Pubdate: Sat, 24 Nov 2012
Source: Sammamish Review (WA)
Copyright: {2011} Sammamish Review
Contact:  http://sammamishreview.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5274
Author: Caleb Heeringa

HOW WILL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION IMPACT SAMMAMISH?

Insert Cheech and Chong reference here.

Barring action from the federal government, Sammamish residents 21
years and older will legally be able to possess up to an ounce of
marijuana Dec. 6.

But that date will prove to be a little too late for at least four
people who were charged with possession of marijuana in the city in
recent months. Though prosecutors in King County have dropped 175
pending cases of adult marijuana possession that would be legal would
be legal under the initiative, Sammamish will not be doing the same
with its cases.

Sammamish Police Chief Nate Elledge said he has asked city prosecutor
Lynn Moberly to proceed forward with the cases.

"My request is based on the fact that at the time of their arrest, the
defendants were in violation of the law," Elledge said in an email.

Moberly agrees.

"We'll be going forward with the cases just like any other criminal
cases," she said.

Some grey areas

While the clear language of the law makes things a bit simpler for
police officers, Sammamish Police Administrative Sergeant Jessica
Sullivan said it also raises new questions.

The approval of medical marijuana in the state has led to the
proliferation of cases where a person stopped with marijuana produces
questionable doctors notes for minor ailments. The new law clarifies
that possession of less than an ounce of marijuana is legal for all
those over 21 -- doctor's permission or not.

But it could be a year or more before the state's licensing system is
set up, meaning that under the law it's still illegal to purchase marijuana.

"While possessing it is now legal, the matter of who sold it to you
and how it came into your possession -- that's where things get
murky," Sullivan said.

Despite it being legal to possess, Sullivan reiterated that driving
under the influence of marijuana is still a crime on par with drinking
and driving. If an officer suspects that a driver is under the
influence, they will call the department's certified drug recognition
expert to the scene to perform field sobriety tests and the driver
could be hauled in to a hospital to give a blood test. Anyone with
more than 5 nanograms of active THC in their blood could face a DUI
charge.

Where can I buy it?

The law's proposed licensing system for the production, processing,
distribution and sale of marijuana poses a host of new questions for
the city as well.

The law calls for the state Liquor Control Board to spend the next
year developing regulations for stores that sell marijuana, but the
law contains some rules of its own -- namely that sales outlets cannot
be located within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks, playgrounds,
recreation centers, child care centers, public transit centers,
libraries or game arcades.

Sammamish Community Development Director Kamuron Gurol said those
prohibitions likely rule out just about every potential place a pot
store could open in Sammamish. The Pine Lake and Sammamish Highlands
shopping centers are both near schools and recreation centers. Gurol
said the city had yet to do an analysis on whether a marijuana outlet
could locate at the strip mall on East Lake Sammamish Parkway near the
7-11 or in the proposed Town Center area.

"When you start looking at a GIS analysis, that precludes a lot of
area in the city," Gurol said.

While the details of the licensing process have yet to be hammered
out, proponents envision it being similar to obtaining a liquor
license. Washington State Liquor Control Board spokesman Brian Smith
said the board solicits input from nearby residents when a business
applies for a liquor license.

Gurol said it's unclear whether the city could institute an outright
ban on marijuana outlets in city limits. The city currently has a
moratorium on collective marijuana gardens for medical marijuana users
and some councilmembers have discussed banning the gardens outright.
Gurol said he was hopeful that the state legislature would clarify
some of the gray area between the medical marijuana law and the new
initiative.

"There's a lot of questions that we haven't even begun to start
thinking about," Gurol said.
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