A third medical marijuana bill—and the most comprehensive this session—to amend Washington’s troubled Medical Use of Marijuana Act was introduced in the state legislature yesterday. Clarifications to the 1998 voter-passed law are long overdue for patients who have tried to comply with the ambiguous initiative but have found themselves facing criminal charges. The bills seek to draw clearer lines between compliance and violation—thereby, supporters hope, reducing arrests of seriously ill patients and their family members.

SB 6032: Introduced yesterday by Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36) in the Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee, this thorough bill would clarify who can provide cannabis (a “designated provider”), what language should appear on authorization forms (less restrictive), and how patients can cultivate their gardens (with help from designated providers or other patients).

HB 1395: This bill, introduced by Representative Sherry Appleton (D-23), would recognize authorizations signed by physicians from other states that also have medical marijuana laws. The bill specifically follows through on the recommendations of the state’s supreme court, who wished for patients to escape the horror that befell the diabetic, congenitally deformed, broken-spined, chronic-migraine-suffering Sharon Tracy who was convicted on the technicality.

HB 2124: Another bill from Appleton, this one would prevent locally funded law enforcement from giving case information (i.e., turning in patients) to law-enforcement agencies that don’t recognize our medical marijuana law (i.e., the feds).

The bills are now up against the clock to get out of committee and pass both houses before the session ends April 22.