— by John Stang of Crosscut.com

Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill into law Friday [April 24] to merge Washington’s recreational and medical marijuana systems under one entity for regulatory purposes.

Essentially, the bill by Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, brings the state’s largely unregulated medical marijuana world under the umbrella of the just-renamed Washington State Liquor & Cannabis Board. The bill had extensive bipartisan support, as well as collaboration across the aisle in its development.

“We have a measure that will create a medical marijuana system that works for our state,” Inslee said.

“I recognize the solution is not perfect. However, I do think this is far better than today’s wholly unregulated system,” the governor added, making a reference to the lack of controls on the sales of medical pot.

(To read the full article, go to crosscut.com/2015/04/marijuana-marriage-2-pot-systems-pronounced )

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