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“Medical marijuana in WA: Pushing the legal limit”by Andy Hobbs, Federal Way Mirror

This five-part series explored the legal gray area and so-called underground movement of medical marijuana in Washington state. The series attempted to explain the hushed nature of medical marijuana despite voter-approved legal protection for patients and providers. I tried to capture the zeitgeist related to medical marijuana as it nears a tipping point in legal status, all while weighing whether the “medical” side of marijuana was really a Trojan Horse for recreational users. In the end, it's a little of both. The testimonies from local patients as well as Sunil Aggerwal, who essentially earned a Ph.D. in medical cannabis, highlighted marijuana's legitimacy as a medicine. Most medical marijuana users would only speak to me, and reveal their growing operations, if the paper protected their identities. Some activists, such as clinic owner Steve Sarich, were brazenly open about their views — and their stashes. I hope the series showed readers the social complexities behind medical marijuana, along with the direction the issue is heading.

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Wal-Mart workers hope to unionizeBY JACINDA HOWARD

[email protected]

Each working day, Kim Quartimon shows up at Federal Way’s Wal-Mart Su-percenter with an agenda: Educate employees on their right to form a union.

Quartimon and several other Washington state Wal-Mart employees are involved in Walmart Work-ers for Change, supported by UFCW Local 21 — which represents workers in grocery stores, retail, health care and service sectors throughout the state. � e employees hope to unionize and secure higher wages, comprehensive health care coverage and improved working conditions.

“We don’t want Wal-Mart to go away,” Quartimon said. “We just want an even playing � eld.”

Quartimon has been part of the Wal-Mart sta� for seven years, and said she has seen the company slip from a family-friendly employer to a company that uses scare tactics to intimi-date workers and discour-age union representation.

“I know my rights,” Quartimon said. “It’s my constitutional right to want to be in a union.”

Speaking outQuartimon and others

spoke at a June 4 Walmart Workers for Change event in Renton. In the past, although workers may have wanted to unionize,

they were scared to do so, Quartimon said. Wal-Mart would close stores or lay o� clerks if the desire to union-ize became too popular, Lo-cal 21 community organizer Mary Nguyen said.

“We know Wal-Mart can’t a� ord to close 100 stores across the nation,” she said.

Wages andbene� ts

Quartimon was hired at $10 per hour in 2000. When she le� the company in 2006, she was making $11.82. A� er completing her schooling, Quartimon returned to work at the Wal-Mart Supercenter, 34520 16th Ave. S., about one year ago. She currently earns less than she did upon her 2006 departure, she said.

“You used to get merit raises all the time,” Quarti-mon said. “You don’t get that anymore.”

Quartimon is also uninsured. Medical insur-ance costs as little as $5 per month, according to a Wal-Mart Health and Wellness Web page, found at http://walmartstores.com/HealthWellness/7626.aspx. Ninety-two percent of Wal-Mart’s 2.1 million asso-ciates are insured, whether

OPINION | Bob Roegner: Local candidates enter the election ring [6] Tito Hinojos: The mixed perceptions of a GED [6]

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ARTS | Federal Way � lmmaker hits it big with two movies at Seattle festival [9]

BURGLARIES | Task force targets high burglary rates across King County [3]

ELECTIONS | Updates on candidates for judge, city council and school board [4]

SEX IN THE SUBURBS | Abortion doctor’s death vs. rational conversation [5]

[ more WAL-MART page 2 ]

BY ANDY HOBBS

[email protected]

En route to a patient’s house, “Bob” whips out a sack of candy that smells like pot.

� e plastic bag contains chocolates wrapped in � uorescent foil, along with a tiny clear cup of caramel — all infused with the active ingredients of marijuana.

As a medical marijuana patient, Bob treats pain caused by a past head injury and hepatitis C, among other ailments. He also su� ers from grand mal seizures. “I’m in a lot of pain,” he said.

� e caramel, with a shiny purple star on the lid, provides multiple doses of medicine. So does an oat-meal cookie about the size of a hand — “that’s 10 good doses for me right there,” said Bob, who asked that a pseudonym be used for this report.

� e Federal Way resident em-braced medical marijuana about six years ago and entered another side of the cannabis culture. Patients refer to themselves as patients. Slang terms and stoner jokes are noticeably ab-sent. Medication is a personal matter for patients, but also a mission. Most patients join an informal collec-tive community of sorts, where sick people seek relief from one another through marijuana.

Doctors can’t prescribe medical marijuana, but they can recom-

mend it. Patients need a qualifying condition, which includes AIDS, hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, cancer or � bromyalgia, among others. With a recommendation, patients gain access to a cooperative network of inconspicuous clinics that supply marijuana. Patients must provide medical records before learning a clinic’s location. Patients can choose caregivers who are also allowed to retrieve medicine.

“If someone invented marijuana, they’d get a Nobel Prize because it’s a miracle drug, although most people don’t understand that,” Bob said. “I have seen that stu� help wounds...there’s some creams I put on sores, and my sores healed up so fast it was unbelievable.”

In 1998, Washington state vot-ers approved a law that removed

criminal penalties and established a defense for quali� ed patients who possess or cultivate cannabis for medicinal use.

In 2008, the “60-day” supply for patients was de� ned as 24 ounces and 15 plants; both numbers have attracted intense debate from medi-cal marijuana advocates. � e law allows patients to exceed these limits if the patient can prove medical need, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

Technically, the cannabis clinics are illegal. Federal law classi� es mari-juana as a Schedule 1 drug, in the same league as heroin. Washington’s medical marijuana laws help patients with a legal defense in local or state courts. Federal laws ultimately trump

[ more MEDICINE page 16 ]

Grass-roots movement pushes legal limits as

the sick seek relief

Grass-roots movement pushes legal limits as

SPECIALREPORT

Medicalmarijuana

in WA

Part 1 of three-part series

In this video image, plants in one South King County patient’s marijuana garden are starting to � ower. Check out a video online that contains testimony from medical marijuana patients.ANDY HOBBS,The Mirror

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Debate centers on wages and bene� ts

June 10, 2009[16] www.fedwaymirror.com

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state laws, however, and do not recognize the medical use of marijuana. Anyone found in violation could still be prosecuted under federal laws.

Tight-lipped patientsDespite legal protections, most

patients keep a low pro� le under fear of being arrested by law en-forcement or robbed by thieves.

Over the years, Bob has been involved with medical marijuana clinics in the area. One clinic is housed in a non-descript o� ce complex, tucked inside an eclectic Seattle neighborhood.

A friend of his runs the clinic, which is registered to a medical marijuana advocacy group. � e friend handles the � nances, but the lease is in Bob’s name. Inside the tiny room, there’s a desk and several couches. Hand-written posters alert patients to the clinic’s hours and rules. A slate-colored safe that’s out of sight contains several boxes of baggies, each � lled with about an ounce of mar-ijuana buds. � e fragrant baggies bear a tag with the clinic’s name and logo. Patients are not allowed to medicate on the premises.

In West Seattle, one of Bob’s fel-

low patients and clinic supporters was the target of a home-invasion robbery in mid-May. � e patient lost plants and cash to the thieves, but still had a few young plants growing under lights in the base-ment. � e sweet smell of mari-juana permeates this non-descript middle-class home. Two water pipes — also known as bongs — sit in the front room, along with a tray of crumbled cannabis, a mini-baggie of Chicklets-style green gum, and a couple of prescription bottles containing marijuana. � e patient su� ers from hepatitis C and arthritis, and grows six months of medicine at at time for personal use while supplying other patients. � e patient claims to not pro� t from the marijuana, instead relying on Social Security to pay the bills.

A� er the home-invasion rob-bery, Seattle police treated the patient with dignity and respect — and did not con� scate any medicine, the patient said.

Law enforcement� e biggest roadblock for medi-

cal marijuana, legally speaking, is the federal government’s classi� -cation of cannabis as a Schedule 1 substance.

“A national policy would be helpful,” said Don Pierce, execu-

tive director, Washington Associa-tion of Sheri� s and Police Chiefs. Pierce said a major problem in Washington state is the con� ict with federal law when it comes to enforcement. Di� erent rules apply to drug task force cases that involve federal agents.

In 2008, the Washington State Department of Health issued guidelines on the de� nition of a 60-day supply. � ese guidelines have made enforcement easier, Pierce said. However, some resi-dents hide behind a medical mari-juana defense in cases that appear to involve manufacturing for sale or other “nefarious purposes,” Pierce said.

Pierce started his law enforce-ment career in 1970, eventually serving as police chief in Nor-mandy Park, Tukwila, Bellingham and Boise, Idaho. He worked in Washington state when the medi-cal marijuana initiative passed in 1998, along with an amendment to the law in 2007.

“We in law enforcement thought (the medical marijuana law) was going to be a way bigger problem than it turned out to be,” Pierce said, adding that the main problem was implementation.

“We don’t spend very much time in our meetings talking about medical marijuana,” Pierce

said.In fact, Seattle and the King

County area are considered the state’s havens for medical mari-juana rights. King County Pros-ecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg is viewed by some local patients as a prominent public o� cial on their side.

As the state’s largest urban area, King County has more experience with medical marijuana compared to other counties. � at experience has an in� uence on the internal standards and procedures of law enforcement, Satterberg said.

“It’s our job to enforce the law,” he said, noting that the current medical marijuana laws are not well written. � e idea is to ap-proach the spirit of the law and allow people who are truly sick to � nd relief, Satterberg said. He referenced a May 26 incident in Seattle, in which a medical marijuana patient was robbed by fake drug enforcement agents, then had several cannabis plants con� scated by police.

Satterberg called this particular incident a success because no one got hurt, and the patient was able to keep 15 plants as allowed by law, he said.

“I don’t want to prosecute any sick people,” Satterberg said.

Others call the May 26 incident

a violation. Mark Spohn, the Seattle patient who was robbed, said in news reports that he was cultivating more than the 15-plant limit in order to help supply fel-low patients.

King County may serve as a model for Washington state in terms of medical marijuana toler-ance, but still has a long way to go, said Seattle-based attorney Doug-las Hiatt. Speci� cally, Hiatt called the guidelines for a 60-day supply “a step backward.” Patients o� en struggle to � ll the gap between one harvest and the time it takes a new batch of plants to reach maturity, he said.

“What the Department of Health has done is unconscio-nable,” said Hiatt, who represents patients across the state, usually at no cost. “You couldn’t get a 60-day supply out of 15 plants unless you’re a master gardener.”

Patients fear law enforcement and thieves[ MEDICINE from page 1]

SPECIALREPORT

The next installment of this series will examine the e� orts of medical marijuana supporters in Washington, including Douglas Hiatt, a Seattle-based attorney who donates his services to defend pa-tients; Steve Sarich, an outspoken advocate who runs a support net-work in King County; Ken Martin, who su� ers from a brain tumor; and two Federal Way area patients who grow their own medicine.

Coming Saturday

Schools and state face o� over fundingBY KYRA LOW

[email protected]

Perhaps if Federal Way students had done worse on tests, they would have fared better in court.

� e fact that Federal Way students score above state average on testing than their neighboring schools was one of the state’s main arguments against Federal Way’s fair funding lawsuit, which the State Supreme Court heard arguments about on � ursday.

“It’s nice of the Attorney General’s O� ce to publicly recognize how well our students are doing,” Super-intendent Tom Murphy said a� erward. “We are very proud of our teachers. It goes to dedication and hard work, not equality. It’s an is-sue of fairness and unequal treatment.”

� e court case began more than two years ago when the Federal Way School Board voted to sue the state over unequal fund-ing. � e district won its case, but the state appealed the decision. Although arguments were heard for 40 minutes on � ursday, a decision could take several months.

� e Federal Way district seeks funding on the same level as other school districts. At the time the lawsuit began, Federal Way ranked 263 out of the 296 districts in dollars-per-student funding.

Federal Way is the sev-enth-largest school district in the state. If the district had received the same amount as the highest-funded districts in the state,

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SPORTS | Mirror’s male athlete of the year: Andre Barrington of FWHS [18]

IN OTHER NEWS | Updates on fatal car crashes, judge’s court battle [4-5]

TRUANCY | Federal Way High School leads the � ght to keep kids in class [3]

BLOOD SHORTAGE | Can you spare a pint during the summer months? [2]

GO GREEN | Cities and businesses work toward energy e� ciency [10]

[ more SCHOOLS page 9 ]

BY ANDY HOBBS

[email protected]

� e people who run the medical marijuana clinics in Washington state control the supply and prices.

Patients pay about $10 per gram of marijuana, or about $200 an ounce. Street prices can command $400 an ounce or higher.

� e law requires indoor growing, which can be di� cult and expen-

sive considering the necessary equipment.

One Federal Way area patient is currently growing 11 cannabis plants in his home — four plants under the legal limit of 15.

