How Washington State Screwed Over Its Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
A loophole allowed applicants with no background in medical marijuana to be treated as if they were law-abiding, taxpaying veterans of the industry.
On July 1, when the Cannabis Patient Protection Act (SB 5052) took effect, all dispensaries without an I-502 license were forced to shut down, sending many of the state's medical marijuana patients into a panic. Patients worry that the recreational market doesn't have enough medicinal cannabis for their needs and that what is available is not affordable. Many point to the fact that the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) issued only 222 new retail licenses to replace more than 1,500 medical marijuana dispensaries.
But there's another aspect that should trouble patients, though few may know about it. Thanks to a loophole in the state's licensing process, many longtime dispensary operations were shut out of the recreational market. New actors were able to game the system...
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