Pubdate: Wed, 30 Jan 2013
Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA)
Copyright: 2013 The Daily Herald Co.
Contact:  http://www.heraldnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190
Author: Gene Johnson, Associated Press

INSLEE PLANS WAYS TO THWART POT SMUGGLING OUT OF STATE

SEATTLE - So far, no one is suggesting checkpoints or fences to keep
Washington state's legal pot within its borders.

But Gov. Jay Inslee insists there are ways to prevent the bulk
smuggling of the state's newest cash crop into the black market,
including digitally tracking weed to ensure that it goes from where it
is grown to the stores where it is sold.

With sales set to begin later this year, he hopes to be a good
neighbor and keep vanloads of premium, legal bud from cruising into
Idaho, Oregon and other states that don't want people getting stoned
for fun.

It's not just about generating goodwill with fellow governors. Inslee
is trying to persuade U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder not to sue to
block the state from licensing pot growers, processors and sellers.
Marijuana remains illegal under federal law. "I am going to be
personally committed to have a well regulated, well disciplined, well
tracked, well inventory-controlled, well law-enforcement coordinated
approach," said Inslee, who expects to give Holder more details by
next week.

Keeping a lid on the weed is just one of the numerous challenges
Washington state authorities and their counterparts in Colorado -
where voters also legalized pot use - will face in the coming months.

The potential of regulatory schemes to keep pot from being diverted
isn't clear. Colorado already has intensive rules aimed at keeping its
medical marijuana market in line, including the digital tracking of
cannabis, bar codes on every plant, surveillance video and manifests
of all legal pot shipments.

But law enforcement officials say marijuana from Colorado's
dispensaries often makes its way to the black market, and even the
head of the Colorado agency charged with tracking the medical pot
industry suggests no one should copy its measures.

The agency has been beset by money woes and had to cut many of its
investigators. Even if the agency had all the money it wanted, the
state's medical pot rules are "a model of regulatory overreach," too
cumbersome and expensive to enforce, Laura Harris said in a statement.

Last fall, voters made Washington and Colorado the first states to
pass laws legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and setting up
systems of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores where
adults over 21 can walk in and buy up to an ounce of heavily taxed
cannabis. Both states are working to develop rules for the emerging
industry.

The Obama administration could sue to block the legal markets from
operating, on the grounds that actively regulating an illegal
substance conflicts with federal drug law. The DOJ is reviewing the
laws but has given no signals about its plans.

It has never sued states like Colorado that have regulated medical
marijuana, even though it could under the same legal principles.

Part of the DOJ's political calculus in deciding whether to sue is
likely to be how well the department believes the two states can keep
the legal weed within their borders. During a meeting with Inslee last
week, Holder asked a lot of questions about diversion, Inslee said.

Alison Holcomb, who led Washington's legal pot campaign, said it's
important to respect states that haven't legalized weed by not
flooding their black markets. The first step, she said, is for the
state to figure out how much pot should be produced, and then grant
licenses accordingly. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D