A new medical marijuana collective garden cooperative recently opened on S. Montesano Street, a half block south of Westport City limits. The new operation follows closely on the heels of a co-op that abruptly closed its doors in early July after less than two months in operation.
The Westport Gardens Collective opened Aug. 16 in the small red building across the street from the Westport Water Department at 1863 S. Montesano St.
Jason Bishop oversees daily operations, with his business partner in Grays Harbor Management LLC, Jason Day, handling marketing.
Bishop, a Steamboat Island resident, helped open and invested in three other medical marijuana cooperatives in Thurston county prior to starting this venture with Day. He also served as a legislative lobbyist for medical marijuana between 2004 and 2009.
No recreational sales
The cooperative handles medical marijuana requests from registered cooperative members only. It is not a recreational marijuana store. Qualifying individuals donate cash in exchange for cannabis in various forms. The donations are earmarked to pay for purchase of product and to maintain distribution point operations.
Variety of forms
The cannabis available at Westport Gardens Collective comes in a variety of processed forms, including flowers (dry medication), with 10-15 strains available at any given time, medibles (edibles containing marijuana), tinctures, oils, topicals, and other extracts to offer a variety of treatment options. CO2 pens and cartridges also are available, as well as plant clones.
Bishop and Day say they are interested in working with local growers who are members of their collective co-op to highlight top quality local growing efforts.
The current cost averages $10 per gram or $240 per ounce.
State law mandates that no individual may receive more than a 60-day supply, which also cannot exceed 24 ounces. The actual amount allowed is based on authorization documentation on file for each individual at the co-op.
Open hours
Westport Gardens Cooperative is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Qualifying for membership
Those donating cash in exchange for marijuana at a collective garden cooperative like Westport Gardens, must abide by strict membership rules legislated by the state for access to product.
A prospective “patient” wishing to donate cash for medical marijuana at a co-op must have a medical marijuana authorization. By state law, medical doctors, physician assistants and some registered nurses can legally provide such authorizations, and must do so on state-printed paper specifically designed for that purpose.
Before being allowed to receive marijuana as a collective member, a participant must produce a copy of a statement signed by his/her health care professional that shows, according to RCW 69.51A.010, “Documentation of Medical Authorization to Possess Marijuana for Medical Purposes in Washington State.” Authorization documents all contain expiration dates, none of which are good for more than one year at a time.
With that health care professional authorization in hand, the individual must then apply to be a member of the cooperative. If accepted, a patient may receive medical marijuana in smokable or edible form in exchange for a monetary donation to the collective.
The patient must carry his/her original medical marijuana authorization statement when obtaining marijuana at the co-op, and he/she is required by law not to open the sealed packet of received items until reaching his/her final destination.
Those operating cooperatives do a computer check of each patient’s registration number to verify that his/her authorization for medical marijuana use is still in effect.
Cooperatives state regulated
Understanding and navigating state regulations of the medical marijuana business can be difficult. Collective garden cooperatives are not regulated by Initiative 502, passed by voters in 2012 to establish legal guidelines for operating recreational marijuana sales businesses.
Bishop, Day and their counterparts operate their medical marijuana co-ops within the boundaries of a law created in 1998, which has been amended several times by the State Legislature.
The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 69.51A covers medical cannabis (formerly ‘medical marijuana’). By state law, individuals who use medical marijuana may create a co-operative, where dozens of medical marijuana patients can band together as a unit.
Only Washington State residents are allowed to participate in a cooperative located in the state, and legal proof of state residency, such as a driver’s license, is required as a part of the collective membership registration process.
The medical marijuana obtained from a co-op may not be transported outside of the state, nor shared, sold, bartered, traded, exchanged or delivered by any other means to any unauthorized person. To do so, violates not only state, but also federal law.
Medical benefits established
According to RCW69.51A.005: “There is medical evidence that some patients with terminal or debilitating medical conditions may, under their health care professional’s care, benefit from the medical use of cannabis. Some of the conditions for which cannabis appears to be beneficial include, but are not limited to:
Nausea, vomiting, and cachexia associated with cancer, HIV-positive status, AIDS, hepatitis C, anorexia, and their treatments; severe muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and other seizure and spasticity disorders; acute or chronic glaucoma; Crohn’s disease; and some forms of intractable pain.
In that same section, the RCW states: “Humanitarian compassion necessitates that the decision to use cannabis by patients with terminal or debilitating medical conditions is a personal, individual decision, based upon their health care professional’s professional medical judgment and discretion.”
Arrest protection
Parts (a), (b) and (c) of RCW69.51A.005 state, in part, that the legislature intends that qualifying patients with terminal or debilitating medical conditions who, in the judgment of their health care professionals, may benefit from the medical use of cannabis, along with designated providers to such patients as well as health care professionals who offer proper authorization of medical use of cannabis by qualifying patients, shall not be arrested, prosecuted, or subject to other criminal sanctions or civil consequences under state law based solely on their medical use of cannabis, notwithstanding any other provision of law.
Still against federal law
Even though Washington state voters have approved the use of medicinal marijuana, federal law still prohibits its production, sale and/or use.