� e cultivation room, lined with white tarp for maximum re� ection, boasts a pair of 1,000-watt lamps to light up the garden. � e unmistak-able scent strikes your nose as soon as the room’s door cracks open. Cannabis plants sway and � utter under the breeze of an oscillating

fan perched by the ceiling. A couple of plants have started to � ower. Electricity for the garden adds about $30 to each month’s utility

bill, the patient estimated.� is 37-year-old profes-

sional, who asked to remain anonymous, su� ers from chronic pain a� er a motor

vehicle accident 15 years ago. For the past six years, he

has used marijuana for medicinal purposes. He no longer seeks relief from name-brand pain pills such as Vicodin or Percocet.

When medicating, he prefers

edibles, although he occasion-ally smokes the cannabis. He also provides medicine to a handful of local clinics.

“� is is something natural,” he said. “It comes from the Earth, with nothing added to it but water.”

A common concern among patients, aside from protection, is perception. If the state truly recognized the medicinal bene� ts of marijuana, he said, then the state would open doors for insurance companies and pharmacies on


PART 2: Patients and their defenders

SPECIALREPORT

Medical marijuana in WA: Pushing the legal limits

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Proceeds from the golf tournament bene� t the Boys and Girls Clubs of Federal Way/Auburn as well as the EX3 Ron Sandwith Teen Center. Check out The Mirror online for the total amount raised from the tournament. To learn more, e-mail [email protected] or [email protected] or call (253) 681-6514. RACHEL JONES, Federal Way Mirror

Celebrity GolfTournament bene� ts Boys and Girls Clubs, EX3 teen center

OPINION | Backstrom’s message to the Republican party: Tax cuts don’t guarantee you a spot in heaven [6]

Bruce King, former KOMO 4 sports director, served as guest host for the 33rd annual Celebrity Golf Tournament, held June 11 at Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club in Federal Way.


behalf of patients. He also believes that patients should be allowed to grow more plants in order to maintain proper personal supply. Furthermore, he worries that thieves as well as “the feds” or other law enforcement will kick down his door.

“Treat us like the patients that we are,” he said, adding that the law must distin-guish between illegal users and those in the medical world. “� ey need to give patients the leeway they say we have.”

Growing medicineA 50-something patient

from Des Moines, Wash., who asked to remain anonymous, has smoked marijuana most of his life.

For the past 10 years, he has tapped marijuana to battle severe pain from a back injury as well as hepatitis C. Previ-ously, he relied on hydrocodone to relieve the pain. For one six-year stretch, he was consuming 160 pills a month, he said.

His osteopathic doctor recommended substitut-ing the painkillers with marijuana.

“I don’t need anything else, just marijuana,” he said.

He is also critical of Ma-rinol, a pill manufactured by the Solvay pharmaceuti-cal company that contains the active ingredients of cannabis. He said Marinol “does nothing. It makes you feel really weird. It’s nothing like marijuana at all.”

However, the law hangs over his head. During a messy divorce, his ex-spouse alerted police to his cannabis cultivation. He was subsequently arrested in 2007 for possession and cultivation. � rough the help of Seattle-based attor-ney Douglas Hiatt, his case was dismissed following a year of good behavior.

� e Des Moines police, who originally arrested this patient, recently checked on his crop.

“My main worry is the police — are they going to let me do this?” he said. “I don’t want the police to get pissed at me. If they want me, they can take me down.”

Likewise, he lauds marijuana for reducing nausea and stimulating his appetite. He disagrees with

those who grow hundreds of plants to seek a pro� t, instead preferring to stay self-su� cient. He said he helps local patients install equipment for growing and donates to clinics.

“I’m a Christian and I don’t want to cause trouble,” he said. “God put (mari-juana) here for a reason. He wouldn’t put it everywhere in the world if it wasn’t.”

The defendersDouglas Hiatt, a Seattle-

based attorney, defends medical marijuana cases across the state for free.

“If they would research marijuana and allow doc-tors to prescribe it, then we wouldn’t have a problem. � ey’ve got the power to straighten things out pretty fast,” Hiatt said.

Hiatt � rst entered the cause in 1996 a� er volun-teering his legal services for clients su� ering from

AIDS. He soon began meeting more sick people who relied on medical marijuana for relief.

Hiatt’s mother and brother-in-law were

medical marijuana patients, he said.

Hiatt eventually received a $60,000 grant from the Marijuana Policy Project, which enabled him to take a lot of free cases. Last year, Hiatt’s taxable income was $7,000, he said.

“I do a lot of free work because I believe that people who are trying to stay alive and � ght o� seri-ous illness should be le� alone and not be bothered like this,” he said. “I didn’t pick this. It picked me.”

Armed with encyclope-dic knowledge of medical marijuana laws, facts and history, Steve Sarich ranks among Washington state’s bolder activists.

Sarich is executive direc-tor of CannaCare, a patient advocacy group founded � ve years ago and based in Kirkland. Sarich, who su� ers from a degenerative disc disease, spinal spinosis and arthritis, said his organization operates on very little funding and does not have 501(c)3 non-pro� t status. � e organization generates money mostly from donations, Sarich said, stressing that his business model depends on volun-teers — and does not call for making money o� the sick and dying.

“I started this just because I thought patients

ought to have a place where they can call, always get information, always get a friendly voice that’s not paranoid,” said Sarich, who is also president of Sentry Medical Group, which writes recommendations for patients.

“We also run a medical clinic, so patients whose regular doctor will not write a recommendation will have some place to go,” said Sarich, who is current-ly involved in forming the American Association of Medical Marijuana Patients.

Sarich criticizes the state’s medical marijuana laws and guidelines for a 60-day supply. He also ran into trouble with law enforce-ment in January 2007. Federal agents raided his Everett headquarters and seized nearly 1,500 plants, according to a Seattle Times report. One DEA agent in the report likened Sarich’s operation to a drug-dealing enterprise. Sarich was never arrested or charged with any crime, he said.

“If they came to your house at gunpoint, took your Vicodin or your Via-gra out of your medicine cabinet, robbed you and destroyed your home, oh and by the way, took your money — they’d all be in prison,” Sarich said of drug enforcement. “But they ap-parently don’t feel that way about medical marijuana.”

AwarenessOn May 20, Sarich led a

discussion about medical marijuana with nursing students at Renton Techni-cal College.

� e unmis-takable odor of marijuana laced the room as Sarich spread an array of medicine and smoking accesso-ries across a table: Hard candies, brownies, tea, co� ee, Gold� sh crackers, a tub of green butter, mul-ticolored wafers, a glass pipe, a va-porizer, capsules, tinctures, and two baggies of purple and lime-green buds.

Ken Martin, a board member of CannaCare, accompanied Sarich to the presentation. Martin su� ers from a brain tumor, which he believes was caused through his work as a nuclear engineer at the

Hanford Site, located near Richland, Wash.

