th District, (360) 786-7650

If you don’t know which legislative district you live in, you should look here.
Reasons to support SB 5528:

• Provides real arrest protection for patients.  Although all adults can legally possess up to an ounce of cannabis, patients who legally have more than an ounce, or grow their own medicine still face arrest – they merely have an affirmative defense once they get to court.  This bill would ensure that patients could not be arrested unless law enforcement had probable cause that the patient was violating the law.
• Cleans up language no longer relevant.  In 2011, SB 5073 would have enacted a comprehensive regulated medical cannabis system.  It passed the legislature but Gov. Gregoire vetoed out sections of the bill.  This left our current Medical Use of Cannabis Act full of sections that refer to sections that do not exist.  Because of this there is a lot of confusion about the law, and missing definitions.  This bill would restore needed definitions and remove language that is no longer relevant.
• Directs the Liquor Control Board to study exempting patients from 502 excise taxes.  Many patients are low income because of the conditions they suffer.  Once 502 legal cannabis retail outlets are in place, patients may want to use those stores, but the price of the cannabis may be cost-prohibitive to someone with a low income due to a 25% excise tax.  This bill would direct the Liquor Control Board, who is in charge of regulating 502 stores, to study ways patients to allow patients to be exempt from that excise tax to keep cannabis an affordable medicine for patients.

HB 1789 would put a 25% Tax on Medical Cannabis!  We cannot let that happen – the very existence of medical cannabis is at stake. Tell the legislature to vote NO on HB 1789 and protect safe access to AFFORDABLE medicine for Washington’s sizable yet vulnerable patient population.

Hearing on HB 1789 Monday, February 18th, at 1:30pm in hearing room A of the O’Brien building at the state capitol in Olympia.

If you can’t show up to testify against it, CALL bill co-sponsor and committee chair Rep. Reuven Carlyle and TELL HIM YOU OPPOSE HB1789: (360) 786-7814.

Or email him if you live in the 36th legislative district (Greenwood, Ballard, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Etc.). See if you live in any of the other committee members’ districts and contact them if you do.

You can also contact one of the other members of the committee if you live in one of their districts:

• Tharinger, Steve (D) Vice Chair – 24th District, (360) 786-7904
• Nealey, Terry (R) – 16th District, (360) 786-7828
• Orcutt, Ed (R) – 20th District, (360) 786-7990
• Condotta, Cary (R) – 12th District, (360) 786-7954
• Fitzgibbon, Joe (D) – 34th District, (360) 786-7952
• Hansen, Drew (D) – 23rd District, (360) 786-7842
• Lytton, Kristine (D) – 40th District, (360) 786-7800
• Pollet, Gerry (D) – 46th District, (360) 786-7886
• Reykdal, Chris (D) – 22nd District, (360) 786-7940
• Springer, Larry (D) – 45th District, (360) 786-7822
• Vick, Brandon (R) – 18th District, (360) 786-7850
• Wilcox, J.T. (R) – 2nd District, (360) 786-7912

If you don’t know which legislative district you live in, you can check here.

Reasons to oppose HB 1789:

• Naturopathic medicine is tax-free.  Cannabis is a botanical medicine, mostly used by naturopaths for the treatment of their patients.  This state has already recognized in RCW 82.08.0283(1)(b) that it is important to keep naturopathic medicine  tax free.
• No taxation without regulation.  The legislature is trying to tax medical cannabis dispensaries, which up until now have not even been defined by law and would continue to operate unregulated.  The patients need regulations, not an unreasonable, unaffordable tax on, what is for some, a life-saving medicine.
• Sickest, most vulnerable patients at risk; no other system available for them.  Patients who are the sickest and most vulnerable, like those suffering from cancer, seizures, and HIV, have the least amount of money to spend on their medicine. They often cannot work and have high medical bills, so they rely on affordable natural medicine.  We do not currently have any other system in place to address their need for affordable medical cannabis.
• Uncertainty of 502 implementation means safe access needs to be preserved.  Patients do not have the luxury to prepare a transition to a system with so much uncertainty.  Until the 502 stores are fully implemented and carry the necessary strains and products needed by patients at an affordable price, patients will continue to need a way to obtain it.  We cannot “wait and see” when it happens, because there is no certainty it will until it is fully operational.
• Medically beneficial strains at risk.  Medical cannabis itself is threatened if a 25% tax is levied.  Certain cannabis strains that can provide the most medicinal benefits often do not have a large, productive yield, so they are expensive to produce.  Such a large tax would be cost prohibitive, meaning few producers could afford to grow those strains and the patients would ultimately suffer.

Last Thursday  members of CCSE packed the political action committee meeting.  A more somber mood prevailed compared with the hopeful, bright tones of earlier meetings in 2013.

At this well attended meeting, a memo prepared by the Senate Health Care Committee and addressed to Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles was reviewed and discussed by CCSE members. In this memo, the committee reviews the salient points of a proposed Bill they have been working on (a variation of Steve Sarich’s Patient Protection Act and the CCSE proposed Bill).  The Senate Health Care Committee suggests authorizing the Liquor Control Board to do a feasibility study about issuing a patient authorization card in lieu of a valid documentation on tamper proof paper, as is the current language for granting patients access to medical marijuana.  Many members felt this Senate Health Care Committee memo to Kohl-Welles signals legislative intent to eventually phase out medical marijuana collective garden model in Washington and move medical marijuana supply services under the umbrella of the 502 recreational stores and/or under Liquor (and Cannabis) Control Board rules and regulations.

Members expressed differing opinions about what the Senate Health Care Committee suggestions mean for our industry’s future. John Davis expressed relief about seeing the proposal for a feasibility study on a state patient registry card issued via the LCB,  “At least they’ve shown us the direction they plan to go”.  One access point owner expressed, “I thought we were looking at five more years before they monkeyed with the collective garden model. It’s happening much faster than I thought. It looks like medical marijuana access points may be being phased out [earlier].”

Greta Carter reported on her experiences in Olympia recently where she talked with as many people as she could about the 15 proposed cannabis bills this session.  “Unless we do a concerted effort to educate the politicians, Olympia is not seeing a future for medical cannabis”, is her analysis.

The group in attendance brain stormed ways to bring Olympia attention to the benefits of medical cannabis.  “We’ve created world class cannabis at low costs for Washington’s sick and dying,”  noted one member.  “What is needed most”, insists attorney and chair of the political action committee Rachel Kurtz “are phone calls and emails to our local district politicians”.  According to Kurtz, the CCSE lobbyist is encouraging us to pressure politicians to consider the needs of patients and to understand the important value provided to communities by the collective gardens.

Our group analysis is that the legislature is not keen on continuing the collective garden model and doesn’t appear interested in making safe and affordable access a priority for patients. From all appearance it seems that they desire to bring medical marijuana tax rates up 25%.  We agreed now is the time to educate Olympia about the diverse worth of collective gardens to ensure the continued survival of reasonably priced marijuana for patients.

But the feeling in the room was mixed. “Didn’t we just get a big win with 502?” someone astutely asked.  So as a group we acknowledged that as medical marijuana activists, patients, and collective garden operators we need to be as efficient as possible and not waste energy.  “ We’ve put in such a hard push these past years, it’s hard to get motivated to start a new information campaign in Olympia”, a member contributed.

Slowly the meeting focus shifted to ways to bring attention to the continued importance of the medical marijuana industry for the benefit of patients. Legitimate patients are those most committed to receiving high quality, tested, local product produced by a knowledgeable and dedicated cannabis work force.  The last forty-five minutes of the two hour meeting focused on identifying solutions for informing Olympia of the importance of the Washington Medical Marijuana Industry.

Rachel Kurtz explained two different bills currently being shopped by lobbyists around Olympia.  House Bill 1662 has been sent for a hearing. House Bill 1084 is waiting for a hearing. Much was gutted from the draft proposal prepared by CCSE members and  according to Kurtz, the top priority is to contact and inform our legislators right now.  She’s prepared a list of politicians to contact with their districts – contact Rachel Kurtz at rachel@thecarewellnesscenter.com.

By the end of the meeting, the group was beginning to energize around an information-push campaign to educate Olympia about why it is best for Washington to continue the collective garden model with fleshed out regulations.  The group agreed that focusing our efforts around defending against the 25% tax rate for medical cannabis is likely not a winning argument. Instead the group agreed it’s better to “stand with the patients and a unified message of the good work collective gardens provide for needy people”.

What the group sees happening when Initiative 502 goes into effect is a large influx of low-grade outdoor cannabis, and cost increases due to taxes for medicine making medicinal marijuana cost prohibitive for patients.  We agreed that a benefit provided by access points are knowledgeable employee/patients who work with patients to find good products that provide beneficial outcomes.

We identified different ways to work together to present a cohesive, fact-based argument on behalf of medical cannabis.  We discussed email, facebook and phone call campaigns; reaching out to Hempfest and the three local cannabis magazines; activating patients; creating a direct action and lobby Olympia day. The group was pleased with the idea of creating a solid pro-medical marijuana Youtube video for educational purposes and distributed via social media channels.

In the end, we ran out of time before creating own full education strategy.  We’ll reconvene on Tuesday February 12th, at noon to pick up the political activism again.  The honeymoon is over and we’re back to defending the good medical marijuana collectives and the rights of patients.

Written by CCSE Member Stefani Quane

The focus of the CCSE meeting on January 25, 2013 was about voting on new member applications. Given that the CCSE is setting the standard for best cannabis business practices in Washington, we are concerned that as a professional group our members are knowledgeable about the cannabis plant and business.

After discussing several membership applications, CCSE voted to extend membership to DJ Johnson Consulting and Josh Baker of Baker Business Consulting.  They are admitted provisionally and will have to past the general cannabis competency quiz to become a compliant member, once the quiz is approved and made active by the allied professional committee. Another member’s application was deferred until the background check could be completed. Congratulations to these two new members.

Processor Committee

As a bit of housekeeping, it was determined by vote that we are restructuring some committee names and there shall now be a committee known as the Processor Committee. Under this new Processor  Committee shall be subcommittees for Edibles, Topicals (a new group for CCSE) and Concentrates.  All the rules and guidelines previously established for edibles shall remain in effect.

Cale Burkhart of Vita Verde, explains new changes to the processor committee’s structure.

Medicated Edibles

One member raised the issue that access point staff should be required to have a food handler’s permit.  Some members felt this was not necessary because a food handler’s permit is focused on techniques needed by waitstaff people in restaurants and falls short of the guidelines a cannabis processor should be following.  They felt this was not a close enough standard of practice to the needs of processors, who more accurately should be following guidelines set forth by the Department of Agriculture for food manufacturers which is a more complete and detailed set of performance criteria.

Allied Professionals

During the voting meeting, a discussion arose about the voting rights of allied professionals. The question is should each allied professional be given one vote or should the allied professionals, as a block, share one vote.  The concern is that since we are a cannabis industry group, many of the issues voted upon more greatly concern producers, processors and access points, not adjunct service providers.  If we have more allied professional members than voting cannabis business members, this could skew voting results towards outcomes not in the best interest of the cannabis industry.  Some members voiced concern that allied professionals should be treated fairly and uniformly with regular members. The issue was not fully resolved and will be continued to be discussed at the organizational committee.

One safeguard that CCSE is implementing is a quiz to assure that CCSE allied professionals have a minimum level of cannabis knowledge.  Stefani Quane, Chair of the Allied Professional group solicited questions for the quiz from meeting attendees. These will be written up into a draft quiz and presented back again for community comment.

CCSE has identified another type of potential member who is not an allied professional or a cannabis industry member. This new category is the activist or advocate member who believes in the cannabis cause but is not personally involved in a cannabis or allied business that serves this industry.  We discussed that these activists and advocates provide valuable resources to the marijuana movement and that we welcome their attendance at our meetings.  We discussed allowing these types of individuals into the organization as non-voting members or with a block vote counting collectively as one vote.  It was decided at the meeting that the organizational committee will make a recommendation about the voting rights and categorization of the activist members.

Political Action Report

Rachel Kurtz reported on the legislative process.  The bill the CCSE has been working on for the past few months to beef up safeguards for patients and providers was shopped around Olympia by the hired CCSE lobbyist.  The feedback received was that we need to cut down the issues in our proposed legislation to more essential priorities.  A separate political action committee meeting was held on January 25, 2013 to work towards a pared down bill to resubmit to Olympia via our lobbyist.

An interesting bill to follow this session will be Hemp Study Senate Bill 5222. This would direct the University of Washington to study hemp and its industrial usages and economic opportunities now that it is lawful to grow industrial hemp with low THC levels under Initiative 502. Hopefully, this bill would help give farmers confidence to begin growing industrial hemp.

National Cannabis Industry Association

Several members of CCSE are also members and board members of the first national level cannabis business association, known as the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA).  NCIA hosted their first local event on Monday January 29, 2013 at the Washington Athletic Club.  Many CCSE members turned out to attend this event at a discount rate.  Mayor Mike McGinn spoke at this event and stressed that he was hopeful that Seattle would stick with a small craftsperson model when recreational marijuana becomes legal.  He also stressed that the industry needs to be cautious and respectful of community members who desire to avoid the presence of legal marijuana outlets.

NCIA is filling an empty niche by focusing on lobbying Washington DC over national cannabis business issues. One pet project of this group is seeking amendments to the IRS tax code to allow lawful tax deductions for companies operating in compliance with their state’s medical marijuana and recreational cannabis laws.

General Industry News

Earlier in the week, Jay Inslee, the new Washington Governor, and Bob Ferguson, Washington Attorney General, met with United States Attorney General Eric Holder. Apparently he informed Holder that Washington was moving full steam ahead towards recreational cannabis availability under Initiative 502. The group held a press conference afterwards.

The focus of their discussions appear to have been on Holder’s concern about cannabis being unlawfully transported out of Washington state into areas where cannabis remains illegal, like Idaho. Holder was interested in Washington’s plans to prevent unlawful distribution. It was suggested that the way to stop unlawful export is to track the producers very closely with a well built infrastructure.

Political Committee
The January 10 CCSE meeting was open to the general public. The most exciting news was the successful interview by CCSE Board members and lobbyist Lonnie Johns-Brown that happened in the morning before the open meeting. In past legislative sessions, there have been over 800 bills vying for attention. The CCSE political committee has put in many hours to develop a compromise bill with favorable language for cannabusinesses as well as patients. However, without a strong lobbyist pushing the proposed legislation in Olympia it will be difficult to get assigned into committee for review. The CCSE membership responded with generosity at the meeting and quickly pledged $1,000 to cover the cost of one month of services with the lobbyist.

Word on the street is that several other groups are pushing different proposals. There is the Steve Sarich Patient Protection Act that only focuses on changes to RCW 69.51A concerning patients. One rich person is lobbying for a 15% THC cap. State Representative Christopher Hurst (Democrat) is proposing slowdowns to implementation of Initiative 502 so that the license fee can be increased from $250 per application to $18,000. With competition for political attention, the CCSE group consensus is that hiring a lobbyist is in our members best interest.

Member Compliance Committee
CCSE certified another member: The C.P.C. in the Georgetown neighborhood. The C.P.C. is short for The Center for Palliative Care.
All members are again encouraged to apply for certification. One certified member spoke about how the certification process helped him catch some small business glitches. He was able to make changes right away to improve business operations.

Allied Professional Committee
Stefani Quane, cannabis business attorney, has been appointed as the chair for the Allied Professional Committee. Shawn Eddy, a producer and creator of “A Cannabis Conversation,” a blog dedicated to exploring the hype and history of marijuana, is the new secretary for the allied professional committee.
This committee has decided to require allied professionals seeking membership to pass a basic cannabis information test. “We do not want CCSE allied professionals comporting themselves as cannabis professionals if they do not have a basic level of cannabis industry knowledge,” is the general committee consensus. This subcommittee will be creating the application test. At the next meeting, a questionnaire will be passed out seeking input as to what information should be on a minimum proficiency test.

General Industry News
As most of you may have heard by now, the Cannabis movement emerged triumphant as the Harborside Health Center in Oakland,  won a major victory in their lawsuit with Federal prosecutors. A Federal judge ruled that his landlord may not evict the center even if the Federal Government is pursuing forfeiture for Medical Cannabis – 2 words that have never been in public record together now have a 19 page ruling! The fact the clinic has been up and running for five years was a major factor to the court.

It is suggested by Greta Carter that the US Attorney Melinda Haag may need a backdoor out of the situation that has been created. The legal strategy now is to create one for her. They will encourage mediation to help the Federal government extricate themselves from this mess involving arguably one of America’s best run medical marijuana dispensaries.

