AND THEN THERE WERE TWO >>>

And then there were two. The News Tribune reported this morning on a bust at Club 420 - the so-called medical marijuana dispensary, ‘round the corner from Costco. Law enforcement officials allege the two men were arrested were selling marijuana for profit and selling to people who did not have required medical authorization. 

While we wait for the two men to be charged, it would be too easy to take this as evidence that medical marijuana in Washington serves something other than the desperate needs of thousands of people in pain. When I wrote about Club 420 a couple months ago, I wasn't all that interested in the people running the show. I was interested in the people they served. There are other clubs like 420 that are likely shaken by this recent bust. There are hundreds of patients likely terrified about what this means for them, their legal rights, and the promise of relief that continues to hang by a legal thread.

If these men turn out to be guilty, shame on them. There are a lot of people that are likely screwed because a few people decided to turn a legitimate movement into a cash cow. We walk a razor's edge, folks. Until it's legal, we have to play by the rules. To do otherwise puts people with real, desperate need at risk.

For all you stoners out there, this isn't your movement. Your movement is legalization. Until then, leave the clubs for the people that truly need it.

For people running clubs - every step outside the bounds of state law is a step toward a precipice. Take too many steps, and you fall. And you take a bunch of people with you - people who are suffering - over the edge.

For everyone else, don't allow yourselves the lazy mental luxury of damning people who have a legitimate need. The fact that a couple of people may have twisted the medical marijuana movement doesn't delegitimize the need that Washington voters recognized when they approved marijuana for medical use.

The need remains, and it's as real as it ever was.