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Marijuana users and police agencies around the state are scrambling to figure out what happens now that voters have decriminalized possession. The Seattle Police Department has come up with a way of organizing things that so far seems agreeable to many city residents. (AP Photo/file)

Lots of likes for Seattle police's how-to pot guide

BY Chris Sullivan  on November 15, 2012 @ 6:41 am (Updated: 8:57 am - 11/15/12 )

Marijuana users and police agencies around the state are scrambling to figure out what happens now that voters have decriminalized possession. The Seattle Police Department has come up with a way of organizing things that so far seems agreeable to many city residents.

Seattle police have posted a how-to guide for marijuana questions. It's called Marijwhatnow, and it's quite popular, with more than 17,000 likes so far on Facebook.

It's like a frequently asked questions section you'd find on most websites, including important questions like, "If SPD seized a bunch of my marijuana before the election, can I get it back?" Answer: "No."

"Can I smoke pot outside my home?" The answer to that is also no. It's just like an open container of alcohol. You won't get arrested, but you could get a fine.

"Marijwhatnow? was written by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, a former journalist who wrote for The Stranger, a weekly alternative newspaper in Seattle. He was hired by the police department earlier this year.

"I just try to write posts I'd want to read," Spangenthal-Lee said. "I knew we were probably going to be inundated with questions about I-502, so I figured I'd try to get answers to the kinds of questions Seattle residents (and reporters) might ask, and put them out there."

Whitcomb said officials wanted people to realize that cops have a sense of humor, too. "I think this is an example of us really hitting the appropriate tone for our audience," he said.

While the user's guide does go over new rules for the city, it also reminds those that choose to imbibe on Dec. 6 that what happens in Washington in no way changes things at the federal level.

"There's still more questions because it's so new," said Whitcomb, noting that "the state says it's legal, the federal law says it's not."

That looming specter of federal enforcement is noted on the blog post:

"...You probably shouldn't bring pot with you to the federal courthouse (or any other federal property)," Seattle police warn.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio Reporter
Chris loves the rush of covering breaking news and works hard to try to make sense of it all while telling stories about real people in extraordinary circumstances.
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Comments (7)


  • Add A Comment

  • CH wrote...
    just do it . . . .
    November 15, 2012 8:00 am
    light up and enjoy!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • irony wrote...
    i hope the potheads get outed and nailed
    November 15, 2012 12:25 pm
    stupid ignoramases
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    The day "cannabis" got "legalized"...
    November 15, 2012 12:55 pm
    I saw three thugs openly smoking their chronic in the park across the street from my house in broad daylight. Thank you I-502 and Seattle libtards!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CldWtrSrf wrote...
    shark75 is really a TOOL....
    November 15, 2012 1:33 pm
    This isn't a Liberal issue ignoramus, if anything it's a Conservative issue....Liberals love to ignore the Constitution and State's Rights. Of course there is no difference between so called "Conservative Republicans" and "Liberal Democrats" these day is there.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • roomtemp wrote...
    @CldWtrSrf...
    November 15, 2012 6:17 pm
    "Of course there is no difference_"

    Nope. And this initiative had feck all to do with liberty. It's all about tax, tax, tax...

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Golfer66 wrote...
    tool??
    November 15, 2012 9:17 pm
    What?? The philosophical divide between conservatives and liberals could not be greater or more obvious, and you cannot see a difference?? Perhaps the reason is that you don't understand one, both or either position. Clearly. But yes, the decriminalization of a gateway drug is obviously a liberal agenda in a liberal state (the state being defined as the greater Seattle area, of course) at worst, and a libertarian dream at best. Either way, why would ANYONE want to raise children in an Amsterdam-like environment?? One more nail in our coffin. Our nation is more dumbed-down that I feared...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Jeff Schroeder wrote...
    I want it to stay illegal!!!!!
    November 15, 2012 7:43 pm
    Do you really think Hendrix and Cobain wanted weed sold at Rite-Aid?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }