*Lifevine Collective is a network of qualified marijuana patients linked together by their mutual need to produce the organic medicine for personal use. Established in 2000, the Lifevine Collective has been a model of success in Washington for more than eight years. It is explicitly designed to conform with Washington State laws protecting qualified patients from prosecution for possession of medical marijuana. 

As distribution of cannabis remains illegal, cultivation is the only method by which cannabis may be obtained under state law.  While not specifically sanctioned under RCW: 69.51A, collective cultivation is also not denied.  Due to the costly high-tech equipment and resources required for indoor cultivation of medical cannabis, the majority of patients are unable to grow their own medicine.  Thus, collective cultivation has become the only viable legal option for most patients. 

Each patient is allowed to possess up to 15 marijuana plants and up to 24 ounces of dried marijuana within current Washington State Department of Health guidelines.   There is no stipulation prohibiting patients from combining resources in a common garden site. Therefore, two patients may possess up to 30 plants together in a common location.  Three patients may possess up to 45 plants collectively, etc.  In addition to the limits on numbers of plants and amounts of dried medicine allowed, the following guidelines are offered for voluntary self-regulation of marijuana patient groups to insure the safety and protection of marijuana patients and the general public.  

The Lifevine Collective is not a "buyer's club" or "cooperative". The word "cooperative" is rooted in agricultural business. In a cooperative, farmers band together to market their crops with a standardized supply and price structure. The word "collective" is also derived from the field of agriculture, but without the reference to a commercial organization. In collectives, people actually farm together for group subsistence with no outside markets. Lifevine members do not buy or sell medical marijuana. Lifevine patients work together to produce the medical-grade cannabis shared by the entire membership. The Lifevine Collective operates on the simple principle: patients helping patients.

Lifevine Principles of Collective Cultivation

The medical use of cannabis is upheld in modern scientific studies as well as in many state laws. Physicians may recommend cannabis to treat certain conditions, and police are obliged to refrain from exacting the punishments levied on non-medical users. Amounts of medicine allowable and many other limitations are clearly codified, yet the rules remain incomplete. States that favor medical cannabis generally lack comprehensive implementation of their medical marijuana statutes due to the all-pervasive influence of federal prohibition. To cite the one state allowance that most frequently remains incomplete, qualified patients may possess cannabis legally, yet have no means to obtain that cannabis under the law.

Black market pot-sellers abound, but their wares are frequently less than acceptable as a medicine, and the prices charged by illegal distributors are typically cost-prohibitive for the ordinary patient. Cannabis seeds and live starter plants are not readily available through black market sources in the US. In most states, the only way patients may obtain cannabis legally is to grow it themselves; but before that can happen, a patient must first acquire the plant from another qualified patient.

While there is no specific allowance for group growing, there is also no provision explicitly banning qualified patients from combined cultivation. In fact, in order for them to legally procure cannabis plants to begin with, they are limited to obtaining the plants or seeds directly from another qualified patient. Sharing medical cannabis among qualified recipients is fundamental to the practice of WA State law. While not explicitly granted, collective gardening is the logical extension of current statutes.

_____________________________________________________________________ *Lifevine (lif' vin') n. alternative medicine 1. a medicinal herb, cannabis, ingested to alleviate pain or ill health. 2. a network of qualified marijuana patients linked together by their mutual need to produce the organic medicine for personal use.

Please see the instructions for becoming a Lifevine member.