Pubdate: Fri, 07 Dec 2012
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2012 The Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Gene Johnson
Page: 25A

STATE BUILDS "FROM GROUND UP" ON RULES, FEDERAL LAW

People openly lit joints under the Space Needle and on Seattle's 
sidewalks - then blew the smoke at TV news cameras. To those looking 
to "get baked," the city's Police Department suggested pizza and a 
"Lord of the Rings" movie marathon. Cliff Despeaux, Reuters People 
light up near the Space Needle in Seattle after Washington's law 
legalizing marijuana went into effect Thursday.

Marijuana possession became legal under state law Thursday, the day a 
measure approved by voters to regulate marijuana like alcohol took 
effect. It prompted midnight celebrations from pot activists who say 
the war on drugs has failed.

But as the dawn of legalization arrives, Washington and Colorado, 
where a similar law passed last month, now face some complicated 
issues: How on Earth do you go about creating a functioning, legal 
weed market? How do you ensure adults the freedom to use pot 
responsibly, or not so responsibly, while keeping it away from teenagers?

And perhaps most pressingly, will the Justice Department stand by 
while the states issue licenses to the growers, processors and 
sellers of a substance that, under federal law, remains illegal?

"We're building this from the ground all the way up," said Brian 
Smith, spokesman for the Washington Liquor Control Board, which is 
charged with regulating the drug. "The initiative didn't just wave a 
magic wand and make everybody here an expert on marijuana."

The measures approved Nov. 6 have two main facets. First, they OK the 
possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults over age 21. That 
took effect Thursday in Washington, though it remains illegal-for 
now-to sell pot.

In Colorado, where pot fans will also be able to grow their own 
plants, the law takes effect by Jan. 5.

The regulatory schemes are is trickier. Washington's Liquor Control 
Board, which has been regulating alcohol for 78 years, has a year to 
adopt rules for the fledgling pot industry: How many growers, 
processors and stores should there be in each county? Should there be 
limits on potency? How should the pot be inspected, packaged and labeled?

To help answer those questions, officials will turn to experts in the 
field - including police, public-policy experts and some of the 
state's purveyors of medical marijuana. Smith anticipates undercover 
monitoring operations to make sure the private, state-licensed stores 
aren't selling to minors.

With legalization, officials need to look at some of the measures 
that have been shown to reduce teen drinking, said Derek Franklin, 
president of the Washington Association for Substance Abuse and 
Violence Prevention.

That includes public education about the risks of pot use and driving 
while stoned, emphasizing patrols to look for stoned drivers, and 
encouraging cities to adopt laws that hold parents accountable if 
they host parties at which kids are provided marijuana.

"We're really going to need to get all hands on deck to sort through 
this," he said.

Federal vs. state

The marijuana will be taxed heavily, with revenues possibly reaching 
hundreds of millions of dollars a year for schools, health care, 
basic government services and substance-abuse prevention.

Unless, of course, the Justice Department has something to say about it.

Few people question the states' ability to simply remove all 
penalties under their own laws for marijuana. The federal government 
would remain free to raid state-licensed growers or stores and 
prosecute those involved in federal court, just as it remains free to 
shut down medical-marijuana dispensaries in states with medical-marijuana laws.

Whether a state can regulate an illegal substance is another 
question. Many constitutional law scholars say "no": Washington's and 
Colorado's regulatory schemes conflict with marijuana's prohibition 
in the federal Controlled Substances Act, and when state and federal 
laws conflict, the feds win out, they say.

So the Justice Department could likely sue to block the regulatory 
schemes. But will it? What's better, from the administration's 
perspective - an ounce of weed legalized with regulation or an ounce 
ofweed legalized with no oversight?

The department has given no hints about its plans.

Smokin' celebration

While pot fans wait for an answer, they are partying. Though 
Washington's law prohibits smoking in public, about 200 gathered 
under the Space Needle for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 
midnight. A few dozen on a sidewalk outside the north Seattle 
headquarters of the annual Hempfest celebration did the same, 
offering joints to reporters.

"I feel like a kid in a candy store!" shouted Hempfest volunteer 
Darby Hageman. "It's all becoming real now!"

The Seattle Police Department e-mailed its 1,300 officers, telling 
them not to write any citations for smoking pot in public until 
further notice. A voter initiative passed in 2003 made marijuana 
enforcement the department's lowest priority.

Officers will nevertheless advise people not to smoke in public, 
police spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote on the SPD Blotter. "The 
police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly 
get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon 
in the privacy of your own home, if youwant to."

He offered a catchy directive referring to the film "The Big 
Lebowski," popular with many marijuana fans: "The Dude abides, and 
says 'take it inside!' "
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom