Washington Residents Smoke Way More Weed Than Officials Thought

[CarolKing]

Unfortunately I foresee a thriving medical black market in the state especially if prices rise. Right now prices are low. I don't expect that to continue in the future. The dispensaries are still open and they have medical cannabis farmers that are still supplying the cannabis.

The cannabis medical dispensaries will go as long as they can. Some are hoping for a last minute reprieve from the governor. Hoping that it will give the dispensaries more time. They hope that the legislature will fix things next session. I don't think there is any reprieve.

I'm really concerned about quality and price. I'm renewing my medical card in a week, will see how this year goes as to whether I will renew it again. I feel like I came late to the party, just got my medical card 2 years ago.

Curious, we might start seeing a rash of folks getting arrested after July either for illegally growing or buying.

I will be stocking up, just in case, need to buy some Boveda packs from Amazon. I already have some nice canning jars and Cvault containers.

 

[bloom]

Unfortunately I foresee a thriving medical black market in the state especially if prices rise. Right now prices are low. I don't expect that to continue in the future. The dispensaries are still open and they have medical cannabis farmers that are still supplying the cannabis.

The cannabis medical dispensaries will go as long as they can. Some are hoping for a last minute reprieve from the governor. Hoping that it will give the dispensaries more time. They hope that the legislature will fix things next session. I don't think there is any reprieve.

I'm really concerned about quality and price. I'm renewing my medical card in a week, will see how this year goes as to whether I will renew it again. I feel like I came late to the party, just got my medical card 2 years ago.

Curious, we might start seeing a rash of folks getting arrested after July either for illegally growing or buying.

I will be stocking up, just in case, need to buy some Boveda packs from Amazon. I already have some nice canning jars and Cvault containers.

Isn't another potential danger is that now there is possibly a database full of the information of potential people to track? And possibly the mapped out social networks of said people thanks to the proliferation of things such as Facebook, etc, etc.?


"We’re not experiencing a “crisis of trust” but the end of trust, which has become superfluous to government. Where control and transparency reign, where the subjects’ behavior is anticipated in real time through the algorithmic processing of a mass of available data about them, there’s no more need to trust them or for them to trust. It’s sufficient that they be sufficiently monitored."

 

[macbill]

We’re not experiencing a “crisis of trust” but the end of trust

Except the cat is out-of-the-bag in Washington State: the State will become accustomed to added tax revenue, and, like the lottery, Washington will eventually rely on those tax dollars. It may take 10 years, but eventually most states will have legal rec sales, I believe. Like the end of Prohibition. I can't see reporting problems except for interstate/international flights might scrutinize you more, but if you're not carrying anything, no problems.

 

[CarolKing]

This past Saturday I went to the place where I've been getting my medical certificate from. We have new laws that will be in place come this July for medical mj. Medical patients will be taxed by 47% if they don't sign into a registry. If they sign into the registery they will save 10% so they will have to pay 37% in tax.

The doc that I saw is telling folks that they won't have to pay a tax at all. I questioned him on that info and told him that patients would only save 10% getting a medical certification. He said I was wrong. I went home and looked online thinking something had changed. It hadn't. He is giving false info to patients.

We may find that a medical certification may be a waste of money because you won't save that much.
I got mine because I want to see if medical patients will be allowed medical grade products that the recreational customers won't be allowed to get. I don't grow at this point so a medical certification might be useless for me.
I buy probably $200 a month. It will depend how expensive and how much cannabis will cost after all the current medical cannabis dispensaries close at the end of June. I expect the prices to go up. I may end up paying much more.

I will go a head and be put on a registry. I will be interested how this year will go.

The registry won't be up and running until closer to July 1. We will give the medical cannabis store our certification from the doctor and they will issue a card and the patient is put on the registry. I thought that was odd that the cannabis store does that. The state wanting so much control all along the way.

I'd much rather deal with a store verses the state when getting the card and getting put on the registry.

