Legislature passes recreational marijuana reform bill

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Legislature has passed a measure that that makes several changes to the state's new recreational marijuana law, ranging from changing the market's tax structure to zoning rules.

House Bill 2136 passed the Senate on a bipartisan 36-7 vote Saturday and now heads to the governor's desk.

The House passed the measure Friday on a 59-38 vote. One of the main changes to the current system would be the elimination of the three-tier tax structure that would be replaced with a single excise tax of 37 percent at the point of sale.

The excise tax is one that everyone would have to pay, both medical marijuana patients and recreational users.

However, under the bill, patients who are in a registry created under another bill passed by the Legislature earlier this year would be exempt from sales tax on their purchases.