Hanford is considered the nation’s most contami-nated nuclear site. Martin is among thousands of

residents who lived “downwind” and claim the site put them at an increased risk for cancer and other diseases. � ere is an ongoing court battle between these residents and the federal government.

Martin was di-agnosed in 1997 with a meningio-ma brain tumor, which is benign. Before turning to medical mari-juana, Martin ingested up 10 to 12 medications

daily, which caused him to nod o� at places such as the dinner table. Nowadays, Martin said he takes only morphine and an anti-nau-sea drug, augmented with medical marijuana, which he inhales with a vaporizer.

Martin still � nds it di� cult to get out of bed some days, he said. Medical marijuana takes the edge o� throbbing headaches and nausea associated with his condition.

“� is has allowed me to get up and enjoy life just a little more,” said Martin, a resident of Cheney, Wash.

� e two men from CannaCare were eager to speak to the students. In the health care industry, nurses frequently have � rst contact with medical marijuana patients.

Nursing organizations nationwide have publicly endorsed medical marijua-na rights in their respective states. � e Michigan Nurses Association urged voters to approve a proposal in 2008 that provided safeguards for patients in Michigan. � e measure passed at 63 percent, making Michigan the 13th state to enact legal protections for patients. � e American Nurses Associa-tion recognizes marijuana as a worthy treatment un-der medical supervision.

A� er the session at

Renton Technical Col-lege ends, several nursing students gather around the table for an up-close look at the medicine Sarich brought. Amid wide eyes and a few snickers, two students ask about a tin of multicolored medicated wa-fers. With a look of subtle de� ance, Sarich pops a yel-low wafer in his mouth.

Medical marijuana: ‘God put it here for a reason’[ MEDICINE from page 1]

Medical marijuana activist Steve Sarich speaks to nursing students May 20 at Renton Technical College.Below: Sarich displayed an array of cannabis-infused candies, crackers, tinctures and more during his lecture at Renton Technical College. VIDEO IMAGES BY ANDY HOBBS, Federal Way Mirror

SPECIALREPORT

“This has allowed me to get up and enjoy life just a little more.”Ken Martin, medical marijuana patient who su� ers from abrain tumor

SPECIALREPORT

• Next Wednesday, be sure to check out part three of The Mirror’s series on medical marijuana in Washington state. The next installment of the series will cover medical opinions, politics and history behind medical marijuana.• To read part one of The Mirror’s series, visit www.federalwaymirror.com. Part 1 also features a short video depicting testimony from activist Steve Sarich and patient Ken Martin, along with footage of marijuana grown by local patients.

The series continues

VIDEO ONLINEVIDEO ONLINEfederalwaymirror.com

Court’s fate goes on trial

BY JACINDA HOWARD

[email protected]

Federal Way is prudently weighing its options for future court services.

� e city council heard from city and King County District Court sta� June 16 about what it could look like to terminate the mu-nicipal court and instead contract with the county.

Increased services and revenue-making opportu-nities are likely. However, entering into an inter-local agreement with the district court is risky, and com-paring the cost of the two courts’ operations is an arduous task.

“You just can’t compare the two,” Chief Financial O� cer Bryant Enge said. “It’s just not comparing apples to apples.”

Tuesday’s discussion stemmed from a May re-

quest from the city council, speci� cally deputy mayor Eric Faison, for sta� to research the legalities and cost-e� ectiveness of the city closing its municipal court and o� ering services in another manner.

Since its inception in 2000, Federal Way’s court has su� ered from personnel and managerial setbacks. It has gained attention within the past year as Presiding Judge Michael Morgan sued the city to keep a report on the court’s hostile work en-vironment from the public.

“I’m concerned with the ability of Federal Way to have its own court,” Faison said last month.

� e city council struggled to compare costs for the two courts. � e municipal court brought in $1.5 mil-lion in revenue in 2008.

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SPORTS | Top coaches in Federal Way.Plus: How fathers in� uence sports [18]

NANDELL PALMER | When fathers are away, the grief will stay [8]

MOON TREE | Students at Rainier View Elementary plant a moon tree [14]

ARTS | Centerstage’s contract approved to manage Knutzen Family Theatre [9]

SEX IN THE SUBURBS | Why parents must confront sexism in our culture [4]

[ more COURT page 16 ]

BY ANDY HOBBS

[email protected]

� e Institute of Medicine is an authoritative voice in the nation’s medical community.

In 1997, the non-pro� t institute launched a review that resulted in the book “Marijuana and medicine: Assessing the science base,” which

explores the e� ects of cannabis as well as testimony from supporters and opponents.

� e institute’s review fol-lowed California’s passage of a medical marijuana law the previous year. Washington state voters approved their own law in 1998, alongside Arizona, Alaska, Nevada and Oregon (Arizona’s law was soon nulli� ed because it called for “prescriptions”).

Amid its conclusions, the book acknowledges the therapeutic as-

pects of cannabis for pain, appetite and sleep. � e book also frequently cites a need for further research.

“Ultimately, the complex moral and social judgments that underlie drug con-trol must be made by the American people and their elected o� cials,” according

to the book’s introduction.Pharmaceutical companies are

limited in their cannabis research and development of cannabis-based medications due to federal restric-tions. Federal law classi� es canna-

bis as a Schedule I drug, considered to have no accepted medical use in treatment, no accepted standard of safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin and LSD.

Like 12 other states in the nation, Washington state’s medical mari-juana laws con� ict with the federal government. As such, doctors are prohibited from writing prescrip-tions for marijuana.

[ more MEDICINE pages 12-13 ]

Part 3: Academicsand the turning tide

SPECIALREPORT


Council weighs costs of contracting with the county and ending municipal court

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Sunrise to sunset:Federal Way changesoperating hours of parks

OPINION | Vogt: Rhetoric stains the conversation about American health care [6] Backstrom: Does God have an iPod? [7]

Steel Lake Park visitors enjoy the warm weather June 18. The park closes at 9 p.m. or dusk, whichever comes earliest. Steel Lake and other parks in the city are subject to new operating hours. The parks are open from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after dusk, or sunset. Before, parks without posted hours were open until midnight. Read the story on page 3 in today’s Mirror. JACINDA HOWARD, Federal Way Mirror

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Instead, doctors may only authorize the drug with a written recommendation.

� e reclassi� cation of cannabis to a Schedule II or Schedule III substance would immediately open doors for medical research.

“� at legal classi� cation has basically produced all

these state medical mari-juana laws,” said Sunil Ag-garwal, a medical student at the University of Washing-ton. “I don’t need a clinical anecdote to convince me of cannabis’s medical utility.”

Aggarwal � nished his Ph.D. last year, studying the medical geography of cannabinoid botanicals in Washington state.

