Post date: Aug 18, 2013 12:26:57 PM
Seattle police distribute snacks at Seattle's Hempfest 2013 featuring information on legal marijuana use.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 17, 2013) (NBC) - Instead of handing out citations to pot smokers, police in Seattle handed out Doritos at the city's Hempfest marijuana festival on Saturday (August 17).
The annual festival, billed as the world's largest pot rally, is being celebrated for the first time since Washington state voters legalized recreational marijuana use last year.Officers distributed 1,000 bags of Doritos tortilla chips at the festival with labels directing people to the department's online pot primer, "Marijwhatnow?"
The guide explains that while recreational pot use is legal under Washingtonstate's new law, it remains illegal to possess more than an ounce of the drug, smoke it in public, drive under its influence or to sell it without a license.
Seattle Police Department spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb said he wants people to know the new marijuana rules. "Use it in the privacy of their own residence and not on the street corners, not in the parks," he said.
Festival-goers appeared to appreciate the gesture.
"Best munchie food," said one man. "These are delicious," said another.
The ground-breaking ballot measure approved by voters last year made the Pacific Northwest state one of just two in the nation - alongside Colorado - to legalize recreational marijuana use.
Police have taken a hands-off approach to marijuana use at Hempfest since at least 2003, when Seattle voters passed a measure making the enforcement of pot possession laws the lowest priority for city police officers.