By MIKE BAKER

The Associated Press

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This version adds detail on federal law. Corrects that plant maximum is 45, not 99)

OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed key parts of a bill Friday that aimed to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries, saying she could not approve a measure that might put state workers at risk of federal criminal charges.

The state’s two U.S. attorneys previously told Gregoire that state employees would not be immune from prosecution for their role in regulating the industry.

Prosecutors contend that the measure would create a licensing scheme that permits large-scale marijuana cultivation and distribution.

A union that represents thousands of state employees asked Gregoire to veto the bill.

“I cannot disregard federal law and our two U.S. attorneys on the chance that state employees may never be prosecuted,” Gregoire said.

“What do you say to them if they are? What would you tell that employee?”

The veto came just a day after federal authorities raided at least two dispensaries in Spokane. It immediately brought condemnation from advocates who noted that other states with similar laws haven’t seen state workers charged.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think you can get any better than the solution that was on her desk that she chose to veto,” said Shankar Narayan, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Seattle. “She should have signed the entire bill.”

Federal law still prohibits marijuana for medical uses.

Gregoire said she is interested in working with governors in other states on pushing to change federal law and reclassify medical marijuana as a Schedule 2 substance, putting it on par with addictive but accepted drugs such as morphine or oxycodone.

The bill sought to address murky areas of the state’s medical marijuana laws.

Dispensaries have popped up all around the state [there are now three in Clallam County] since the voter-approved medical marijuana law from 1998, even though those outlets aren’t specifically allowed nor forbidden in the statutes.

Police and prosecutors worry that the operations could be shielding broader criminal enterprises.

Current state law does not allow for marijuana sales and says patients must grow it themselves or designate a caregiver to grow it for them.

Proponents of the law contend that patients with terminal or debilitating conditions do not have the ability or resources to grow marijuana, so they believe retail-like access points are needed to prevent a black market for the product.

Gregoire did approve of parts of the bill, such as increased protections from state penalties. She also approved of cooperative grow operations.

The bill allows groups of patients to collaborate on community gardens, which could have up to 45 plants. Only qualified patients would be allowed to use the marijuana grown in these gardens.

Gregoire said she wants to continue working with the Legislature on passing other parts of the bill, such as a pot registry that would be accessible to law enforcement.

State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, said she was disappointed by the veto of a bill that was more than a year in the making.

She said she believes the risk of federal prosecution of state employees is low and that the state needs the provisions to help qualifying patients get access to a legal and reliable source of medicine.

Lawmakers have only about three weeks remaining in a special session called largely to deal with the state’s budget.

“While the time constraints are significant in passing a bill during the special session, I am optimistic we can get the job done,” Kohl-Welles said.