Snoop Dogg visits Seattle

New Laws Chart Course for Marijuana Legalization

How Colorado and Washington govern their legal pot markets will be a test case for the rest of the United States

By Eliza Gray Oct. 19, 2013

Nearly a year after Colorado and Washington voted to become the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, the detailed rules governing how pot will be grown, sold and taxed are finally complete. And as the two states implement their different approaches to getting high, the whole world is watching.

This week, the American Civil Liberties Union announced a new panel, headed by California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, to draft a possible 2016 ballot measure to legalize pot in the Golden State, where an earlier attempt failed in 2010. The panel will study the implementation of Washington and Colorado’s laws to see how they might serve as a model for California, according to member and ACLU attorney, Alison Holcomb. Lawmakers and academics from Uruguay, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Canada and the United Kingdom have also expressed interest in learning from the states’ experiences.

Think of it as an A/B test for legal pot. While Colorado and Washington’s laws are based on a similar model  they both tax and tightly regulate legal markets for marijuana, require rigid security and third-party-laboratory testing, limit sale to people over 21 and the amount an adult can carry, prohibit out-of-state investment, and track marijuana closely from “seed-to-sale,” — there are important differences between the two approaches.

Washington has imposed a heavy 25% tax on each of the three parts of pot production: producer to processor, processor to retailer, and retailer to customer. Regulators say that will put the price of marijuana pre-tax at an average of $12 a gram, a price that the ACLU’s Holcomb says is competitive with illicit pot on the street. Colorado votes on its pot tax — a less onerous 15% excise tax and 10% sales tax, next month. Sam Kamin, a professor at the University of Denver who advised Colorado on its regulations and who will also be serving on the ACLU’s panel to devise a plan for California, says finding the “sweet spot” for taxation is key. “We want this to be self-funding regulation that is robust, but we don’t want the price of legal marijuana so much higher than the black market that it becomes attractive again.”

Unlike Colorado, Washington has imposed a cap on the total amount of marijuana that can be produced per year in the state. On the advice of UCLA professor Mark Kleiman, dubbed the “hemperor” because of his deep involvement in marijuana policy, regulators at the Liquor Control Board decided to cap the legal market at 80 metric tons — 40 for usable marijuana and 40 for other marijuana products. The chief rationale behind limiting annual production is to avoid “diversion” — when surplus legal pot is illegally smuggled to other states — says Brian Smith, a spokesman for the Washington State Liquor Board. Diversion is a major concern of federal authorities, and while Colorado has not imposed a cap, regulators say they might do so in the future if it is necessary.

Representatives from the marijuana industry differ on the merits of a cap. Stephen DeAngelo, president of the Arc View investment group, which focuses on marijuana investments, says caps are necessary because if there is too much marijuana flooding the system, retailers fight to keep prices down, which incentivizes them to cut corners on quality and safety measures like lab testing. Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Administration disagrees. “By limiting the legal market, they are enriching the illegal market,” Smith says.

Colorado and Washington will also license pot businesses differently. For the first few months of the new market, Colorado requires “vertical integration,” which means that every marijuana business must be involved in all parts of the business–growing, processing, and selling — to get a license. Brohl, the state’s regulator, says they did this because they thought it would initially limit the number of businesses, making it easier to control the new market. Starting this summer, Colorado will open the market to those interested in specialized roles. By contrast, Washington prohibits ”vertical integration” and instead only permits businesses to get licensed in one stage of production: growing, processing or selling. Washington’s intent, says Smith, the spokesman for Washington’s Liquor Control Board, was to avoid allowing monopolists to keep prices artificially high.

Washington’s regulations aren’t stricter on all fronts. Colorado has a stringent two-year minimum residency requirement for any owner or investor, while Washington has only a three-month requirement. These rules essentially prohibit out-of-state investment in the growth and production of marijuana (though they don’t bar investment in ancillary businesses, like, say, a phone app that offers a map of different providers). One reason for this, regulators and experts say, is to reassure the federal government that illegal drug money from across the country and around the world is not entering their legal marijuana markets. DeAngelo, who opposes the restrictions, says they might also stem from a fear of competition from growers from other states, particularly in Colorado where medical marijuana growers have already gained a foothold in the industry.

Kamin is hopeful that the evidence that comes out of Colorado and Washington will be able to help California devise its own plan for a regulated marijuana market by 2016. “We’ll have good data on what happens in Washington and Colorodo by then,” he says.

New Laws Chart Course for Marijuana Legalization

Immaginando di festeggiare a Seattle

Now that pot's legal in state, will D.C. delegation defend law?

Washington's new marijuana law takes effect Thursday, amid a muted reaction from the state's congressional delegation and questions about whether the federal government will seek to block it.

By Kyung M. Song

Seattle Times Washington bureau

WASHINGTON — Washington state's new marijuana-legalization law, which takes effect Thursday, is a direct affront to federal drug policy. So does Dave Reichert — the King County sheriff-turned-congressman — think users still should be subject to arrest by federal agents?
He isn't saying. Neither is Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane, the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress.
And Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both of whom personally opposed making recreational pot legal, haven't exactly been at the forefront of trying to resolve the legal limbo.
The Washington congressional delegation's muted reaction likely will do little to help clarify the state's unprecedented conflict with the federal ban on marijuana. It also leaves unclear whether voters — who approved legalization 56 to 44 percent — can expect their elected representatives to vigorously stand up for the state law.
On Wednesday, the U.S. attorney for Seattle, Jenny Durkan, said in a statement that the Department of Justice (DOJ) still was reviewing legalization measures approved last month by voters in Washington and Colorado: "The Department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged. Neither States nor the Executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress."
But, as some legal experts expected, the DOJ has not acted.
Other legal experts, as well as marijuana advocates, expect the federal government will quietly let the state laws go forward. As Richard Epstein, a professor at New York University School of Law, put it, the Drug Enforcement Agency is "going to play its version of 'don't ask, don't tell.' "
Colorado's law, which mirrors Washington's new tolerance for personal possession of marijuana, is expected to take effect within 30 days.
Unlike Washington's delegation, Colorado lawmakers have taken more decisive action to defend their state's law. Three House members from Colorado have backed a bill to prevent the federal Controlled Substances Act from pre-empting state laws. Of the 10 co-sponsors of the bill, which was introduced by Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., none is from Washington.
U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Tacoma, has been the delegation's most prominent voice on the right of the state to implement the law. He was one of 18 House Democrats, and the only member from Washington, to sign a post-election letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking the DOJ to refrain from making arrests.
"I don't want to leave my constituents in a limbo not knowing whether a given activity is legal or not," said Smith, a former prosecutor for the city of Seattle, who said he voted for the law.
Smith has not signed onto DeGette's bill but said he supports it in principle.
Smith noted the DOJ has taken a largely hands-off attitude toward medical marijuana, paving the way for its legalization in 18 states and the District of Columbia. But federal authorities still sporadically assert their power, Smith said.
Since January 2010, federal agents have raided more than 200 medical-marijuana dispensaries, labs and cultivation sites in eight states, including Washington, according to Kris Hermes, spokesman for Americans for Safe Access, an advocacy group for medical marijuana.
Washington's new law has left Democrats and Republicans in the state delegation personally at odds with voters' will.
McMorris Rodgers opposes legalizing marijuana. Reichert's office has repeatedly refused to say whether he thinks the new state law should trump the federal ban. Reichert, whose mother took cannabis in a pill form before she died of cancer in 2011, softened his stance on medical marijuana but not to the point of supporting legalization.
Meanwhile, activists in Seattle plan a public celebration at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Seattle Center fountain, despite the new law's ban on public consumption of marijuana. Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said he hoped there would not be "unfortunate flaunting" of public marijuana use, which is subject to a fine of about $50.
"I think (Seattle police) will see how well people comply," said Holmes. If they issue tickets, "we will enforce the law."
Staff reporter Jonathan Martin contributed to this report. Kyung Song: 202-383-6108 or ksong@seattletimes.com

Now that pot's legal in state, will D.C. delegation defend law?

