Quote Originally Posted by cannasense
RCW 69.51A.030 states:

A physician licensed under chapter 18.71 or 18.57 RCW shall be excepted from the state's criminal laws and shall not be penalized in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, for:

(1) Advising a qualifying patient about the risks and benefits of medical use of marijuana or that the qualifying patient may benefit from the medical use of marijuana where such use is within a professional standard of care or in the individual physician's medical judgment; or

(2) Providing a qualifying patient with valid documentation, based upon the physician's assessment of the qualifying patient's medical history and current medical condition, that the medical use of marijuana may benefit a particular qualifying patient.

In order to be in compliance with this section, and benefit from the protections it offers, a health care professional's recommendation must be based not only on the patient's qualifying condition (medical records) but also their current medical condition.

It becomes more and more difficult for the authorizing health care professional to claim that their recommendation is based on the patient's current condition, when there is large gap of time between the date the recommendation was made and when it became necessary for the patient to prove they are legal.

So while the recommendation without an expiration date may be valid, it is up to the recommending health care professional to attest to it's validity.

Especially with the new requirements that require the recommendation be on tamper resistant paper with at least a date of issue, it seems naive to rely on the police or prosecutor to not check with the issuing health care professional as to the validity of an open-ended recommendation.

If you believe your recommending health care professional will put their license and freedom on the line for someone they last saw in the distant past then take the Dept. of Health at face value and rest assured that your open-ended recommendation will keep you safe.

Personally I'll take the sure thing of at least yearly contact with my authorizing health care professional.
[So while the recommendation without an expiration date may be valid, it is up to the recommending health care professional to attest to it's validity.]

So as you so graciously point out above here cannasense,my healthcare practitioner "certified" my non-expiration dated authorization was indeed valid, it was the non-health care practitioner clinic owner which declared my authorization was invalid because the "clinic" (his corp. policy) says it's only is valid for 1 yr....see the legal hump you yourself pointed out which is square on point here...who the hell gave a non-healthcare layperson the legal authority to over rule a licensed professionals medical opinion?

Certainly not the legislature but, the judiciary which is ad-hoc and discriminatory enforcement which is void-for-vagueness under that doctrine and separation of powers doctrine violation, i.e. unconstitutional. Since the 1 yr. is not to be located in plain terms and language in the whole chapter anywhere which would apprise the public and leo of what conduct is prohibited. It come from commercialization of the practice of medicine by those whom can't qualify for a learned profession license, they are skirting the laws and making a mockery of the medical profession.
jamessr Reviewed by jamessr on . WA State Card Renew Ok I've heard 2 stories now! Where can I find the WA State rules/guidelines for renewing your medical card. I heard that there is NO renewal, and I've heard its a yearly thing. Can someone please help me find this information? Beaglebabe Yakima Rating: 5