Post date: Dec 04, 2012 3:23:41 PM
Washington state's new marijuana law goes in to effect on December 6, allowing recreational users to possess the drug, but not yet providing a way for them to legally buy it.
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 27, 2012) (REUTERS) - On December 6, it will be legal for adults in Washington state to possess and use marijuana.
Along with Colorado, the Pacific Northwest state became the first to remove criminal sanctions for personal possession of an ounce (28.5 grams) or less of marijuana as voters approved ballot measures to legalize its recreational use.There are only two problems. The first is that until December 2013, there will be nowhere for recreational users to legally buy the drug. The second is a possible showdown with the federal government, which classifies cannabis as an illegal narcotic.
Jonathan Sullivan and his partner Grant Horsman smoke marijuana for medical reasons, which has been legal in the state of Washington since November 1998 but remains an offense under federal law.
"I really don't care what other people think. If it has to be the federal government or whatever, if they try and lock me away for just trying to relieve some pain and not having to take other things that will be more harmful to my body and that could possibly make me die, then, I mean, I guess arrest me," Sullivan said.
Sullivan has been smoking marijuana since the age of 16, after being diagnosed with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, which he said led to the onset of diverticulitis, a digestive disease.
Edward Wickard uses marijuana for pain relief from a nerve disease. He feels state law would not protect him from prosecution by the federal government for possession of the drug, and that it will be the same for recreational users under the new law.
"It's a very sensitive scale, because if the federal government wants to come in and shut it down, they can at the drop of a hat. The state is not going to protect the people that live in their state because of it, because the big brother will come in and shut them down. And everybody has that fear in the back of their head," he said.
Federal prosecutors in some of the states with laws legalizing marijuana for medical purposes have launched a crackdown on pot dispensaries and greenhouses deemed to be engaged in large-scale drug trade under the pretense of supplying medical cannabis to patients.
Wickard buys his marijuana with a medical license at the Canna Pi dispensary in Seattle, where Abigail Guthrie is the president and CEO.
While the new law will permit cannabis to be legally sold and taxed at state-licensed stores in a system modeled on what many states have in place for alcohol sales, those provisions will not be in effect for another year.
Guthrie says nothing will change for her on December 6.
"It actually will not have any impact on us here. People in the community on December 6th will be allowed to possess marijuana. They will not be able to come in to any dispensary and obtain it," she said.
Dax Caulwell, whose company Dama produces hash oil, a concentrated substance derived from cannabis, says it's business as usual for him, too.
"Yes, it's true that come December 6th, it will be legal for people over 21 to possess and use cannabis, but there are no laws that I'm aware of yet that allow people to purchase the cannabis," he said.
Seattle city attorney Pete Holmes, who handles legal matters for the city, has long been a supporter of legalizing marijuana, holding that the federal prohibition on the drug has not curbed use and that it enriches drug cartels.
He is hopeful the federal authorities will allow the state to implement its marijuana law without interference.
"Normally, this kind of regulation for alcohol, tobacco, things like that, is normally entrusted to state governments. And so, there's every reason to believe that we can prevail upon federal authorities to show that, rather than conflicting with federal law, these initiatives actually compliment federal law. They are very carefully thought out initiatives that seek to regulate and control marijuana. It's not a simple pro-pot law," he said.
Washington's marijuana legalization measure passed in November with more than 55 percent of voters supporting it and fewer than 45 percent opposed.
The state's Office of Financial Management has estimated that taxes on marijuana could generate 532 million U.S. dollars in fiscal year 2015, the first full year of legalized sales if they are not blocked by thefederal government. Up-front costs of legalization are expected to exceed three million U.S. dollars.