Seattle PD gets mellow with pot smoking applicants
Dec 18, 2012, 4:00 PM | Updated: Dec 19, 2012, 8:23 am
The Seattle Police Department will no longer turn down applicants who report having used pot within three years of attempting to join the force. (Photo: AP/File)
(Photo: AP/File)
The Seattle Police Department announced Tuesday that it will loosen restrictions on past pot use for men and woman who want to join the force.
Until now, SPD applicants were immediately turned down if they reported having used the drug in the past three years. That restriction will now be reduced to one year.
In a post on their blotter, SPD said the change is a direct result of I-502, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana in Washington state.
“In light of the changing cultural and political landscape, the three-year rule does not make sense,” said Assistant Chief Dick Reed. “We’re trying to find a middle ground that doesn’t exclude viable candidates.”
The department said it would continue to scrutinize the background of applicants, including other drug use, but called the move a “big procedural shift.”
“We’re on the forefront of change,” Reed said. “There is still a lot more to reevaluate.”
