Pubdate: Wed, 13 Nov 2013
Source: Stranger, The (Seattle, WA)
Copyright: 2013 The Stranger
Contact:  http://www.thestranger.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2241
Author: Ben Livingston

YOU CAN'T SMOKE IT IN PUBLIC

But You Can on December 6 at a Special Event in Seattle Center

When state-licensed pot stores open in six months, Seattle will face a
conundrum: how to deal with tourists who buy pot but have nowhere to
legally smoke it. State law prohibits using marijuana in public. Folks
also can't smoke inside the retail pot stores, meaning cannabis will
have no tavern equivalent (like Amsterdam-style coffee shops).

Seattle also lacks pot-friendly hotel accommodations. Earlier this
year, I tried to persuade NORML to hold its annual pot conference
here, but the plan fell through because Seattle hotels aren't cool
with pot smoking-even in designated smoking rooms.

City leaders have been discussing the cannabis consumption quandary
since Initiative 502 passed, and they have issued permits to a very
few events that explicitly applied for pot-smoking permission. Last
May, Seattle's annual marijuana march received a permit for a weed
tent at Westlake Park, and High Times magazine held a huge hash oil
free-for-all in September with the city's blessing.

But that pot tolerance may not extend to indoor establishments. Last
month, Seattle & King County Public Health fined six hookah bars for
violating the state's indoor smoking ban. Those businesses claimed
exemption as "private clubs," but health inspectors allege they were
open to the public or had employees.

"The smoking ban is the biggest hurdle" to coffee shops, says
Assistant City Attorney Matthew York. "We have to live within the
dynamics of the Clean Air Act."

Last week, the state liquor board filed proposed rules to ban all
cannabis consumption-including eating it-in private clubs that are
licensed to serve alcohol to members. One such place exists in
Seattle: the Mercury, a members-only club on Capitol Hill that serves
liquor and lets folks smoke cigarettes. But on the first Monday of
the month, tobacco is eschewed for cannabis. If the liquor board has
its way, the club will be forced to stop.

So where can a law-abiding tourist get high in this marijuana mecca? I
found an answer, at least for one day of the year.

On December 6, Seattle Center will be the venue for a
first-anniversary celebration of legalized cannabis in America. Last
year, Seattle stoners spontaneously convened on the Space Needle lawn
to celebrate legal pot, and this year, the event is actually permitted
by the city, with privacy fencing and a smoking area.
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MAP posted-by: Matt