Patrick Kennedy, son of deceased Senator Ted Kennedy, has created a new group called Smart Approaches to Marijuana, to oppose the legalization of cannabis. Patrick Kennedy is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who ostensibly desires to help others from going down this path. However, we do not agree or believe cannabis is a gateway to anywhere other than healthier living. We will try and educate Kennedy’s group about the concept of marijuana being a gateway out of addiction.

Written by CCSE Member Stefani Quane

(Note: This meeting agenda is normally the last Thursday of each month but due to Holidays was rescheduled.)

Committees

Collaborative efforts are paying off as the MMJ community works together to prepare a Patient Protect Act to present to lawmakers by mid-month. (The committee met following this meeting; see committee notes below.)

Compliance: The good news is another member has submitted their application for compliance review. The not-so-great news is that only brings compliant members to a paltry five! All members (great emphasis on founding core members) are encouraged to get their compliance review scheduled. This not only shows leadership supporting the intent of compliance but also allows compliant members to use the CCSE logo.

Extracts/Concentrates: This committee needs more members; currently a committee of one leads the way.

Organizational: Three new member applications were up for approval. Short discussions were made and based upon their individual sponsor’s support, seemingly good business practices and contribution to the MMJ community all three were accepted.

Welcome new CCSE members: Collective Health, Kush Creams and Tetra Labs
Note: To become a member: show up (see schedule below), get a membership sponsor, fill out an application (business UBI number required along with normal business contact info)

Outreach

CCSE brand recognition is needed. An ad layout was proposed for the NW Leaf with the intent that members co-op the cost with the CCSE. A smaller sub-committee will meet to approve an initial ad to meet the publication deadline for February with a larger co-op ad to follow on a regular basis; budget permitting. CCSE brochures were passed out so members can get busy with inviting MMJ business to consider attending a meeting and/or joining this trade organization.

Allied Professionals: This is a new category of membership for business that support but do not work directly with cannabis. A chair person is yet to be established.

Executive: CCSE members were encouraged to learn about the legislative process and become lobbying advocates. The CCSE works on City, State and Federal levels to advocate for responsible practices and has been a key source of information to the WSLCB as it navigates the implementation of I-502. Senator Kohl-Wells has recognized the CCSE as a “responsible trade organization” in a recent memo.
There is an upcoming educational event to learn how to most effectively communicate with lawmakers at the local, state and federal levels, the date will be broadly publicized once we have the key dates in Olympia.

Treasury

The CCSE completed it’s first year with a budget surplus of $2100. 2012 ran on an extremely lean budget of less than $2000 which mainly went to printing costs showing even further the commitment and dedication of all of our volunteers. 2013 income projections are $36,000 based upon a 50 members goal. Expense projections are $33,000 which will allow for hiring more administrative staff to support the volunteers, a lobby budget, ad and printing budget plus normal expected expenses.
Member dues are set at $50/month for compliant members, $80/mo for those not yet compliant. Dues may be paid on an annual basis for a savings of 2 months dues. To cut down on printing expenses, it was suggested those dollars may be better spent on a good copy machine, for now CARE continues to support it. The Treasurer is looking for feedback on this proposed budget. If you would like to get a copy, please let us know and we will send you one. It will be voted on again at the next may Members Meeting to be held January 31st.

Noteworthy Events:

• HB6606 – The Respect States and Citizen’s Rights Act – is moving through the US Congress. You are encouraged to urge your representative’s support.
• Doug Hiatt’s lawsuit against Seattle was dismissed.
• No date is currently set for Seattle Zoning Ordinance, but expected 1 quarter.
• Neighborhood meetings resume January 7th and are continuing to discuss how they wish to see cannabis business incorporated into their communities. Each meeting is supported by a CCSE Board meeting. You are encouraged to attend your district’s meeting and to get to know your neighbors.
• An access point, The Lacey Cross, was robbed on New Years Day at closing time, the sensitive times are always upon opening and closing. So please revisit your procedures.
• Cannabis Freedom March is scheduled for May 2013 (exact date to be announced). The organizers are seeking a meeting space now until event. This annual event is packed with speakers, lively tunes and camaraderie. It begins at Volunteer Park and ends at Westlake Center; yes, those are public places so keep your legal ounce in your pocket, please.

Upcoming Committee Meetings

Please continue to reference the calendar at www.ccsewa.org for updated schedules on the meeting. When in doubt, you can always contact Greta at 206.466.1766.