 

[BD9]

@CarolKing , I remember you had mentioned something about a grower at the farmer's market. Maybe you could develop a relationship with her/him and buy off the grid so to speak?

 

[macbill]

Comparing the cost of top shelf rec weed to that of my source 10 -15 years ago, it is basically the same. It wasn't that long ago a feller had to cough up $300/ounce (28 grams) for very good, no-name weed, whereas now a person can buy legally top shelf named weed for about the same price.

 

[CarolKing]

Come July 1 my Medical Farmers Market will no longer exist. My favorite dispensary will need to close. It will be a sad day. Medical dispensaries were told they didn't need to apply for a lisence initially. Then the dispensaries realized they had been lied to. Then it was too late to apply for a lisence.
It looks like the cops are prepared to destroy property and arrest folks.
CK


SEATTLE — With a deadline looming for the merging of Washington’s recreational and medical marijuana markets, cities around the state are warning unlicensed pot dispensaries to close up shop.

July 1 marks the date when, after nearly two decades of confusion about the status of medical marijuana, the industry becomes regulated for the first time. Hundreds of pot shop workers are being certified as medical marijuana consultants, the Department of Health is preparing a voluntary registry of patients, and the Liquor and Cannabis Board has been granting endorsements enabling recreational marijuana stores to sell for medical use.

As part of the transition, required under the Cannabis Patient Protection Act passed by the Legislature last year, unlicensed dispensaries that proliferated in the past decade need to shut down, as do the large-scale growing cooperatives that supplied them, to eliminate competition with Washington’s pioneering legal marijuana law, Initiative 502, approved by voters in 2012.

It’s unclear how many unlicensed dispensaries remain open statewide. In Thurston County, Sheriff John Snaza and a county prosecutor are visiting each dispensary to personally inform them of the expectation that they close by July 1 unless they have a state license.

“We had more than 100 stores in the city last year,” said Seattle deputy city attorney John Schochet. “We sent letters to the ones that didn’t appear to have any eligibility for Initiative 502 licenses, to tell them to close. Most of them have at this point, but we have a few that remain open. We’re going to be communicating with them and letting them know that June 30 is going to have to be their last day in existence.”

During a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Liquor and Cannabis Board officials said their goal is to have the unlicensed businesses close voluntarily, but their enforcement staff is prepared to help local police and prosecutors take additional steps if necessary. The shops could see civil or criminal enforcement, ranging from city-level sanctions or the seizure of inventory to drug distribution charges.

“We actually have rules in place that allow for seizure and destruction of product … that is not identified within our traceability system,” said the board’s enforcement chief, Justin Nordhorn. “The intent of that particular rule is not to clog up criminal courts and not to necessarily take criminal action against everybody that’s continuing to run a dispensary, but to … dry up the supply for those particular stores.”

So far, the liquor board has issued medical endorsements to 317 stores, though it’s unclear how many of them will be ready to serve patients by July 1. Patients are also allowed to grow marijuana at home or join a small cooperative, limited to four patients.

 

[macbill]

That is why I let my med. license expire. Now I am pleasantly surprised that concentrates can be found at rec stores at reasonable prices. I thought concentrates were not allowed recreationally; I'm glad I was wrong.

 

[Rick]

We live in the great Pacific Northwest and are aware of availability, pricing etc. You can get anything you want at the rec shops.
There are many in the Spokane area with a wide range of quality and prices. I just checked our favorite and see several $125-140 quality zs. Gobs at $160. Concentrates galore.
As for prices staying low, only time will tell. So far, Washington is allowing more production than sales outlets, keeping prices low.
http://cannabisandglass.com/pages/cannabis-and-glass-menu
edit: I can also say the eastern border shops have many out of state customers. Oregon border not so much as they are legal now.

 

[macbill]

What the merger of recreational, medical pot means

The day of reckoning has come for Washington’s medical marijuana system.

It’s been a strange trip, starting with 1998’s Initiative 692, which opened the door to home growing for patients and morphed into “collective gardens” that sprouted more than 300 storefront dispensaries statewide.