“Cannabinoid botani-cals,” another way of saying medical marijuana, refers to the chemical compounds of cannabis.

“Pharmaceutical compa-nies could bene� t from do-ing more work in the � eld of cannabinoid research,” he said. “� ere are a lot of medicines that could come out of this.”

Turning tides on federal, state levels

� ere is no way to of-� cially track the number of medical marijuana pa-tients in Washington state. Estimates hover around 25,000 when compared to states such as Oregon, which requires registration of patients.

In 2007, Washington state established guidelines on a 60-day supply for patients: 24 dry ounces and 15 plants at a time. � is amount has become another point of conten-tion. Aggarwal and some medical professionals deter-mined that 71 dry ounces was a more appropriate amount for 60 days.

� is conclusion was based on accounting for de-livery di� erences of the psy-choactive chemical THC in consumption (smoking vs. ingestion). It also took into account the average amount supplied to patients in a three-decade old federal marijuana clinical research

study, Aggarwal said.California is generally

regarded as the leader, for better or worse, in shaping state laws and attitudes on medical marijuana. Califor-nia boasts hundreds of dispensaries along with more qualifying condi-tions for patients seeking a doctor’s recommendation.

Marijuana’s medical legitimacy is undermined in California mainly due to low-standard physicians, said Aggarwal, noting the state’s market potential for cannabis.

Cannabis dispensaries in the Golden State have storefronts sporting neon signs and advertisements in newspapers. � ey’re also big businesses that could bolster government co� ers. Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneg-ger, a Republican, has suggested his state explore options regarding tax rev-enue from marijuana.

Elsewhere, Rhode Island

just joined New Mexico to feature state-licensed dispensaries for patients (California’s dispensaries are not regulated by law).

On the federal level, President Barack Obama has prom-ised to end federal raids on medical marijuana patients, and Attorney General Eric Holder vowed not to pros-ecute them.

Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) introduced a bill that would strengthen legal protections for state-authorized patients as well as reclassify marijuana to Schedule II.

“It will de� nitely open up a larger discussion on whether non-medical use is accepted in our society,” Aggarwal said of the esca-lating debate over cannabis. “� ere will always be a need for a medical market, a medical channel.”

Medical marijuana: Federal law hinders research[ MEDICINE from page 1]


Sunil Aggarwal

[13]June 20, 2009www.fedwaymirror.com

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Academic studies involving cannabis

Aggarwal’s 395-page Ph.D. dissertation is titled “The Medical Geography of Cannabinoid Botanicals in Washington State: Access, Delivery and Distress.” Check it out online at http://sunilaggarwal.net.

Topics in the dissertation include:

• The emerging field of cannabinoid medicine as well as the increase in re-

lated medical and scientific literature.

• Survey results from medical marijuana patients in Washington state.

• “In its 4,000-plus years of documented use, there is no report of death from overdose with cannabis. In contrast, as little as 2 grams of dried opium poppy sap can be a lethal dose in humans as a result of severe respiratory depression.”

• The study of 139 medi-cal marijuana patients ac-cessing cannabis treatment for chronic pain at a clinic

in rural Washington state. The patients were severely ill or injured. “Due to the non-reimbursable cost and general unavailability of delivery systems, medical-grade can-nabis is frequently difficult for patients with documented medical needs to obtain.”

• “Seven randomized, placebo-controlled or dron-abinol (Marinol)-controlled clinical trials of cannabis published in 2005-2008 and conducted in patient

populations in the United States, which investigated indications such as HIV- and other forms of painful neuropathy, spasticity in

multiple sclerosis, and appetite stimulation in HIV patients, have consistently shown statistically

significant improve-ments in pain relief,

spasticity, and appetite in the cannabis-using groups compared to controls.”

• A breakdown of de-livery costs involved in a four-month cycle of medi-

cal marijuana for one clinic in Washington state. Costs included labor, growing equipment, facility rental and transportation. “An important point that I was trying to make about the medical value of the can-nabis plant: That access to a single sample of cannabis germplasm (plant genetic resource) allows for the growth of four monoclonal, large cannabis plants whose yield was able to serve the needs of 71 patients,” Ag-garwal said.

• “Political ecology” and

its effects on interpretations of medical marijuana, from the political to the social. The dissertation also weighs the dilemmas involved in policies and definitions of drug abuse and controlled substances.

• “Only 19 researchers in the U.S. have the necessary licenses to conduct research with cannabis supplied by federal agencies.”

Coming up: Part 4Look for part 4 of this

series on Saturday, June 27, only in The Mirror.

[ MEDICINE from p. 12]

SPECIALREPORT

City manager: Council willrestart searchBY JACINDA HOWARD

[email protected]

Federal Way may lack a new city manager until 2010, a city council sub-committee announced June 22. � e council is going to “hit the restart button” and suspend the search, council member Jim Ferrell said.

� e city council has already spent a month attempting to select a manager itself. � e council chose not to renew former city manager Neal Beets’ contract May 5. Shortly af-terward, police chief Brian Wilson was appointed interim city manager and the hunt for a new leader began. � e council said it wished to hire within � ve months. � e city advertised the position for a little more than two weeks, and 84 ap-plications were received.

� e search took a turn when council members at the Finance, Economic Development and Re-gional A� airs committee voiced their desire to hire a recruiting � rm to � nd a new city manager. Council members Jeanne Burbidge, Mike Park and Dini Duclos are voting members of the committee. Council mem-bers Ferrell, Linda Koch-mar and mayor Jack Dovey attended and contributed to the discussion. Deputy mayor Eric Faison was absent.

On July 7, the council, as a whole, will decide whether to issue a request for proposals (RFP) from recruiting � rms. If the council gives its go-ahead on the RFP, it will also iden-tify a timeline for bringing

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F E D E R A L W A Y


SPORTS | Topics include kids’ soccer camp, women’s football and gambling [19]

CHARGES | Federal Way man charged with manslaughter in wife’s death [8]

ARTS | Check out upcoming arts and entertainment in Federal Way [23]

BUSINESS | Column explores customer service as a brand component [10]

IN THE NEWS | School district budget, crime blotter and red light cameras [4]

[ more MANAGER page 9 ]

BY ANDY HOBBS

[email protected]

Aside from smoking marijuana, some patients prefer to soak in it.

Sue Watson, who runs the Emer-ald Cross medical marijuana clinic in southwest Seattle, praised her cannabis-infused bubble bath.

“I smoke a quarter of an ounce

a day and I never get stoned,” she said. “I get in that bubble bath and it puts my whole body into a state of nirvana.”

