In Seattle there’s a move to give more health-care professionals authority to prescribe medical marijuana.

Senate Bill 5798 expands the list of licensed medical practitioners to include:

• Physicians’ assistants
• Nurse practitioners
• Naturopathic physicians

Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, one of the bill’s sponsors, explains:

“The reason is that, especially in rural areas in the state and away from Puget Sound, because of long distances, many people do not see M.D.s. They see nurse practitioners and physicians assistants who have prescriptive authority.”

Apparently the bill passed through the House on Wednesday with ‘little debate.’ Although two amendments were added that dealt with how the prescriptions should be written.  These amendments mean that the bill will need to go back to the Senate for approval.

Medical Marijuana: Washington State