Pass to the left in Washington, Colorado

more on washington:

"Seattle police offered a guidebook explaining Washington's new law.
People 21 and older can possess up to an ounce of marijuana -- or 16 ounces of solid, marijuana-infused product, like cookies, or 72 ounces of infused liquid, like oil -- for personal use, the guide says,
"Please note that the initiative says it 'is unlawful to open a package containing marijuana ... in view of the general public,' so there's that," it adds.
"The Seattle Police Department will continue to enforce laws against unlicensed sale or production of marijuana, and regulations against driving under the influence of marijuana, which remains illegal," the book says.
Growing marijuana at home and selling it to friends or family remains against the law, the guide says. But, it adds, "In the future, under state law, you may be able to get a license to grow or sell marijuana."
Smoking pot in public, like having an open beer, "could result in a civil infraction -- like a ticket -- but not arrest," it says.
In fact, Seattle police officers have been advised not to take any enforcement action other than to issue a verbal warning, if the new law is violated.
"You can certainly use marijuana in the privacy of your own home," the guide says. "Additionally, if smoking a cigarette isn't allowed where you are (say, inside an apartment building or flammable chemical factory), smoking marijuana isn't allowed there either."
What if an officer suspects a motorist is under the influence of pot?
"If an officer believes you're driving under the influence of anything, they will conduct a field sobriety test and may consult with a drug recognition expert," it says. "If officers establish probable cause, they will bring you to a precinct and ask your permission to draw your blood for testing. If officers have reason to believe you're under the influence of something, they can get a warrant for a blood draw from a judge. If you're in a serious accident, then a blood draw will be mandatory."
No longer will the smell of marijuana emanating from a vehicle lead to a search unless the officer has "information that you're trafficking, producing or delivering marijuana in violation of state law," it says.
Seattle does not hire police officers who have used marijuana in the previous three years, but the department is consulting its lawyers "to see if and how that standard may be revised."
Pot use and possession by anyone under age 21 is still a violation of state law. "It may be referred to prosecutors, just like if you were a minor in possession of alcohol," the police guide says.
The ban by universities and colleges on smoking pot on campus is not expected to change.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/05/us/washington-marijuana-legalization/index.html

 

while i don't think it should have the "hell taxed out of it," i do think it should be taxed like anything else. taxing it as they do liquor will send it back underground ... IMHO.

 

It's legal to buy it, it's legal to own it, and if you're the proprietor of a hash bar, it's legal to sell it. It's illegal to carry it, but that doesn't really matter 'cause get a load of this: if you get stopped by the cops in Colorado, it's illegal for them to search you. I mean, that's a right the cops in Colorado don't have.

 

Probably true, but one of the arguments the pro-legalization crowd has always put forth has been that legalizing marijuana was an untapped -- and highly lucrative -- stream of tax revenue. Now that they've got what they wanted, it's hard to go back and say it shouldn't be taxed, or only lightly taxed.
FWIW, Colorado has some of the lowest liquor taxes in the country. Pegging the tax to the state's liquor tax, or adding a few pennies, shouldn't be a hardship for most folks.

 

i guess we're coming from different angles. washington has huge sin taxes. i'd just like to see it not go to as high of a percentage as booze and cigs so it stays above ground. as already evidenced in the PNW, anybody can grow 20-percent THC indoor weed.

i'd also like to see state governments be able to get out of debt thanks to the generation of taxes ... but, tax it too much, and those profits are going to slip hard.

 

I agree completely with your thinking. It's a fine line. They really need to treat it like another crop, make a legal market for it, and have a process to license growers like they do breweries and distilleries. Then the illegal growers will be akin to moonshiners -- it might be better stuff, but God only knows what's in it.

 

that's exactly what they're doing. after washington started selling booze in the grocery stores a few months back, the washington liquor stores basically shut down. that agency will now be in charge of overseeing the growing and distribution of the state's weed and allow johnny farmer to grow the herb at home and sell it to the state.

thing is, the state has to keep the taxes down or consumers will look to buy a cheaper product on the street rather than legally. also, high taxes equate to a lower state-buying price to the farmer in order to keep the price down for the consumer ... which leads to more of the farmers' "legal weed" going out the back door at a higher non-taxed rate and onto the street.

this happens with medical MJ all the time ... especially with outdoor weed in southern oregon, where the dry summer climate can lead to 3 to 5 pounds of herb per plant. medicinal growers can put six plants in the ground per card holder and only have to gift that card holder a pound and a half per year. well, take an experienced grower, with six plants and one card holder at 5 pounds per plant ... and that's 30 pounds of final product while only having to gift 1 and a half pounds of that product. what would you guess happens to the other 28 and a half pounds?

 

and, on a final note, you can have 99 plants on a parcel of property in oregon. let's say an outdoor grow didn't go perfectly and you didn't yield 28 and a half extra pounds per six plants. let's just say you yielded an extra 20 pounds, which, by no means, is out of the question. we probably could go with 25, but let's go with 20 for shits and giggles.

99 divided by 6 is 16.5. 16.5 times 20 is 330 pounds. 330 pounds is a lot of herb ... and that's from a single grower. times that times several hundred folks sending weed out the back door, and suddenly you have a problem.

for my money, that's how important it is to keep taxes reasonable on the legal pot industry.

 

Haha...thanks Vincent!