Pubdate: Tue, 05 Aug 2014
Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Copyright: 2014 The Seattle Times Company
Contact:  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/409
Page: A9

ADJUSTMENT NEEDED TO NEW NORMS OF MARIJUANA

THE one-man protest against legal marijuana waged by Seattle Police 
Officer Randy Jokela made a joke of a serious new law.

The veteran cop wrote 80 percent of the city's public marijuana 
consumption citations over the last six months, according to new city 
data. He showed contempt for the law, voters and his bosses in 
scribbling ad hominem commentaries on infractions, including ones he 
apparently wrote based on a coin flip. Regrettable behavior, indeed.

Also regrettable is the flagrant disregard of the law by too many 
marijuana enthusiasts. While Initiative 502 legalizes recreational 
marijuana, it bans marijuana smoking in public. Full stop. The law 
does not entitle consumers to shove their marijuana smoke down the 
breathing passages of people who are simply walking down a sidewalk 
or wandering in a park.

Washington is still adapting to the new era of legal marijuana, with 
tweaks needed to business regulations, drug-free workplace rules and 
tax policy. There also needs to be a tweak of the unwritten code of 
good civic behavior.

The police should play a role in setting the new norm. By Seattle 
city code and practice, marijuana enforcement is the lowest police 
priority. A city ordinance governing public consumption, passed last 
year, requires officers to give a warning before issuing a $27 
public-use ticket. But if that warning is given and ignored, officers 
should pull out their infraction book and write the ticket.

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, a sponsor of Initiative 502, said 
he was concerned that the tickets were written in a racially and 
geographically disproportionate manner. But he defended the need to 
police public consumption.

"This isn't about fining people; it's about getting people to stop 
smoking marijuana in public, especially in crowded areas and places 
where families and children congregate," he said in a statement.

The state Legislature also has a role in setting the new norm. The 
state is badly in need of a venue - such as a marijuana bar - for 
tourists to consume.

The state indoor-smoking law is an obstacle, but the Legislature, 
focused on raising revenue for education, can find a creative way to 
create and regulate semiprivate spaces for marijuana use.

Officer Jokela's misconduct shouldn't set the standard for 
enforcement. But it should start a conversation about the new norms 
for public marijuana consumption.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom