More #SeattlePD Twitter humor

A small surrender in one of the battles in "the war on drugs": DoJ allows marijuana legalization to proceed in Washington and Colorado

By Mona Goldwater, Jurisprudence Ed.

Attorney General Eric Holder recently let the governors of Washington and Colorado know that the Department of Justice was backing down from their earlier statements and would allow the states to implement the ballot initiatives that legalized the use of marijuana.

Holder's memo outlines the priorities for federal prosecutors enforcing marijuana laws. According to the guidance, DoJ will still prosecute individuals or entities to prevent:

• the distribution of marijuana to minors;
• revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels;
• the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states;
• state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;
• violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana
• drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use;
• growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands;
• preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property.

DAGMemo8-29-13

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Which Seattle Police will show up at May Day tomorrow?

By Mona Goldwater, Seattle Metro Ed.

Which Seattle Police will show up at May Day tomorrow?  Will it be the White Hats or the Dark Hats?  In theory we will see balanced, proportional responses to any trouble from the crowd, or the "anarchists."

The SPD should be ready...they've been training for this for five weeks.  And thinking about it for a year, after their flubbed responses last time around.

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The Seattle Police humorously blog about legal marijuana

By Jack Brummet, Seattle Metro Editor

The Seattle Police Department blog, which has been way out front of the legalized pot issue since the beginning, released their temporary enforcement policy today.  And they capped it with a picture of the Dude from The Big Lebowski.  Read their entire blog post here.

Some choice tidbits:

"Does this mean you should flagrantly roll up a mega-spliff and light up in the middle of the street? No. If you’re smoking pot in public, officers will be giving helpful reminders to folks about the rules and regulations under I-502 (like not smoking pot in public)."

"the police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a Lord of the Rings marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."

"In the meantime, in keeping with the spirit of I-502, the department’s going to give you a generous grace period to help you adjust to this brave, new, and maybe kinda stoned world we live in."

"As we’ve told you here on the Blotter, if you’re over 21, then starting December 6th you can use marijuana, and possess marijuana—up to an ounce of marijuana buds, 16 ounces of solid marijuana-infused product, like cookies, or 72 ounces of infused liquid, like oil." 

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