• Thursday 01/10/13 – 11am Allied Professionals, Access Points, Producers
• Thursday 01/10/13 – Noon Open Public Meeting – Guests encouraged
• Thursday 01/10/13 – 1pm-2pm Processors Meeting – medibles, topicals, extracts
• Thursday 01/17/13 – Noon Organizational Meeting / Other sub-committees

Political Committee Meeting Notes
CCSE has been working on a bill for over 6 months and we have submitted our proposed bill to Senator Kohl-Welles last week, who has offered to sponsor it. Additionally the committee continues to work towards a consolidated bill.
The consolidated bill when submitted, will officially be the Patient Protection Act – sub-titled ‘and Safe Access Act’
Ten people met representing three of the four MMJ Advocacy Groups working on this bill: CCSE, CDC and Safe Access for Washington – WA Cannabis Association did not have a member present. Prior to combining bills proposed by the above, consensus needs to be reached by all. The deadline is January 7 for submittal. CDC & Safe Access agrees to support the combined bill as long as their language remains.
A notice from Senator Delvin, Republican Party Whip, (who is soon to leave his post) suggested that two bills be presented and that the Republicans do support protection for patients. Progress was made to accept changes in terms, language, etc. However, due to time, the discussion will move online via Skype and the list-serve. If you wish to be included, contact committee chair, Rachel Kurtz at rachel@thecarewellnesscenter.com

Written by CCSE Member Shawn DeNae

Two days after Christmas, fourteen dedicated cannabusiness owners and allied professionals met for the CCSE political committee meeting focused on reviewing a draft of the Patient Protection Act, a proposed 2013 bill. Known as the “Rick Smith Bill,” this legislation, if passed, is meant to afford cannabis patients and their access providers greater protections under the law.

What is admirable about CCSE members, and those people from the public who attend our open CCSE meetings, is the caliber of discussion and analysis when discussing controversial issues. The dialogue during the December 27^th meeting was fierce at times as people voiced different perspectives. As usual, the meeting stayed within civil and respectful limits. It’s worth coming to a CCSE meeting just to see the exemplary democratic process in action.

The meeting on the 27^th focused on proposed changes to combined legislation of the CCSE, the Patient Protection Group (a combined effort of the Cannabis Defense Coalition, Sensible Washington, and Cannabis Action Coalition), and the Natural Medicine Alliance, prepared by Kari Boiter, a cannabis activist and former legislative aide.

One apparent goal of the meeting attendees was to make sure to keep businesses out of Washington’s medical marijuana collective garden system that have bad business practices, such as turning collectives into vaporizing bars and advertising by hiring young gals to wear bikinis and pass out authorization exam coupons. To discourage collective gardens from becoming “vape bars,” the group agreed to submit language changes that limit consumption of cannabis at access points in the general public areas, defined as “open to the general membership where 4 or more non-employee members congregate.”

The minority at the meeting were concerned about creating regulations that don’t already exist. “Why create rules when we don’t have to?” asked one attendee. To which someone else responded, “Because if we don’t advocate for responsible Access Point regulations, we jeopardize our tax status as medical marijuana Access Points when 502 goes into effect with the higher tax rate.” Since some Access Point owners admit to allowing occasional use on-site in special situations, the group consensus was to limit consumption of cannabis to the general public area only, not the entire Access Point. This is an example of the thoughtful decision making process shown by CCSE members and guests.

Another hotly debated issue at the meeting was whether to include a section in the Patient Protection Act setting forth an excise tax rate. Excise tax is the same as a sales tax, one member explained. Currently no rate is mentioned in RCW 69.51A, the collective garden cannabis statute in Washington. Members agreed that we should discuss the issue with Senator Kohl-Welles about whether or not we should include something in the bill about requiring Access Points to pay retail sales tax, and the desire of our group to make sure medical cannabis Access Points would ultimately be exempt from the onerous tax structure laid out in Initiative 502.

If you desire to read the proposed legislation, contact Rachel Kurtz for a copy. She’s reachable at Rachel@thecarewellnesscenter.com

The next meeting of the CCSE political committee is January 3, 2012 at noon. The agenda for this meeting will be to continue to hone our language for the 2013 legislative session, consider any proposed language from other groups, and get updates on our work with the Liquor Control Board. It is open to the public.

By Stefani Quane, Esq.