Pubdate: Sat, 24 Nov 2012
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2012 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Author: Jonathan Martin

BUZZ OF EXPOSURE FOR POLICE: GUIDE TO LEGAL POT GOES VIRAL

Got Super Skunk in the trunk? Can you smoke pot at a magic show? 
Seattle police's "Marijwhatnow?" guide to legal marijuana use is 
getting attention around the world.

The most-read news release in Seattle police history includes advice 
about getting high at a magic show and what could happen if a police 
dog smells the ounce of "Super Skunk" stashed in the trunk.

It artfully ends with a video clip of Gandalf the Gray blowing a bit 
of "Old Toby" into a smoke ring shaped like a sailing ship.

It is a strange, new world of soon-to-be-legal marijuana in 
Washington state, thanks to Initiative 502. And the Seattle Police 
Department's willingness to play along has gone viral, gaining it 
attention from the Irish Independent to The New York Times to Rachel 
Maddow's "Best New Thing in the World," passed among online readers 
from Honolulu to Paris like a ... well, you know.

The department's "Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use In 
Seattle" is intended to provide simple answers to the confusing 
consequences of I-502, before and after marijuana becomes legal Dec. 
6. But Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, a journalist-turned-writer for the 
Seattle police's SPD Blotter blog, wanted to take an "accessible" approach.

Where can you legally smoke pot? Will Seattle police help the feds 
bust state-licensed marijuana stores? Can cops light up? The answers 
are all there.

"Everyone (in the SPD) was just as surprised as me to see it explode 
the way it did," said Spangenthal-Lee, 29, who gained a following for 
his crime reporting at The Stranger and SeattleCrime.com.

He had help. The clip of Gandalf lighting up a pipe in "The Lord of 
the Rings" was suggested by Seattle police spokesman Sgt. Sean 
Whitcomb. Assistant Chief Jim Pugel provided many of the answers, and 
laughed when he saw a first draft, said Spangenthal-Lee.

One question: "SPD seized a bunch of my marijuana before I-502 
passed. Can I have it back?" Short answer: "No."

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes asked the Police Department and 
Mayor Mike McGinn to remove one question, related to federal law and 
seizure of marijuana.

"SPD, to its credit, wants to be able to relate to the community," 
said Holmes, a sponsor of I-502. "We have to be the lawyers who say, 
'OK, tone and style is your call, but let's make sure we have it 
legally correct.' "

And I-502 is specific, Holmes said: It allows 1 ounce of marijuana, 
after Dec. 6, for people 21 and over, not in public, and doesn't 
affect the federal ban or specify how an enthusiast can legally buy 
pot until state-licensed stores open in at least a year from now.

That's addressed in "Marijwhatnow:"

Question: "December 6th seems like a really long ways away. What 
happens if I get caught with marijuana before then?"

Answer: "Hold your breath."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom