Duane Seifert

Name: Duane (Patrick) Seifert 
Occupation: Owner of Rainier Xpress Collective Garden & Safe
Access Point, Board Member of ASA
(Americans for Safe Access) Washington State.

How did you get involved in the
cannabis movement?

In 2004, I started working in a collective grow and became a medical cannabis
patient. This is where I learned about growing and producing cannabis. I was
taught by some very experienced growers for years before my wife and I took on
our first solo grow. The growing and producing I was involved in led us
directly to the Cannabis Farmers Market which at the time was incredibly
successful if you had rare (primo) strains. We
sold our strains and worked with the Cannabis Farmers Market just long enough
to save up our needed finances to open up Rainier Xpress. It was our goal from
day one to someday open up a medical marijuana collective garden and safe access
point of our own, using our own flowers and our growers’ flowers. In February
2012, Rainier Xpress opened its doors to the patients of Olympia, Thurston
County and Washington State.

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What is your
greatest achievement for the cannabis cause? How did that manifest?
During last year’s session when Senator Rivers
new Medical Cannabis Bill hit, it stated that all patients in the new proposed
bill would have to use their primary care taker to get there medical cannabis recommendation.
Well if that bill had gone through as is, all veterans would have immediately
lost their ability to get a medical cannabis recommendation. You see, veterans’
primary care taker is the Veteran’s Affairs (VA). The VA will not and has never
written any type of recommendation for medical cannabis. This bit of
information was not brought to anybody’s attention until I stood up at a
scheduled hearing for medical cannabis at our capital. I stood up in a room
full of representatives and state senators and not one of them thought about
that very important fact. Veterans were forgotten again! Because I stood up and
was heard they made the change to the Bill just days later. That is when I
truly learned that one person—one voice—can make a difference. 

Who do
you look up to or admire?
Cat Jeter aka “Grandma Cat” has taught
me more about this industry than any other person. Every single time there is a
hearing about medical cannabis anywhere in our state you will see and/or hear
from Cat Jeter. Cat has been an activist for Washingtonians longer than most
have been alive. I could go on and on about Cat and all she has done and
continues to do for patients. She is a blessing to our community and to our
fight for medical cannabis.

If you could change one thing about the way cannabis
is viewed and or treated right now, what would it be?
I would get rid of I-502! Instead of cannabis
being viewed as real medicine (Pre-I-502) in Washington State, cannabis is now
viewed as a recreational drug like alcohol and cigarettes, not to be taken
seriously. Cannabis does fight cancer! Cannabis does provide sanity to PTSD
victims! Cannabis does provide pain relief! Cannabis does provide a security
blanket to Parkinson’s disease patients! Cannabis does help little children
with Dravet Syndrome! Cannabis is medicine and should be viewed as such.