SPD Tells Parents to Take Usual Precautions Just Candy in Original Wrap Seattle police say to watch your children's Halloween candy closely, but don't be too concerned about pot-infused treats sneaking in. For several weeks, Denver police have been warning of pot-infused Halloween treats and telling parents to check their children's candy thoroughly. They showed pictures of marijuana edibles that look "eerily close to mainstream candies." Local and national media picked up those concerns and, suddenly, "Halloweed?" headlines were prevalent. [continues 506 words]
On Oct. 21, Rich Anderson publicly announced that the legalization of marijuana is to blame for many of the problems our city is facing. Considering that under his tenure, the city has banned all access points for medical marijuana patients, and that he continues to uphold restrictive policies to keep out large legal I-502 grow operations, which bring much needed jobs and tax revenue to our city, the real problem we face is Anderson's conservative reefer-mad morality. By restricting legal access to marijuana in our city, not only does he blatantly ignore almost 60 percent of the voters' wishes, his policies are undermining the legalization effort, which in turn, allows the black market to thrive. Politics require the illusion of choice and the Reganomically trained accountant turned councilman naively believes he can eradicate marijuana in our community "by just saying no." The only real choice Mr. Anderson has is to allow marijuana here legally or illegally. Mr. Anderson has made his choice. Now it's time we make ours: Vote Nov. 4 to remove delusional politicians who represent the misguided moral minority so we can finally put an end to the failed prohibition on pot. Jamie Curtismith Everett [end]
When Colorado voters in 2012 approved a ballot measure legalizing marijuana, the state did not merely break new ground in the ongoing battle over narcotics policy. It also bolstered an innovative new political message that compares cannabis to alcohol. Two years later, that comparison is being deployed in key marijuana related elections throughout the country, and drug reform advocates are so sure marijuana is safer than alcohol, they are now challenging police to a "drug duel" to prove their point. The proposal for the duel from David Boyer, an official with the Maine chapter of the Marijuana Policy Project, came after South Portland Police Chief Edward Googins announced his opposition to a municipal referendum to legalize marijuana possession. [continues 522 words]
FOUR months into Washington's era of legal marijuana stores, a strange reality has settled over Seattle: The city doesn't seem to care much about the availability of over-the-counter pot. Combined sales at Seattle's recreational marijuana stores trail those in Vancouver, Spokane and even Bellingham. On a per capita basis, Seattle's sales are about half of Yakima's and one-third of Tacoma's, according to data from the state Liquor Control Board. That's partly due to the glitchy launch of the recreational market created by Initiative 502. Supply problems have led to sky-high prices and late-opening stores. [continues 402 words]
Need to Be Licensed or Shut Down But State Hasn't Set Up Licensing System Yet (AP) - The city of Seattle is warning more than 300 medical-marijuana businesses that their days could be numbered. Officials have sent letters to medical-marijuana growers, processors and dispensaries reminding them they need to either shut down or be licensed by the state by next summer. The problem is that the Legislature hasn't created a licensing system to allow sales of medical marijuana. [continues 285 words]
EVERETT - Marijuana businesses seeking to open in Everett will continue to operate under an interim ordinance that must be renewed every six months. The city council Wednesday unanimously approved the extension despite pleas from marijuana advocates and businesses to either drop or loosen the restrictions. By doing so, the city of Everett bought time in which it can debate the issue, or wait for the Legislature to pass a law on revenue sharing. Among other restrictions, the city's ordinance is tougher than the state guidelines in that it limits producers to a maximum of 2,000 square feet of canopy and prohibits retail businesses from operating within 2,500 feet of each other. [continues 153 words]
Banks Need Updates to Rate Client Risk 2 of State's Top-Selling Shops Are in Vancouver Banking remains a thorny issue for legal marijuana businesses, but regulators in Washington state are trying to make it easier for financial institutions to track their pot-related customers. In the last few days, the state's Liquor Control Board has started posting the sales activity of licensed marijuana growers, sellers and processors online - along with any warnings or fines issued to businesses caught out of compliance. The data show that two of state's top-selling pot shops are in Vancouver, just across the Columbia River from Portland. [continues 554 words]
Jamie Hoffman pours a mixture of what looks like pond scum into a cheesecloth bag set up to strain over a plastic measuring bucket below. "We are mad scientists!" she says to her employee, Calvin Kingsly Ward, before letting out a cackle. Wearing white lab coats and surrounded by beakers, the two wouldn't look out of place at Fred Hutch, or perhaps in a science-fiction film. The green substance, though, isn't algae being tested in a lab - it's a mixture of marijuana trim and ethanol. Licensed recently by the state as a pot processor, Hoffman is converting the green slime into THC-laden oil. [continues 1012 words]
Glass Bong Maker Doesn't Have to Disguise the Purpose of His Functional Art Anymore For Jared Betty, the glass pipe has gone from being half empty to half full. Recreational pot in Washington has been a boon for the glass artist specializing in pipes. "The terminology before the legalization was you couldn't say 'bong,'" said Betty, 38, owner of J-Red Glass. "All my pipes had to be labeled 'For Tobacco Use Only.' And I could only sell under the tobacco use only category or I faced criminal charges for selling marijuana paraphernalia. Now I can say it because that is what it's for anyway." [continues 725 words]
