On Monday, July 18, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted in favor of Bill 117229, which establishes a licensing and regulation system for medical marijuana distribution in city of Seattle.

Mayor Mike McGinn is expected to sign the ordinance soon, which would allow medical marijuana patients to obtain medical marijuana in the city of Seattle.

This measure comes months after Gov. Chris Gregoire partially vetoed a bill that would have regulated medical marijuana dispensaries and producers on a state level.

The veto eliminated a grey area in the 1988 voter-approved initiative to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes which didn't criminalize nor approve dispensaries to sell marijuana to patients and caused a proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries in Seattle.

The new state law prohibits the distribution of medical marijuana with the exception of small co-operatives of up to 10 patients, totaling no more than 45 plants.

The new city ordinance requires medical marijuana dispensaries to obtain a business license, comply with city codes and pay taxes and fees. The open use and display of marijuana products will be prohibited and the dispensaries are subject to nuisance complaints, meaning that repeated complaints against the establishments could lead to fines or possible closure.

"It's a sigh of relief," said Tyler Godfrey , co-owner of a Ballard medical marijuana dispensary called Fweedom Collective. "This finally lets us operate as a normal business would."

When the Ballard News-Tribune first spoke to Godfrey a month ago, he expressed much concern about the future of his business.

"To be honest, we don't know what is going to happen under the new state law. When we dove into [this business] in 2009, it was because the idea that the medical marijuana initiatives would pass through. That didn't happen and it leaves us in limbo. Our careers, investments, and livelihoods are on the line. There's a reality that we may have to close," Godfrey said back in June.

Godfrey and his partners are card-holding medical marijuana patients themselves who obtain their products from other patients who produce more than they need.

"The patients come in here and they're so happy to see a clean, professional space with knowledgeable staff who can help them with their medical needs," Godfrey said.

Not everyone can smoke marijuana and Fweedom offers a variety of different products including topical items like massage oils and edible items like marijuana-infused baked goods, oils, pasta sauce and soft drinks.

"We'll work with the patient to find something that will work for them and get them the medication they need," Godfrey said.

His patients suffer from serious illnesses like cancer, MS, chronic pain, and insomnia.

"Many patients have never experienced the party-side or hippie-side of marijuana" he said. "They're just happy to have found something that actually works for them without the side effects of narcotics."

The bill states that an estimated estimated 25,000 Seattle residents are medical marijuana patients and that the City of Seattle "believes that the medical use of cannabis should be conducted in a safe and fair manner or the health, safety and welfare of the community."

Upon hearing the news on Monday, Godfrey said he was thankful to the City for "realizing that the people of Seattle need this".

"I'm happy we can stay open. The patients need us. It's a necessity for patients to have a professional place to get their medicine," Godfrey said.

Godfrey said he's happy that this measure will enhance regulation and standards of medical marijuana products as the growing number of dispensaries in Seattle worried him.

"There should be a standard, just like any prescription drug is regulated. When a patient comes in here I can tell them exactly where it came from. We're very selective and only accept the best quality medicine.
There are a lot of strands of marijuana on the market but few can be considered medical-grade," Godfrey said.

Senator Kohl-Welles is also pleased with the City's vote.

“I commend the City’s swift action to revamp its medical marijuana regulations this week,” she said.

“This move will ensure that qualifying patients within the City are able to maintain safe and reliable access to their medicine until we are able to fix the state law in Olympia so that patients across the state will have the same secure access as those in Seattle.”