I keep hearing people say our new law to legalize marijuana isn't going to hold up because federal law always supersedes state laws. This is just not true. The Founding Fathers did not allow for a totalitarian central government. The Constitution separates the powers between the state and federal governments. Drugs clearly fall under the state jurisdiction. This is why the Volstead Act in 1919 to prohibit alcohol needed to be backed up by the 18th Amendment. Everyone realized the feds did not have authority to override state liquor laws without changing the Constitution. [continues 182 words]
Sheriff's Sergeant Among Speakers At Rotary Meeting Forget worrying about excess sugar and butter when reaching for baked goods at holiday parties this year. Sean Chavez of Prevent! coalition said you should be worried a different ingredient: Marijuana. Chavez said his organization has already received reports of people unknowingly eating baked goods infused with pot after Initiative 502 took effect on Dec. 6. He said although personal use of marijuana is legal for those 21 or older in Washington, rules in the workplace are less clear, particularly for organizations that receive federal funding. [continues 320 words]
5-Year Probation, $25,000 Fine First to Be Sentenced on Federal Charges Just a year ago, Brionne Corbray was a flashy entrepreneur in the Seattle medical-marijuana market, with a late-model Mercedes-Benz and three storefront dispensaries to his name, including a White Center smoking lounge he described as "like a bar, without the alcohol." On Wednesday, he gained a new distinction - the first local owner of a medical-marijuana dispensary to be sentenced on federal drug-dealing charges. [continues 487 words]
Why the misinformation about marijuana, its use, history and benefits? Doctors and patients are discovering the curative and palliative benefits that traditional medicine has practiced for about 5,000 years. Who wouldn't support legalization? Except the drug lords who take in about $5 billion annually, banks that launder the cash and are too big to indict, politicians profiting from "political contributions," enforcement agencies warring against drugs and confiscating property, even U.S. growers who don't want things to change. It is time to end prohibition. Steve Smith Spokane [end]
President Barack Obama broke the silence late last week on how the federal government will respond to voter-approved measures in Washington and Colorado that legalized adult recreational use of marijuana. The president said it is not a priority of the federal government to prosecute recreational marijuana use in the two states. Perhaps more importantly, the president acknowledged it's time for Congress, the Justice Department and others to tackle the question of how to reconcile a federal law that still says marijuana possession is a federal offense with state laws that say it isn't. [continues 171 words]
Everett voters approved marijuana legalization by a healthy margin last month, but now it's December and the City Council is about to do something that will make all those voters quite unhappy. Council is set to enact a so-called "nuisance ordinance" that would so drastically limit where medical cannabis collective gardens might locate that it would create an effective ban on safe access for patients in the city. It would also likely ban any Everett marijuana retail locations for recreational users that the State Liquor Board might wish to license when it begins to issue licenses for those in about one year. Many thousands of Everett voters will find council's action a nuisance, but, rest assured, black market pot dealers will be thrilled. [continues 612 words]
The voters of Washington state are way ahead of the politicians in Washington, D.C. The cautions outlined in a Dec. 6 editorial, "Pot: Proceed with caution," highlight the pressing need for marijuana law reform on a national level. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply and demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to deter use, prohibition is a failure. The United States has double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. As a policy analyst for Common Sense for Drug Policy, I think the federal war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. Robert Sharpe Washington, D.C. [end]
Having followed the marijuana fiasco closely, I need someone to explain a few things to me. Although the possession of marijuana by those 21 years and older is legal, there has yet to be established an outlet where marijuana can be legally purchased. So where did the hundreds of those who were smoking pot under the Seattle Space Needle get their stash of pot from? Surely they were not all medical marijuana patients. Once the marijuana outlet stores are established, won't they become a revenue (tax) source for the political pocket picker? Larry Patella Vancouver [end]
Two States Wait to See If U. S. Officials Will Block New Laws SEATTLE (AP) - Officials and pot advocates looking for any sign of whether the Obama administration will sue to block legal pot laws in Washington state and Colorado or stand idly by as they are implemented got one from the president himself. But it did little to clear the air. While they welcomed President Barack Obama's comments that catching pot users was a low priority for his administration, they said it didn't answer a bigger question: Will federal prosecutors and drug agents also look the other way? [continues 634 words]
Supporters of marijuana reform took heart last week from statements by President Barack Obama and spokesman Jay Carney that the pursuit and conviction of small users was down the list of priorities of enforcement officials. But, guess what? Marijuana remains illegal in the United States, including Washington and Colorado. The comments from the White House do not fundamentally change what the president has said in the past. Nor do they provide any guidance to state authorities trying to define state prerogatives. [continues 381 words]
SEATTLE - It's been a long, strange trip for marijuana. Last month, Washington state and Colorado voted to legalize and regulate the use of pot. But before that, the plant, renowned since ancient times for its strong fibers, medical use and mind-altering properties, was a staple crop of the colonies, an "assassin of youth," a counterculture emblem and a widely accepted - if often abused - medicine. On the occasion of Thursday's "Legalization Day," when Washington's new law takes effect, here's a look back at the cultural and legal status of the "evil weed" in American history. [continues 525 words]