Watson extracts the psychoactive THC from cannabis to create sprays, tinctures and lotions: “It will actually stop bruising dead in its tracks,” Watson said of her Emerald Rub. One patient healed his body-covering bleeding sores with an oral spray, she added.

Watson has been running the

clinic for almost a decade. Cannabis helps treat the a� er-e� ects of her spinal cord injury and stroke.

“I take absolutely no pain pills or muscle relaxers,” she said.

Another thing Watson has in common with most of the medical marijuana

movement: Knowledge that o� en leads to activism. Watson

speaks at rallies that can be watched on YouTube. She also co-wrote “� e Feel-Good Cookbook: For Medical Marijuana Patients.”

As a self-professed student of the plant, she lives free from para-noia, thanks in part to protection by Washington state law and the Seattle police, Watson said.

“I go to school on this every day,” she said. “I’m always in search of new information.”

Watson said the biggest obstacle to medical marijuana reform, aside from federal classi� cation, is the lack of education.

“� ere’s a lot of false information


Part 4: Bubble bath and higher education

SPECIALREPORT


A recruiting � rm is likely to take over

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OPINION | Backstrom: Politicians who help people vs. politicians who help themselves [6] School dropouts a� ect us all [7]

Hilary King holds a handful of red wriggler worms from a compost pile she created in an ice cooler. King takes the demonstration to the Federal Way Farmer’s Market. JACINDA HOWARD, Federal Way Mirror

BY JACINDA HOWARD

[email protected]

Do-it-yourself compost-ing, green cleaning and recycling will be topics of conversation at the Federal Way Farmer’s Market.

� e city will sta� a booth from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and alternating Saturdays at the market. Sta� from the recycling division and volunteers will be available to answer questions, give demonstrations and educate citizens about recycling, waste reduction, green cleaning and composting, among other topics.

Compost, recycling and the worm bin

[ more COMPOST page 2 ]

[9]June 27, 2009www.fedwaymirror.com

out there. People don’t know how good it really is and how well it really works,” she said. “I’m here to heal the world with mari-juana.”

Cultivate like a pro Some patients see a busi-

ness opportunity, not so much from selling mari-juana, but from turning novice growers into master cultivators.

Armed with a degree in horticulture, a Federal Way patient sees the potential in helping others maximize their harvests.

“It’s hit or miss. I rarely see high-quality grades of medical marijuana in Washington,” said the 40-year-old Federal Way resident, who asked to remain anonymous.

He even claims to grow the best local cannabis, including a strain he calls “Couch Lock.”

“You don’t need $10,000 in equipment,” he said. With knowledge of the cannabis light cycles, the novice grower can produce a quality supply with a basic setup that costs less than $1,000, he said. Cannabis requires nutrition similar to tomato plants, he said. A grow light with high ultraviolet output increases potency, while a high-pressure sodium light tends to increase the size of buds, he said. With 3,000 watts of growing power at his 3,000-square-foot house, his power bills are about $500 every two months.

While lea� ng through a medical marijuana maga-zine, he points to an ad-vertisement for seeds from Canada. � ese mail-order seeds, despite their illegal status in the United States, have contributed to his suc-cess as a grower, he said.

He has gained “access to a good gene pool” over the years by swapping seeds and plants with bikers or

hippies, he said. His current crop has

yet to reach the � owering stages, but he is able to show o� a di� erent sample. He places an evergreen-colored bud about the size of a grape on the kitchen table. � e bud, covered in white hairs, can be smelled from across the room.

With a few pu� s of his homegrown high-quality cannabis, the resident can dull chronic pain from gout and rheumatory arthritis.

“� e pain is so incred-ible, I’d rather take a bullet,” he said, noting that he avoids prescription pain-killers that “turn me into a zombie.”

� is patient fears thieves while praising the tolerance of local law enforcement, which con� scated all his plants one day last year, he said: “� e Federal Way Police Department has been very nice to me and did a very responsible job in handling me.”

Higher education Part 3 of this series

touched on University of Washington student Sunil Aggarwal, who earned a Ph.D. in medical marijuana with a 395-page study.

� ose who seek a simpler

form of higher education can cough up a few hun-dred dollars for cannabis college.

“Bob,” the Fed-eral Way patient interviewed at the beginning of this series, completed a short stint at Oak-sterdam University in Oakland, Calif. � e school and its nearby medi-cal marijuana dispensaries have somewhat revived downtown Oak-land a� er years of blight. Tour-ists and patients alike are drawn to the area’s Amsterdam-inspired toler-ance of cannabis culture.

In a weekend course, Bob learned about laws, rights, politics, cooking, bud tending and how to run a dispensary in Cali-fornia. Le� over among his thorough course literature are glossy postcards for Bay Area clinics as well as a catalog from “Oaksterdam Nursery,” featuring strains called Blueberry, Hindu Skunk and Jack the Ripper. Each strain’s photo includes a breakdown in type of e� ects, genetics, � owering time, height and growing environment.

However, some patients learn some lessons about medical marijuana on their own.

During his pre-med-ical marijuana days, Bob once served 5 and a half months in jail for growing marijuana. “I broke the law.

� ey got me,” he said.

In hindsight, the jail sentence helped plant a seed, he said. While in jail, Bob had access to few books and resorted to read-

ing the phone book out of boredom. Bob, who served in the U.S. Army, found a listing that led to informa-tion about medical bene� ts to treat severe body pain. He credits this Yellow Pages moment for sending him on a path toward the medi-cal marijuana movement.

Part 5: ConclusionCheck out the July 4

(Saturday) edition of � e Mirror for the � nal install-ment of this series. To read the � rst three parts of the series or watch a video of local patients, visit www.federalwaymirror.com.

Medical marijuana: Education is key[ MEDICINE from page 1]

This cannabis-infused cookie will provide about 10 doses of medicine for Bob, a Federal Way resident and medical marijuana patient. Watch a video online, included with part 1 of this series. ANDY HOBBS, The Mirror

SPECIALREPORT

the new city manager on board.

Going the route of a RFP will lengthen the wait for a new manager, human resources director Mary McDougal said. It will also signify the council’s wish to scrap its monthlong e� orts to choose a manager itself.

Outsideassistance

A RFP will extend the city manager pursuit for another six months, at a minimum. Choosing an applicant by January, the council’s perceived latest goal, is doable but press-ing, McDougal said.

“� at’s pretty aggres-sive,” she said.

� e city’s two previous managers, Neal Beets and David Mosely, respective-ly, were both hired with the help of a recruiting � rm. From start to � nish, it took eight months to � nd and hire Beets.