If you wanted to nudge the courts to establish a right to use medical marijuana in states where it is legal, you couldn't pick a more sympathetic plaintiff than Brandon Coats of Colorado. As a teenager, Coats was in an automobile accident that left him severely disabled. Now 34, Coats is a quadriplegic who has had a state medical marijuana card since 2009. He worked as a customer service representative for Dish Network from 2007 to 2010, when Dish fired him after he tested positive for marijuana use during a random drug test. [continues 416 words]
I am irritated by the use of the term "recreational marijuana" for its legalization. There has always been a need for over-the-counter medications that don't require a doctor's prescription, such as cough medicine. I believe that many people are finding the use of easily and legally available marijuana for medicinal purposes as extremely beneficial. To define its legalization as strictly for purposes of "recreational" use is very misleading. Donald Leonard Vancouver [end]
New Store Just a Few Feet Away in Central District Open Amid Sunday Services When a new retail shop started constructing its location at 23rd Avenue and East Union Street in Seattle's Central District, the Mount Calvary Christian Center had no problem allowing the business to excavate under part of the church's property. The primarily black church has been happy to see once rampant crime at the intersection dwindle over the last decade while new businesses pop up and thrive, said Wayne Perryman, a former associate pastor at the church. [continues 556 words]
If California voters elect to approve the sale of marijuana this fall, the state can expect to collect $519,287,052 in sales and excise taxes over one year. So says a report out Thursday by the financial website Nerdwallet. Should all 50 states and the District of Columbia legalize pot, then total state and local tax revenue would reach nearly $3.1 billion. This fall, California, Alaska, Florida and Oregon will offer voters the chance to legalize marijuana in one form or another. [continues 231 words]
Central District Owner Happy With Debut; 'Fortress' Gets Mixed Response Finally, Seattle has a second pot store. Uncle Ike's Pot Shop, in the Central District, opened its doors to a steady stream of customers Tuesday, nearly three months after the first state-licensed pot stores launched. The opening at 23rd Avenue and East Union Street drew customers of all types, including neighbors and tourists, nurses and rock musicians. "It's the full gamut," said Ian Eisenberg, Uncle Ike's owner. "What we were hoping for." [continues 581 words]
A little more than two months after Washington launched recreational marijuana sales, you would be hard pressed to stumble upon any pot shops in the state's biggest city: Until this weekend, only one marijuana store was open in Seattle, and getting there required a trek through industrial developments far from downtown. And when you reach the store, you might not find any pot on the shelves. "We're not doing well because we don't have anything to sell," said James Lathrop, owner of Cannabis City in Seattle. "It's really an insane business." [continues 242 words]
There may be no corner in Seattle with an image problem quite like the Central Area's 23rd and Union. "We've had property appraisers come from Bellevue and be afraid to get out of their cars," says Tom Bangasser, whose family has owned part of the corner for 73 years. It's always been a bad rap, he says. Especially recently, as street crime around the long-troubled corner has plummeted. But when a restaurant there was torched in an arson last year - after two previous owners of restaurants at the same location were murdered - it seemed to clinch that the corner is vexed by a terrible misfortune it just can't shake. [continues 617 words]
But Supply Issues Still a Big Hurdle One Plans Grand Opening With Glass Blowers Oct. 18 Two more state-licensed marijuana stores are scheduled to open soon in Seattle, but their launches could be muted by supply issues that continue to dog the local retail marijuana industry. The owner of Uncle Ike's Pot Shop, Ian Eisenberg, said his company will start serving customers next week at 23rd and Union. Meanwhile, Oltion Hyseni, the owner of Ocean Greens said his company is preparing for a grand opening on Oct. 18. [continues 496 words]
Testing Would Be a Way for Spokane to Determine the Best Way to Maximize Revenue While Ensuring Public Safety. SPOKANE (AP) - The author of Washington's recreational pot law has suggested that Spokane test its sewage for traces of the cannabis chemical THC as a general measure of pot use by residents. American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Alison Holcomb proposed the idea at a Tuesday meeting of the Spokane City Council's marijuana policy subcommittee, The Spokesman Review reported. Testing sewage for the psychoactive element from marijuana provides a more accurate level of trends than self-reporting on surveys, Holcomb said, citing research at the University of Washington and the University of Puget Sound. [continues 138 words]
OLYMPIA - The financial stakes of the state's new marijuana industry are no longer theoretical. Washington's chief economist predicts the legal recreational market will generate $636 million for the state through the middle of 2019. Those millions are already trickling in, and next month the state will make the first payouts from a portion of excise taxes and fees collected from growers, processors and retailers. That portion - $4 million as of Monday and $450 million in the economist's forecast - are sequestered in a special account, not the general fund used to pay for the state's daily operations. [continues 432 words]
OLYMPIA (AP) - State officials want the Legislature to tweak the state's recreational-marijuana law so that it's illegal to smoke marijuana in a car. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) notes that under the state's new recreational-pot law, there's no explicit language addressing marijuana in vehicles, The News Tribune of Tacoma reported Thursday. The commission plans to ask lawmakers to create a clear rule covering both drivers and passengers' ability to smoke or have open packages of marijuana inside a vehicle, said Darrin Grondel, director of the WTSC. [continues 54 words]
Inside Washington
