The party is over: Seattle issued hundreds of tickets for smoking pot in public

In 2014 Seattle dismissed about 100 tickets written for smoking marijuana in public. Since that action the party has stopped.

That’s according to City of Seattle Attorney Pete Holmes, who told KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz that the city has been strictly enforcing public marijuana laws since 2014. At that time, it became apparent, and perhaps suspicious, that one police officer was issuing the majority of tickets, the Seattle Time reports.

“I’m happy to report that since dismissing those early cases, more than 500 tickets have been written in the city of Seattle,” Holmes said. “It is being enforced by more than just a handful of officers. I can all say that of those 500, my office has dismissed exactly four.”

Smoking weed in pubic is just one marijuana issue that Holmes is currently addressing. Despite Washington legalizing recreational marijuana, black market operations remain on the fringes of the marijuana economy. But Seattle officials are looking to nip that in the bud.

“We have been working very hard going after brick and mortar illegal dispensers,” Holmes said. “I’m happy to report since the last session in the legislature in 2015, we have closed approximately half of the dispensaries operating in the city without a license.”

Holmes notes the city has focused some efforts at illegal markets, such as the 9.5 block initiative. He has set his sights on marijuana delivery services – operations that deliver pot to a customers doorstep. Such businesses run afoul of Initiative 502 which legalized recreational marijuana.

“We have been working all throughout this time with the goal of ushering the illegal market out, and moving into the legal market as it grows and making sure it is off to a good start,” Holmes said.

Holmes said he has approached state legislators to find a way for the city to allow a pilot program for pot delivery services, and hopes to get something off the ground, and on the road. That will hopefully halt the illegal delivery operations.

“We know that these are essentially illegal retail operations. In fact, these are felony drug distribution operations,” he said. “There’s no ifs and or buts about it. It does not have a state license and its competing directly with licensed 502 stores. There’s no taxes and there’s no testing. You don’t know where it came from.”
“It is simply the pre-legalization, illegal market at full strength.”

In the meantime, Holmes urges marijuana customers to stick to the legal storefronts, and avoid the illegal delivery services.

“You are encouraging a felony enterprise that is undercutting the legal market that was very, very hard to win,” he said. “We’ve made a sea change in public policy and we shouldn’t detract from that for the sake of profiteering from a few outliers.”

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