WA’s MMJ Patients are A Dying Breed

As of March 7, 2018, the Dept. of Health reports that 30,340 total Patient Recognition Cards (PRCs)have been created over the first 20 months during which medical cannabis has been regulated in Washington State.  This number is, further, broken down to show that 219 of those PRCs were issued to Minor Patients, 27,750 were issued to Adult Patients and 2,371 were issued to Designated Providers (who, generally, source medicine for others unable to do so for themselves).

Graphing these numbers, as reported, shows the following trend of cumulative PRC’s granted.

Notice the orderly rate at which PRCs have been granted across the first 20 months of MMJ’s regulation … for both adults (Patients and Designated Providers) and Minor Children.  In spite of this orderly rate, WA’s 30,000 patients registrations represents a registration in only 0.41% of the population.  This represents less than 1/3 of the 1.47% of OR’s and CO’s combined population that are currently registered as Medical Marijuana Patients (per the Marijuana Policy Project). 

With Washington over 20 months into the absorption of MMJ by the regulated system, if only 1/3 of the patients expected (per OR’s and CO’s example) to be registered have been registered, that would suggest that WA’s regulated medical system is not meeting patient needs (see HI-Blog for a discussion of this).

Problem with DOH Data

Unfortunately, things are much worse than this.  A problem arose interpreting the DOH data beginning July of 2017, in that PRCs only last one year, and the numbers being reported by the Dept. of Health include renewals and replacements as well as original issuances.

Per the DOH website:

Total cards created and cards created for each category may not be representative of total ACTIVE cards. The numbers listed represent initial cards and cards that were replaced, renewed, corrected or revoked

Most people seem to have been using the DOH data as if they reflected the current number of patients.  These data do not reflect the current number of patients.  They reflect the cumulative number of PRCs that have been granted since the inception of the regulated MMJ system on July 1, 2016.

Fortunately, the DOH has supplied sufficient data to correct for annual renewals.

The following charts the number of ACTIVE patient registrations in Washington, broken out by Adults (Patients and Designated Providers) and Minor Children, taking into account the fact that registrations only last for 12 months.

This shows a clear difference, in that the number of active Minor Patients appears to have stabilized around 140, statewide (rather than the 230 reported by DOH).

The number of adults registered (patients and designated providers), on the other hand, has fallen by 50% in the 8 months since registration renewals began in earnest.

Let that sink in for a moment.  In spite of fewer than 1/3 of the number of patients registering that were expected to register, approximately ½ of those have ALREADY decided to not renew their PRC.

Put another way, WA state currently has fewer than 12,000 active registered MMJ Patients, 20 months following the closure of all non-regulated dispensaries.  That represents about 0.15% of Washington’s population … or about one 11^th of the number of registered MMJ Patients expected, given the rates seen in CO and OR.

 The Medical Marijuana Market established by Law (SSB-5052) and enacted by Rule (per the LCB and DOH) is something that fewer than 1 in 10 Washington Medical Marijuana Patients are choosing to utilize.

One wonders where they might be sourcing their meds?

This should be an embarrassment to both the DOH and the LCB.  Please speak with your State Legislators between now and the next session to sensitize them to this issue.  Our laws and the rules that enact them are not currently meeting the needs of Washington’s Patients.  If, in the brief history of regulated medical cannabis in Washington, there has been an emergency that merits the use of emergency rule-making powers on the part of the LCB, this (I humbly submit) is it.

Their own data tell us that.  Clearly. 

Unless, of course, they really don’t believe that cannabis can be medicine and that real people depend upon it.  In this day and age, I find that difficult to believe.  Please bring this to the attention of your legislators and rule-makers and media contacts.

….and they won’t even allow homegrow here in WA.  WTF?