Based on those pro-cesses, preparing a RFP could take two weeks and choosing a � rm another two weeks. � irty days to negotiate the contract would put the city in September before any real progress on � nding a new manager is made. A whole new round of candidates will be solicited by the � rm. By November, the � nalists could be intro-duced to the public. � at course of action, paired with the � nal hiring nego-tiations, would extend the process another month or so.

“� at seems too long to me,” Duclos said.

Shifting paradigm� e city council has

met twice in executive session to discuss the applicants. Dovey and

Faison promised several times that once the coun-cil narrowed its candidate pool to an unknown number of quali� ed appli-cants, it would introduce the prospects to Federal Way residents and begin a � nal selection process that fully involved the public.

A letter, written by Dovey, was received by � e Mirror on June 19, but was not printed due to a later request by the city. � e letter declared the council slimmed the 84 applicants to 12, and would soon invite the public to participate in the city manager selec-tion. � e letter made no reference to the council’s consideration of starting the process over from scratch.

In May, Faison said he saw no need to hire a recruiting � rm. � e council approved $35,000, but spent $22,000 on the � rm that garnered Beets, McDougal said.

� e city council is com-mitted to making sure the search is an open and transparent process, Fer-rell said. Dovey appeared strongly in favor of a RFP. Mike Park’s comments focused mostly on clarify-ing the timeline for a RFP process. Duclos seemed to have reservations and expressed frustration at how long the procedure could take. Kochmar and Burbidge said little during the discussion.

“Let’s just get in done right, whatever (process) it is,” Kochmar said.

Check it out� is issue will be

discussed again at the July 7 regularly scheduled city council meeting, to take place 7 p.m. at City Hall, 33325 8th Ave. S. Public comments will be accepted.

Council suspends city manager search[ MANAGER from p. 1]

“It’s hit or miss. I rarely see high-quality grades of medical marijuana in Washington.” Federal Way resident

Veterans clinic: The Veterans A� airs Community Based Outreach Clinic in Feder-al Way serves veterans from the South King County area. The clinic is at 34617 11th Place S. and is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mon-day through Friday. Call (253) 336-4142.Breast cancer: Trained survivors of-fer free emotional support to the newly diagnosed, enhancing emotional recovery while going through treatments. Call (206) 417-3484 or e-mail [email protected]’s support group: A sup-port group for caregivers who are caring for people with memory loss meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. every � rst Wednesday of

the month at the Federal Way Professional Plaza, located at 31919 6th Ave. S., Suite A-100. Call Arta at (253) 534-7044.Long-term care helpers: The King County Long Term Care Ombudsman Program needs volunteers in the Federal Way area to help ensure proper care of local elderly residents. To learn more, call (206) 694-6703, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.ltcop.org.Blood donors: Puget Sound Blood Center is encouraging residents to donate blood. To schedule an appointment, call (800) 398-7888 or visit www.psbc.org. Puget

Sound Blood Center is located at 1414 S. 324th St., Suite B101, Federal Way.

Give blood: Cascade Regional Blood Services especially needs blood

donations. The Federal Way center is at 33505 13th Place S. Suite B. Call (253) 945-7974 or e-mail [email protected].

Survivors Of Suicide: Support groups in both Tacoma and Auburn

o� er support for survivors of suicide. For more information, call Joan at (253) 838-8947.Mental illness: The National Alliance on Mental Illness is a grass-roots organization

created to support families dealing with all types of mental conditions. Call (253) 945-7157 or visit NAMI.org.Overeaters Anonymous: If food has become a problem, Overeaters Anonymous o� ers free weekly support meetings. The group gathers at 7 p.m. every Monday at 32300 1st Ave S. in Federal Way. No fees, dues, weigh-ins or diets are associated with Overeaters Anonymous. Call (206) 264-5045 or (253) 472-5356.Panic Relief: The nonpro� t group Panic Relief hosts seminars for those seeking to overcome fears, anxiety and agoraphobia. Programs are from noon to 1 p.m. Mondays and from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

For more information, contact director Judy Schi� man at (732) 940-9658.Al-Anon: Al-Anon’s Wednesday Morning Sunshine Group meets 10:30 a.m. Wednes-days at Light of Christ Church, 2400 SW 344th St., Federal Way. Child care provided. 24-hour hotline at (206) 625-0000.Life coach: Mirror guest columnist Amy Johnson, MSW, is a personal life and par-ent coach in Federal Way. She facilitates faith and sexuality classes for youth, and parenting classes in the Puget Sound area. Johnson’s column, “Sex in the Suburbs,” runs twice a month in The Mirror. Contact: [email protected].

HEALTHMATTERS

VIDEO ONLINEVIDEO ONLINEVIDEO ONLINEVIDEO ONLINEVIDEO ONLINEfederalwaymirror.com

Judges plead their case for keeping courtBY JACINDA HOWARD

[email protected]

Preserving Federal Way’s court, and restoring trust in its management, is in the best interest of residents.

� at is what Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Dave Larson told the city council June 30. In May, the council began con-sidering terminating the municipal court in favor of contracting with King County District Court. � e municipal court’s history of managerial problems, as well as the council’s concern over liability risks associ-ated with the court, spurred the exploration of court options. Tuesday’s special meeting was a chance for Federal Way’s judges to present their case for keep-

ing the court.“I’m pleading with you to

help us heal,” Larson said.Federal Way’s ability to

control the court’s budget is essential, he said. Ad-ditionally, improving the municipal court will require the council and court sta� to repair relationships and open the lines of communi-cation, Larson said.

Playing it safewith the budget

Cities that contract with the district court sign an interlocal agreement for services. � ey are respec-tively billed according to the number and type of cases the district court processes for each jurisdic-tion, said Barbara Linde,

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SPORTS | Column: Michael Jackson was also a ‘thriller’ in the sports world [14]

OLD GLORY | Tito Hinojos witnesses the mishandling of a U.S. � ag [12]

HEALTH MATTERS | Local audiologist discusses � reworks and hearing loss [8]

SUMMER READING | ‘Mad scientist’ entertains kids with air pressure [2]

BAD WRITING | Federal Way resident wins contest with bad prose [3]

[ more COURT page 9 ]

BY ANDY HOBBS

[email protected]

� e Overton Window refers to a range of ideas considered accept-able at a particular moment.

� e theory was named a� er Joe Overton, former vice president for a conservative think tank. He be-lieved lawmakers were constrained by the political climate, which could be changed by educating

both lawmakers and the public. Rhetoric shapes and shi� s the

Overton Window. Under this concept, the promotion of ex-treme ideas makes formerly fringe ideas appear more acceptable. At the same time, ideas that were once acceptable become fringe or extreme. � e Overton Window moves along a yard stick that represents two extremes of a certain political issue.

