Seattle’s mayor is a ‘Dope’ coverboy

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn epitomizes what it means to show “true leadership and courage” by doing the right thing for cannabis patients, according to a magazine dedicated to the medical marijuana users.

McGinn is featured on the cover of the magazine’s August edition, with an article “Leadership and Courage Alive and Well in Seattle.”

Each city in Washington is trying to figure out how to handle medical marijuana, since the Governor vetoed legislation that would have regulated cannabis use and sales. It’s an industry that some have called the “green rush” which could have generated almost $1 million for the state next year and $6 million by 2017, according to state lawmakers’ estimates.

Last month, Seattle’s mayor signed a city ordinance to create rules for medical marijuana dispensaries and cooperatives. Seattle regulates medical marijuana shops like any other business – maintaining a license, paying taxes and fees, obtaining food-handling permits if they sell marijuana cookies, and following all other regulations such as land-use codes.

In the interview with “Dope” magazine, McGinn says he was compelled to sign the ordinance because the war on drugs isn’t working.

“To use a Pentagon term, there has been extraordinary amounts of collateral damage: we’ve seen erosion of rights; we’ve seen incarceration and punitive action; we’ve financed criminal syndicates; we’ve fueled violence,” says McGinn. “Prohibition on marijuana doesn’t make sense anymore than the prohibition of alcohol did.”

Shoreline also has some temporary rules for collective gardens – the new, and apparently legal, name for medical marijuana dispensaries. Other cities in Western Washington have enacted moratoriums on medical marijuana sales while their legal teams study the issue. Those cities include Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Snohomish and Tukwila. Pullman is considering moratorium this week.