Concerning arrest protections for the medical use of cannabis.
If you are a properly authorized patient in Washington State, the law begins with the assumption that you are a criminal unless you can prove otherwise. That is mean-spirited and has no relationship to public safety -especially for a substance that you can now buy like beer. Absent obvious violations of the law, patients should never be arrested, have their stuff taken, or be issued a notice to appear. The lives of most patients are difficult enough without dealing with the criminal justice system. This bill is designed to change the assumption that patients are criminals. Innocent until proven guilty. That should be the standard. I hope you will support it.
John Kingsbury, patient advocate