Pubdate: Thu, 02 May 2013
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2013 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409

STATE CHANGES DEFINITION OF POT

Washington finalized swift changes to the state's definition of 
marijuana Wednesday after prosecutors and crime-lab scientists 
expressed concern about the technical aspects of a voter approved 
legalization initiative.

Gov. Jay Inslee approved the revision, which also was supported by 
the Seattle lawyer who drafted the initiative that legalized 
recreational marijuana last year. The bill was first submitted in the 
Legislature just a week ago, and lawmakers in both chambers quickly 
moved it to the governor's desk.

"It was important to get this done in a timely fashion," Inslee said.

The problem centered on a portion of the initiative that was written 
to distinguish marijuana from industrial hemp, which is grown for its 
fiber. The measure defined marijuana as having more than 0.3 percent 
of a certain intoxicating compound called delta-9 THC.

Scientists with the state crime lab say that, often, even potent 
marijuana can have less than 0.3 percent of delta-9 THC. It's only 
when heated or burned that a different compound, THC acid, turns into 
delta-9 THC and the pot achieves its full potency.

Instead of accounting for just one intoxicating compound, the new 
measure accounts for both components, defining marijuana as having 
more than 0.3 percent of the two added together.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom