Search Results: king-county (5)

Graham Lawyer Blog

Prosecutors in Washington’s two most populous counties are dismissing more than 220 misdemeanor marijuana cases after state voters on Tuesday decriminalized small amounts of cannabis.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg is dismissing 175 cases, and Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said he was dismissing “about four dozen” such misdemeanor cases where marijuana is the only offense, reports Jonathan Martin at The Seattle Times.

The prosecutors decided to apply I-502 — which removes criminal penalties for up to an ounce of marijuana — retroactively. I-502 comes into effect on December 6, one month after voters approved it in Tuesday’s general election.

Photo: Steve Elliott ~alapoet~
The “medicine wheel” at Ben Reagan’s dispensary, The C.P.C., is used to demonstrate for patients the continuum between sativa and indica varieties of medicinal cannabis.

Co-Founder, The C.P.C.

Choosing alternative medicine such as medical cannabis is a big decision, and one you probably took a long time to make.  Now that you’re here, and whether or not you were previously a cannabis user, there are a few things you should know about dispensaries (also known as collectives) to ensure that you get the quality of life improvement and medical benefits you’re looking for.
Here are five tips to help get you started on your new journey.

Photo: Courtney Blethen Riffkin/The Seattle Times
Laura Healy, of Green Hope Patient Network in Shoreline, Washington, which lost its business license, said cities are in a bind: “They’re trying to force the Legislature to step up to the plate”

​​​Cities across Washington have moved to shut down a combined 35 medical marijuana dispensaries since February. The crackdown is occurring even as the Legislature is moving the legalize the cannabis collectives.

The crackdown is driven, at least in part, by a little-noticed memo from a municipal insurance risk pool, reports Jonathan Martin at the Seattle Times. The memo emphatically states that dispensaries are illegal and not entitled to business licenses, and that opinion has prompted Shoreline, Tacoma and other Seattle-area cities to action.


Photo: City of Snoqualmie
Snoqualmie Police Chief Jim Schaffer: Refusing a judge’s order? Why isn’t this scofflaw in jail?

​The Snoqualmie, Washington Police Department is contesting a King County Superior Court judge’s order to return 10 ounces of cannabis to a medical marijuana patient.

Defying the court order from Judge Sharon Armstrong, the arrogant police chief seems to believe he has more “knowledge” of the “medical marijuana process” than the judge herself.
“Our knowledge of the investigation is that the medical marijuana process really doesn’t apply,” Snoqualmie Police Chief Jim Schaffer told Dan Catchpole at the SnoValley Star.
Chief Schaffer claimed he did not know of any police departments that have returned marijuana in similar circumstances.
The police chief, email address [email protected], really should get out more, don’t you think?


KING5
“Anti-drug advocate”/obnoxiously smug yuppie Steve Danishek spouts ignorance and intolerance on cue for reporter Eric Schudiske

​For the past nine years on Christmas Day, 5th Avenue and James Street in Seattle has been at the crossroads of the controversy over marijuana legalization.

As they’ve done every year in the 21st Century, protesters outside King County Jail held a pro-marijuana vigil, maintaining non-violent drug offenders should be home for the holidays, reports Eric Schudiske of King 5 News.
“We just think that otherwise law-abiding Americans should find alternatives to incarceration for marijuana use,” said Vivian McPeak, organizer of the vigil.
McPeak remains optimistic about the prospects for positive change. “We believe very strongly that we’re in the last decade of marijuana criminalization,” he said.