I writing this because I feel people have a right to know what a mess our state has made of medical cannabis and how recreational cannabis use has been given priority over patients health.

I am a medical cannabis patient in Washington state. As you may know the state has merged medical cannabis with the recreational market. Patients are already suffering the impact of this merger. Kristi Weeks the DOH (Department of Health) policy counsel for medical cannabis says there is no difference between medical cannabis and recreational. This simply is not true.

Here are just a few ways patients have been impacted here in Washington.

Patients cannot find the strains or forms of cannabis products they need. Many cancer patients and children with seizure disorders use highly concentrated oils to treat their disease. There is no recreational interest in these so they are not available. This is also a problem with certain medical strains of cannabis that many patients need.

Patients can not find dosages they need. Dosage needed can vary from 10mg to 500mg depending on the patient. The highest dose allowed now is 50mg. This is not adequate for most cannabis patients.

Cost has put many patients’ medicine out of their financial means. The oils many patients use are very expensive to make. Prior to the new policies many dispensaries and collective gardens donated oil to patients with cancer, HIV, MS, children with seizure disorders like Zellweger and Dravets. Now they get nothing. Costs can be in the thousands a month.

Patients are no longer able to grow the cannabis they need to make their own medicine. The plant count went from 15 plants to 4 for patients who do not register with the state data base. Patients who cannot grow because of their illness or physical limitations cannot participate in collectives to keep their costs down.

Two hundred pesticides and other chemicals are allowed to be used on recreational cannabis. Patients with weak immune systems need their medicine to be free of chemicals and pesticides.

Policy that Kristi Weeks the DOH policy counsel made was worded so as to deny patients the right to privacy under HIPAA. Because neither the consultants that the DOH licenses or the stores holding the medical endorsement are medical entities covered by HIPAA, patients have no privacy rights. Their medical condition must be listed on their authorization and entered into the state registry if they choose to register. Third party software has already been detected trying to get information from the registry data base.

These are just a small amount of the problems being caused by the new DOH policies. These policies are hurting real patients. That the DOH would tout these changes as protecting patients is a terrible thing. If the state can take away the rights of cannabis patients to treat themselves with the medicine recommended by a physician then they can take anyone in Washington’s right to use the medicine they and their doctors choose.

Denise Harrington

Covington