� e public’s perception of mari-juana has shi� ed signi� cantly since the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, which

is credited for leading the crimi-nalization of cannabis on a federal level. Since 1996, 13 states have adopted legal rights for medical

marijuana patients. State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-

Welles (D-Seattle) was a key player behind Washington state’s medical marijuana

laws in 1998 and 2008. In 2010, she plans to intro-

duce legislation that outlines how patients can legally distribute, grow and obtain cannabis, she said. � e discussion will include the possibil-ity of a state registry, she said.

Kohl-Welles became a believer a� er witnessing the drug’s e� ects on her best friend, who was dying of cancer in 1998. � e friend’s on-cologist at Swedish Medical Center recommended marijuana.

“She took a couple of pu� s, and she could take some soup and wa-ter, where before she couldn’t due to the e� ects of radiation therapy,” said Kohl-Welles, who was � rst elected to the state Senate in 1995.

In Olympia, she � nds legislators on both sides of the aisle who advo-cate for medical marijuana rights.


Part 5: Politicsand conclusions

SPECIALREPORT


Contracting with county could cost more

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OPINION | Walter Backstrom: How I became a feminist [6] Letter to the editor: The touchy subject of gay marriage [6]

Mary Ann Wiley � nished her associate’s degree after su� ering from a serious illness that almost left her paralyzed. KYRA LOW, Federal Way Mirror

Homework from the hospital bed

BY KYRA LOW

[email protected]

Mary Ann Wiley never gives up. She never lets things get her down, and until recently, she never went to college. In 2007, Wiley was a

nursing home assistant director in a long-term care facility. � e Federal Way resident had been an Licensed Practical Nurse (a “damn good LPN,” she said) for most of her life, and she loved her patients.

She started taking a few online classes to further her education when, while about to “chit chat” with her boss over an upcoming vacation, her body was suddenly overcome

with excruciating pain: “I told them to call 911,” Wiley said. “I thought I was having a heart attack.”

It wasn’t a heart attack. It was the simultaneous rupture of three to four disks along her upper spine. � e next day, she was at the University of Washington for more tests, paralyzed on all four extremities. She was told she would never walk again.

Double lung transplant recipient earns degree

[ more DEGREE page 9 ]

[4] www.fedwaymirror.comJuly 4, 2009

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Kohl-Welles said she is not afraid of any stig-mas associated with the issue — a luxury she owes to the overwhelmingly progressive 36th District that elected her. However, some legislators avoid the medical marijuana issue out of fear that such support could come back to haunt them. Some legislators see marijuana as an addictive gateway drug, and nothing more.

“People have very strongly held views about

marijuana that I think are unreasonable,” said Kohl-Welles, who holds a Ph.D. in Sociology of Education. “That’s part of the cultural situation about drugs in this country. Even though this is a natural plant, it’s very challenging to effect social change when you’ve got myths and misconcep-tion.”

Under the radarMost medical marijuana

patients started as recre-ational users.

A thirty-something woman lives in a respect-

able middle class neighbor-hood near the King County Aquatic Center. The Federal Way resident is growing 36 plants in an upstairs bed-room, all kept secret from neighbors.

“I like growing my own. I get the best quality,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous.

Since childhood, she has suffered from joint hypermobility syndrome, among other ailments. Her prescriptions cover depres-sion, anxiety, inflammation, fibromyalgia and muscle pain. She also lives off ben-

efits from the state Depart-ment of Social and Health Services (DSHS).

However, it was a minor bust and a night in jail that prompted her to seek medi-cal authorization. A police officer caught her smoking pot in the car with friends, she said. Eventually, she was volunteering for a cannabis clinic by tending gardens.

State laws are in conflict with the federal govern-ment’s classification of cannabis as a Schedule I drug, even with a doctor’s recommendation. Even if marijuana were full-blown

Medical marijuana: Perception continues to shift[ MEDICINE from page 1] “legalized” in Washington

state, the Federal Way woman would remain pri-vate about her use — and skeptical of law enforce-ment.

“I always fear waking up to some federal agent shov-ing a gun in my face.”

Unlike the medical marijuana dispensaries that opened recently in Spo-kane, most clinics operate under the radar.

A clinic on the Eastside held a barbecue last month, attracting hundreds of patients. The middle-aged clinic owner roamed his suburban house with a wooden pipe. He foresees multiple business opportu-nities as the legal window for marijuana continues to shift in his favor. He also welcomes a free market approach to cannabis where competition will lower prices and raise quality.

People of all ages attend-ed the barbecue, including many college-age adults. The front door stayed open, and a welcome mat with a giant cannabis leaf adorned the entrance. A cluster of plants swayed in the breeze by the back porch, with lots more growing inside.

Volunteers at the clinic tended to patients, parking and security. Several young “patients” noted it was their first time at the house.

With the right combi-nation of cash and signa-tures, the patients can go downstairs to a room that doubles as a store. A dry-erase board displays the prices for edibles, and there are even marijuana-themed videos for sale. A young couple occupies two seats in front of the counter, each holding a rolled-up baggie of buds.

In the dining room upstairs, a petite and cheery Asian woman loads pot into a vaporizer. The contraption inflates a big clear bag that’s equipped with a plastic dis-penser. The mix of friends

and strangers passes the bag around, taking turns inhaling. The young woman declares that everyone is smoking the “strawberry cough” strain. Moments later, she is standing still in the front yard, giggling for a few minutes at a pitbull rolling around in the grass. Back at the kitchen table, a young man visits the clinic for the first time over a back injury, he said. He snick-ers when asked about the injury, acknowledging the correct lingo with a wink: “Yeah, that’s right, I’m a patient.”

On the front porch, an attractive blonde in her early 20s lights a cigarette, eager to make conversation upon her arrival from Bell-ingham. This is also her first time at the clinic, which she discovered online. She tells another smoker about wanting to treat the after-effects of a miscarriage.

In the kitchen, a suit-clad doctor chats with the clinic’s owner. In fact, not only is he the clinic owner, but he’s also a patient. The doctor, who writes recom-mendations for the clinic’s patients, complimented the owner on some cannabis-infused crackers.

In this temporary role re-versal, it is the patient who medicates the doctor.

Check it out• This is the final install-

ment of a five-part series. Read the first four parts at www.federalwaymirror.com.

• Part 1 of the series includes a video of patients and their crops. Part 2 covers the legal dilemmas faced by patients and their defenders. Part 3 examines a medical student’s Ph.D. on the topic. Part 4 takes a look at alternative medical marijuana products such as bubble bath and lotion, as well as cannabis education at schools such as Oakster-dam University.

FWM.hobbs.marijuana610

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