SEATTLE (AP) - Officials and pot advocates looking for any sign of whether the Obama administration will sue to block legal pot laws in Washington state and Colorado or stand idly by as they are implemented got one from the president himself. But it did little to clear the air. While they welcomed President Barack Obama's comments that catching pot users was a low priority for his administration, they said it didn't answer a bigger question: Will federal prosecutors and drug agents also look the other way? [continues 650 words]
SEATTLE - Backers of new laws that legalized marijuana in Washington and Colorado were cautiously optimistic after President Barack Obama said Uncle Sam wouldn't pursue pot users in those states. Following the November votes in Washington and Colorado, the Justice Department reiterated that marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but had been vague about what its specific response would be. In a Barbara Walters interview that aired Friday on ABC, President Barack Obama said: "It does not make sense from a prioritization point of view" to focus on drug use in states where it is now legal. [continues 542 words]
PRESIDENT Obama's statement of tolerance toward legalized marijuana is welcome. He is being respectful of the rights of states and of the people in Colorado and Washington who have changed marijuana law in public votes. "It would not make sense," Obama told Barbara Walters of ABC News, "for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it's legal." The sentiment is right, though stated cautiously. The real question is not whether federal agents will go after users. In Colorado and Washington, the question is whether they will go after growers, processors and retailers that have been licensed under state law. It is whether the federal government will allow states to sanction businesses that keep accounts, pay taxes and follow state law. [continues 246 words]
Families should make clear their rules about marijuana, reminding teens that its use might be legal for adults, but it's a crime for everyone else. Now that marijuana's legal in Washington, parents are faced with a tough job: selling their kids on the concept of "no." No, marijuana's not legal for anyone younger than 21. And some parents may add a second message: No, it's not allowed in our home - ever. Many teens were excited about the recent change in state law that allows adults 21 and older to legally have up to an ounce of marijuana. They probably didn't realize that nothing changes for them, said Dr. Leslie Walker, co-director of the adolescent substance abuse program at Seattle Children's Hospital. [continues 764 words]
Laws from an era that make no sense should be reconsidered. There seems to be a lot of concern regarding the deregulation of marijuana in Washington state. Like the Mayans, modern-day doomsday prophets claim to see dark clouds on the horizon. What these people fail to take into consideration is the era during which the laws regarding marijuana were drafted. This was an era where my grandfather came back from fighting in the pacific theater during World War II to see signs in windows saying "Irish need not apply" or "Christians only." Japanese-Americans were sent to internment camps, and mental health-care professionals routinely performed full frontal lobotomies and administered electroconvulsive therapy for questionable reasons. [continues 202 words]
An employer has an obligation to a safe and drug-free work place for his employees. Marijuana legalization in Washington has not one thing to do with allowing stoners a job. If an employer decides on a zero tolerance policy, he has that responsibility and right, as do the other employees. Marijuana is illegal in the feds' eyes. Until there are changes in the drug laws on the federal level, do not expect stoners to obtain a special privileged pass on their drug usage. Employers and their employees have the right to a safe and drug-free workplace, and Washington's new marijuana law does not change that one bit. It will just eliminate a few potheads from the employment rolls. Allen Anderson Camas [end]
Obama Says Pursuing Recreational Drug Users Not 'Top Priority' SEATTLE (AP) - Backers of new laws that legalized marijuana in Washington and Colorado were cautiously optimistic after President Barack Obama said Uncle Sam wouldn't pursue pot users in those states. Following the November votes in Washington and Colorado the Justice Department reiterated that marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but had been vague about what its specific response would be. In a Barbara Walters interview that was slated to air Friday on ABC, President Barack Obama said: "It does not make sense from a prioritization point of view" to focus on drug use in states where it is now legal. [continues 293 words]
SEATTLE- Officials and pot advocates looking for any sign of whether the Obama administration will sue to block legal pot laws in Washington state and Colorado or stand idly by as they are implemented got one from the president himself. But it did little to clear the air. While they welcomed President Barack Obama's comments that catching pot users was a low priority for his administration, they said it didn't answer a bigger question: Will federal prosecutors and drug agents also look the other way? [continues 265 words]
The legalization of marijuana in Washington state has the rest of the world's attention. So it is that Washingtonians need to beware. Besides federal authorities and those of other states, the powers-that-be of many other jurisdictions will be watching. If pot smokers in Washington misbehave, the naysayers will grab hold of this news like dogs to a bone. Smoking pot under the Space Needle may have been a steam-releasing event. But make no mistake -- such displays will be easy fodder for those who would keep marijuana use a crime. So while you citizens of Washington have new rights, you also have new and important responsibilities. Those of us to the north, and elsewhere, congratulate you on breaking new ground, but ask you to use your new freedom wisely. Bruce Campbell Vancouver, B.C. [end]
Inside Washington
