Officials see grey area in new pot law

Marijuana possession is legal in Washington as of last Thursday, Dec. 6. Passed in the November election, Initiative 502 made it legal for anyone over 21 to hold up to an ounce of pot. But several questions remain.

It is still illegal to buy or sell the drug, and the federal government still lists marijuana as an illegal narcotic. That leaves a grey area for law enforcement to deal with those they catch holding.

Sheriff Brett Myers and Washington State Patrol Sgt. Mark Baker both said their agents will not be arresting anyone for possession, and they will not investigate where the drugs came from.

“We’re not going to spend a whole lot of time worrying about how somebody got their weed,” said Sheriff Myers.

“The people told us,” said Sgt. Baker. “For the most part, the state of Washington has made it legal.”

Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy said he had received only an email from Tim Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington, that federal justice officials are still determining how they will enforce marijuana possession.

One thing the law did do is establish criteria for driving under the influence of marijuana.

“It’s never been legal to drive under the influence,” said Sheriff Myers. “But now we have a measuring stick for how much is too much.”

Drivers suspected by officers of driving while high will have their blood tested. If the test shows more than five milligrams of THC, the intoxicating chemical in marijuana, they will face regular DUI prosecution.

Sgt. Baker said drivers give their “implied consent” for blood tests for marijuana intoxication when they apply for a driver’s license, much like they do for alcohol tests.

Both Myers and Baker said officers are receiving additional training to spot drivers who may be under marijuana’s influence.

Baker, though, said it will not be much different than how officers currently operate.

“Our troopers are out there every day looking for affected drivers and trying to get them off the road,” said Baker. “If things are out of the ordinary - their speech is slow or slurred, their eyes are watery and blood shot- anything; we’re going to check them out.”

Marijuana production and distribution will be run by the Washington Liquor Control Board. Mikail Carpenter with the state Liquor Control Board said they have a list of more than a thousand email addresses from people who want information about getting into the business as soon as criteria is set.

“There’s been quite a bit of interest in the subject from all over the state since (I-502) passed,” said Carpenter.

The law requires those looking to get into the business pay a $250 application fee and obtain a license with a $1,000 annual fee. In addition, the drug will be taxed at 25 percent at each point of sale from grower to processor to retailer to customer.

It is too soon, though, to begin granting licenses, he said. The liquor board has one year from Dec. 6 to develop a process for screening and permitting growers, processors and retailers.

“We’re so very far away from the application process,” said Carpenter. “We have up to a year. We expect we’ll use all of it.”

One of those who said he is not going to get into the recreational marijuana business is Michael A. Assenberg of Colfax. Assenberg is currently awaiting trial for exceeding the bounds of providing medical marijuana for more than one patient at a time.

Assenberg said, if he is cleared of those charges and remains free, he will continue to provide for patients, but will not get into the recreational business. He and his attorney have contended the charges against him, which date back to a May 4, 2011, drug raid on his residence, should be dropped because it was legal under state’s medical marijuana law.

Such patients, he said, deserve access to their medicine without paying the three rounds of 25 percent taxes that will be put on recreational pot.

“Go down to the pharmacy. There’s no tax on prescription drugs,” he said. “Medical patients shouldn’t have to pay tax on their drugs. But I definitely think recreational users should.”

Initiative 502 did not change the laws regarding medical marijuana distribution.

If there are any who want to set up a grow operation or marijuana processing facility locally, they won’t likely be able to do it at Port of Whitman County facilities.

Port of Whitman Commissioner Tom Kammerzell said marijuana was a discussion point at last month’s meeting of the Washington Public Ports Association.

Because most of the port’s facilities are federally funded, especially, he said, the Colfax Airport which has received hundreds of thousands of repair and improvement dollars from the Federal Aviation Administration, the federal government may require the agency repay already-spent grant funds.

Washington State University and state school Superintendent Randy Dorn said in releases this week that marijuana would be banned from school campuses because of the high levels of federal funding they receive.