Cannabis for medical use in Washington became legal on November 3, 1998 under the auspices of Chapter 69.51a RCW: Medical marijuana. The law was updated on July 1, 2008 and again on November 2, 2008.
The law removes state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients. Documentation from the patient’s physician is no longer required for the allowed 60 days supply. The Final Rule states that documentation from the patient’s physician as to necessity of use will help the qualifying patient to overcome the presumptive limit.
Conditions Approved for Use of Medical Marijuana in Washington
- Cachexia
- Cancer
- Crohn’s disease
- Diseases*, including Anorexia, which result in:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Wasting
- Appetite Loss
- Cramping
- Seizures
- Muscle Spasms
- Spasticity
- Hepatitis C with debilitating nausea or intractable pain
- HIV or AIDS
- Epilepsy
- Glaucoma
- Intractable pain (defined as pain unrelieved by standard treatment or medications)
- Multiple sclerosis
- Other conditions are subject to approval by the Washington Board of Health
*when these conditions are unrelieved by standard treatments or medications
Possession/Cultivation
Patients (or their primary caregivers) may legally possess or cultivate no more than a 60-day supply of marijuana, defined by the Final Rule of November 2008 as:
- 15 plants in any stage of growth plus
- 24 ounces of usable marijuana
The law does not establish a state-run patient registry.
Department of HealthPO Box 47866
Olympia, WA 98504-7866
Phone: 360-236-4700
Fax: 360-236-4768 MedicalMarijuana@doh.wa.gov
More Practitioners to Prescribe Medical Marijuana
Return to medical marijuana state laws
[...] Medical Marijuana: Washington State Tags: medical marijuana, medical marijuana news addthis_url = 'http://www.medicalmarijuanablog.com/articles/prescribing-rules-widened-041.html'; addthis_title = 'More Practitioners to Prescribe MMJ'; addthis_pub = 'repossession'; [...]