Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Legal adult marijuana use, restrictions included

Tomorrow, part of Initiative 502 goes into affect.  Possession of small amounts of marijuana and marijuana-infused foods/beverages will no longer be illegal in Washington.  However, restrictions on use come hand-in-hand with this new legal status.

From the Seattle Weekly Blog:

Although it becomes legal this week to possess one pound of "marijuana-infused product" or 72 ounces of marijuana-infused liquid, officials say Initiative-502 doesn't open the door for restaurants to plate up pot.

. . . But the clearest prohibition may be located in the state's food code, which bars commercial food producers from using any ingredients which aren't approved for human consumption, such as marijuana. "It doesn't appear that's going to change," Moyer says. Although the rules committee could recommend adjusting the code, it might be difficult to square those changes with food safety concerns: Since marijuana remains illegal under federal law, there are no plans for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to inspect or approve marijuana-infused products.

"Marijuana in food products is not legal," Moyer emphasizes. "That includes what's already being sold in 'dispensaries,' which of course, aren't legal."

From FOX 12 in Oregon:
. . . Flatt (a marijuana user) planned to rent out a space at the Clark County Convention Center on New Year's Eve and then invite (marijuana) smokers and supporters to attend.

But the county health department soon put a stop to Flatt's pot party. County health officials said the party would be against the law and the convention center denied his application.

Justin Kobluk, a spokesman for the Clark County Events Center, said the events center must abide by Measure 901, passed in 2005, which says "no person may smoke in a public place or in any place of employment."

"The issue wasn't the cannabis or the substance at all," Kobluk said. "The issue was it is just not legal to smoke in a public place," he said.

. . . In a Monday, Dec. 3, committee vote, the City Council approved ordinance amendments bringing Bellingham's municipal code into conformance with state law as changed by voters via Initiative 502.
The initiative allows people 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana, with similar legal limits on various kinds of "marijuana-infused products." But the initiative also treats pot the way that current law treats alcohol: Using it in public, or even having an open container, subjects the offender to a "civil infraction," which amounts to a ticket and a small fine, but not arrest or jail.

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