Access Points in Washington’s King County are facing the reality of SB-5052

At the beginning of July, King County Prosecutor Dan
Satterberg gave a stern warning that unlicensed medical cannabis access points
need to wrap up, shut down and apply for a state license from the Washington
State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) if they want to continue to operate in
the future. King County is by far Washington State’s most populous county, and
it’s also the county in which Seattle sits.

On July 8, 2015, King County sheriffs sent letters to 15
medical cannabis access points in unincorporated King County. These letters
state that “Washington law allows the retail sale of marijuana only if a
business has obtained a license from the state Liquor and Cannabis Board.”
According to the county prosecutor’s office, only cannabis sold through a
licensed store is legal. These changes come on the heels of Senate Bill 5052,
which brings medical cannabis commercial activity under LCB authority and
within Washington State’s highly regulated cannabis system.

The letters also claim that “only true ‘collective gardens’
operating under the strict requirements of the law will be allowed to continue
to operate” until July 1, 2016, when SB-5052 goes into full effect. Although no
arrests have been made, it is imperative that medical cannabis operators pay
attention to these letters. The medical cannabis industry in Washington faces
huge changes and Dan Satterberg has made it clear that anyone involved with
running one of these illegal MMJ retail businesses faces serious civil and
criminal liability.

These recent happenings in King County are a sign of things
to come in Washington State’s medical cannabis industry, and it is imperative
to prepare for them. For medical cannabis businesses in Washington State that
wish to continue operating, that means preparing to apply for and securing
licenses from the LCB under SB-5052.

The bottom line? Medical cannabis access points in
Washington State must become legal, or the legal authorities will have grounds
to shut them down and start making arrests and issuing fines. And it’s doubtful that King County will be the last local government to take
such action.