Marijuana in the Public Eye

Marijuana has been observed as a Scheduled 1 controlled substance in the state of Washington up until last December. This year police and Washington residence are slowly trying to grasp the fact that marijuana has now been legalized.

In the November election, the residents of Washington St. voted to legalize the possession of marijuana. The law went into effect on Dec. 6 2012, unfortunately there are currently no secondary laws governing this new initiative. Pullman City Attorney Laura McAloon “there are currently no rules for the state about I-502.” This leaves individuals and the police force in a very difficult position.

Since there is no legal way to obtain marijuana the Liquor Control Board for the state of Washington is going to need to amend the laws surrounding marijuana obtainment and usage. “Transition is tough,” said Commander Christ Tennant of the Pullman PD. He and his department have no control over what legislature passes, they also do not have the ability to express their opinions on the issue. Tennant said “the department of licensing was given an entire year to come up with rules and regulations on producing manufacturing and selling.” Many people find this to be upsetting. Residences of Washington understand they can possess marijuana legally, but many are unaware that it is still an infraction to be caught selling or purchasing marijuana.

Fortunately for marijuana users the Washington State Liquor Control Board had one of their first hearings last night in Spokane Washington. They began discussing the different actions needed to make I-502 a more stable state law. Bryan Smith, Media relations for the WSLCB said “the board plans on taking the next year to come up with the different laws necessary for I-502 to run smoothly.” The board is hoping that by late 2013 they can finalize their rules enough to establish some kind of legal marijuana retail.

As for individuals who have been purchasing marijuana legally with marijuana medical cards; McAloon said “the laws surrounding medical marijuana were not amended and will not change because of the new imitative.” Commander Tennant said that because of medical marijuana patients the state found legalizing marijuana an easier option for doctors who can only attend to so many patients at a time.

So far I-502 has yet to affect Whitman County’s Sheriff Brett Myers. He is aware that there are no laws in place and has been treating any public marijuana infractions the same as before. It does not seem like much has changed since the law went into effect. Individuals who voted for the law just need to wait till the WSLCB comes up with secondary laws surrounding the initiative. Smith said “there will be three separate tiers of I-502; production, process, and retail.”

From a legal stand point there is no major difference in obtaining marijuana. It is still illegal to purchase, grow, export, or sell. Tennant and Myers both said that their departments are doing their best to adjust to the new laws and wait anxiously for secondary marijuana laws to be created.

Residences of Washington are going to need to be aware and pay close attention to the WSLCB and their upcoming decisions. This will help keep individual out of trouble while legislature takes their time creating the rules to govern the new marijuana law.