USA - Cannabis legalizzata. Guida della polizia di Seattle

I cittadini dello Stato di Washington hanno approvato lo scorso 6 novembre la legalizzazione dell'uso ricreativo della marijuana per i maggiori di 21 anni. Una settimana dopo, il Dipartimento della polizia di Seattle ha pubblicato su Internet una guida per informare sulle modifiche e sul contenuto di questa nuova situazione.
“Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use In Seattle”, spiega ai cittadini, con un notevole senso dell'houmor, le novita' legali dopo l'approvazione, con un consenso popolare del 55%, dell'uso ricreativo della marijuana e delle modifiche nei protoccoli di azione dei poliziotti della citta'.
Il testo, per esempio, avverte che e' legale solo il possesso di 28 grammi di cannabis -o di 453 grammi se si tratta di prodotti che contengono marijuana, come i biscotti, o di due chili se e' liquida come l'olio di hashish-; che la coltivazione continua ad essere illegale, cosi' come guidare un mezzo sotto i suoi effetti, e questo vuol dire che non c'e' una legge che estenda quanto approvato col referendum -il termine di scadenza per farlo e' il 1 dicembre del 2013-, e che nessun luogo e' autorizzato a vendere la pianta o i suoi derivati per fini ricreativi..
La guida della polizia di Seattle non entra in collisione con le reazioni federali sul risultato del referendum (la droga e' illegale nell'Unione). Nelle sue pagine si indica che “gli agenti non faranno arresti per il possesso di quantita' di marijuana che sono dentro i parametri indicati dal referendum”, “ne' parteciperanno ad indagini avviate dalla polizia federale che non costituiscano un reato secondo le leggi dello Stato di Washington”.
L'autore della guida, il giornalista Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, assunto a contratto dalla Polizia per rinnovare il blog della Polizia stessa, ricorda che il testo sul possesso di marijuana e' “nella lista delle priorita'” di questo Dipartimento. Da quando e' stato approvato il referendum, la Procura della citta' ha sospeso vari procedimenti relativi al possesso di hashish in quantita' inferiore al limite imposto dal voto.
Da quando la guida e' stata pubblicata, lo scorso 9 novembre, Spangenthal-Lee ha fatto diversi interventi di chiarificazione rispondendo ad alcune domande dei cittadini, come questa: “Se mi hanno pizzicato con marijuana prima che fosse approvato il referendum, che mi succedera'? Preparati, perche' potresti essere processato, cosi' come stabilisce la legge statale attuale... e non ti restituiranno l'hashish che ti hanno sequestrato”.
Il tono ameno e distensivo hanno fatto si' che la guida sia diventata un fenomeno nelle reti sociali, soprattutto per il fatto che la polizia da' consigli legali sull'uso della marijuana.
Altro esempio di questo houmor e' la raccomandazione finale: “Sara' meglio che non si porti hashish in un tribunale federale (o in altro edifico del Governo federale)”.

USA - Cannabis legalizzata. Guida della polizia di Seattle

Seattle Hempfest 2012: World's Largest Pot Protestival

CANNABIS CULTURE - The world's largest pot "protestival" kicks of its twenty-first annual celebration today as marijuana-lovers from around the globe gather for Seattle Hempfest 2012.
Started in 1991 as the "Washington Hemp Expo" – now with an estimated 300,000-stoner crowd and 1,000s of volunteer staff – the annual event has grown to become the planet's premier pot activism event and features a line-up of top-notch speakers and performers from the cannabis community.
Check out this year's massive list of speakers including Washington State House of Representatives Roger Goodman, Steve D’Angelo, Rob Kampia, Jorge Cervantes, Steve Kubby, Robert Melamede, Ed Rosenthal, 'Radical' Russ Belville, Jodie Emery, Judge Jim Gray, Rick Steves, Keith Stroup, and many many more.
Hempfest is also know for its fantastic music performances from bands, hip-hop groups, electronic artists, and musicians from a wide-range of styles and genres. This year, over 600 musical acts submitted materials for consideration – see the full schedule to find out who's playing.
Cannabis Culture Publisher Jodie Emery and Editor Jeremiah Vandermeer (your's truly) will be in attendance for the festivities – watch for videos, photos and a full report of Hempfest 2012 coming soon to CC.
See in-depth coverage of past Seattle Hempfests on CC.
Read an interview with Seattle Hempfest head organizer Vivian McPeak about the history and twenty-year anniversary of the event.
Follow Jeremiah Vandermeer on Facebook and Twitter, or watch the Cannabis Culture Flickr Photostream for constant updates.
GO TO SeattleHempfest.org FOR MORE INFO.