Once voters legalized recreational weed through Initiative 502 in November 2012, medical marijuana’s future in Washington was pretty much written. I-502 treated all pot the same. In practical terms, that made the largely unregulated and untaxed medical system a rival dealer of the highly taxed and regulated I-502 regime.

With an estimated one-third of the state’s total pot market in the medical system, state lawmakers last year passed Senate Bill 5052, which attempts to merge it with the recreational industry.

 

[CarolKing]

@Rick there are some nice prices where you live. I expect the cannabis to go up in price because of supply and demand. Right now there is a large supply of cannabis. Not sure really what will happen? I hope the prices don't go up drastically.

I have no problem with change as long as I have availability, good prices and variety. Not everybody lives in a cannabis friendly area of WA state. There are areas where sick patients will need to travel quite a distance to find their medicine. Some areas have banned coop gardens and cannabis stores.

The new laws are great for the rec user, that's not on a fixed income. You have folks that are sick and not able to have good access to cannabis and live off of $1200 a month. I have state cannabis stores in my area. I have a good income so I should be fine. I hope.

 

[macbill]

Enumclaw residents say they will sue King County over marijuana farms
The state legislature determined marijuana is not an agricultural product, but an industrial product. Yet neighbors in Enumclaw say recent grow operations already in place are in areas zoned for agriculture, not industrial farms.

 

[CarolKing]

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A controversial Olympia sports bar recently had its liquor license suspended for allowing patrons to smoke marijuana, but the bar's owner is defying the order -- and it's not the first time for Frankie Schnarrs.

Schnarrs is the owner of Frankie's Sports Pub and he isn't afraid to stand up to the state and local government.

"I want them to take my license from me. They can go to Hell. Get out of here. Get off my property," he said.

Schnarrs doesn't hold back when it comes to what he believes is his right to operate his sports bar the way he wants.

Ten years ago he led the fight against the state smoking ban. He turned his upstairs bar into a "private club," skirting the county ordinances. And recently he allowed the smoking of marijuana in designated areas of the upstairs bar.

Mike Gosselin is a recreational marijuana smoker.

"I smoke. I'll go in the back. Certain tables you're not allowed to smoke around on this side of the bar so I go on the back side of the bar where it's legal," he said.

But the state liquor and Cannabis Board said it's not legal, citing last year's legislative action signed into law. "It is unlawful for any person to conduct or maintain a marijuana club," the law reads.

"This is a private room," said Schnarrs. "It's not a marijuana club. That's what they don't get."

Last year the board slapped Schnarrs with a $500 fine, and when he didn't pay it they slapped a sign on his door saying the liquor license was suspended for 5 days.

Not only did Schnarrs not pay the fine, he didn't abide by the suspension of the liquor license. He continues to sell alcohol and let people smoke marijuana.

Schnarrs says he considers this harassment by the government and he's suing to get them to cease and desist. In the meantime, life at the bar goes on.

"There is no violation of the Liquor Board. It's all in their head," Schnarrs said.

The board now knows about the continued drinking and pot smoking, but they have not disclosed what if anything will be done. The liquor license suspension officially ends at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

 

[CarolKing]

Seattle HempFest 2016 is This Weekend!
Posted by TWB on August 19, 2016Major Cannabis Events


Seattle HempFest is the largest cannabis convocation in the world and likely the biggest organized pro-cannabis protest in the world. This year this event is even more exciting than other years, as it is celebrating It’s 25th anniversary. Hempfest’s list of achievements includes it’s designation as the largest annual cannabis policy reform event in the world. the most sophisticated and socially responsible cannabis rally in history, and perhaps the largest annual free speech event in the nation. Rachel Kurtz, who has been organizing HempFest for over a decade now, said, “This is my 13th year of working on HempFest’s core

Read

 

[CarolKing]

Protect Medical Marijuana in Washington State shared TheJointBlog.com's post.
Yesterday at 10:44am ·
In Washington the possession of up to 28 grams of cannabis is legal for those 21 and older, due to the passage of Initiative 502 in 2012. However, possession of just 50% more than this - anything over 40 grams - is a class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Shockingly, this is the same charge as many heinous crimes such as Unlawful Imprisonment (RCW 9A.40.040), Rape of a Child in the Third Degree (RCW 9a.44.079) and Reckless Burning in the F...

Those states that are inching towards cannabis legalization, just make sure they don't have over excessive laws attached to it. Especially if someone has more than the allowed amount. An important lesson the residents of this state have realized.

 

[grokit]

Shockingly, this is the same charge as many heinous crimes such as Unlawful Imprisonment (RCW 9A.40.040), Rape of a Child in the Third Degree (RCW 9a.44.079) and Reckless Burning in the F...

This reminds me of that alice's restaurant song where the litterbug got put in jail with the baby rapers.

Classic

 

[macbill]

Shopping with Snoop Dogg at Mary Jane’s House of Grass
Mary Jane’s House of Grass is a marijuana kiosk store within the Mary Jane’s House of Glass operation at 8312 E. Mill Plain Blvd., a business of more than 10 stores that sell smoking glass pipes and other marijuana lifestyle accessories. Through the end of the week, Snoop Dogg is also appearing at other House of Glass stores in Southwest Washington.

 

[CarolKing]

Police raid illegal pot farm on Badger Mountain
by K.C. Mehaffey

Aug. 3, 2016, 4:40 p.m.
Public Safety

After discovering it from a helicopter fly-over searching for illegal marijuana operations, a special response team from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office raided this farm on Badger Mountain on Wednesday and destroyed 646 plants.

WATERVILLE — If you thought legalizing marijuana meant that law enforcement would stop looking for people who are growing pot, think again.

At 6 a.m. Wednesday — after weeks of surveillance — the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office raided an illegal grow on Badger Mountain.

Officers destroyed some 646 plants with a street value of about $840,000 at the site near the end of Redfield Road, about four miles from Badger Mountain Road.

It’s been at least a couple of years since Douglas County has discovered a large illegal pot farm, Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal said. But that’s not because they stopped looking. The sheriff said that last year, they were just too busy with wildfires to go out looking for marijuana. But he’s not sure why large pot busts seemed to subside when pot became legal in this state.

This operation was discovered by a helicopter, flying over the area specifically looking for illegal pot farms, he said.

“The laws in this state are a lot less restrictive than they used to be, but it is still a drug,” Gjesdal said. “People are still going to produce it illegally because it’s cheaper, and because people can,” he added.

And law enforcement agencies are still going to take action when they discover people growing it illegally, he added.

No one was arrested during Wednesday’s raid. Gjesdal said when Douglas County’s special response team arrived at daybreak, no one was around, although a shack with fresh food in it was evidence that someone was living there. But the pot was destroyed, and the property used to grow it — including a flatbed pickup truck used to haul water, generators for lights, a bulldozer to clear land and a .40-caliber pistol — was seized.

The operation was on private property, but Gjesdal said it’s unknown if the property owner was involved. The sheriff’s office had help from the drug task force, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board.

Even in a legal state this is still happening. What a waste of probably good cannabis. I was wondering if this was a leftover medical farm that wanted one more grow? This will be a problem with high taxes. People want their weed $5 a gram or less.

CK

 

[CarolKing]

Thought I'd dust off this thread. A good article worth reading and what we all know here on FC. This applies to other states as well such as OR, CA, AK and CO plus the other legal states once they get to fully functioning.

Four Years After Legal Weed, Seattle's Black Market Still Thrives | Seattle Weekly
Seattle Weekly › news › four-years-after-...
Sep 21, 2016 - In a 2015 report, entitled “Estimating the Size of the Medical Cannabis Market in Washington State,” BOTEC put the black market's share of the total pot pie at about 30 percent, or $1.33 billion. To ...

 

[CarolKing]

Medical marijuana in schools? It may soon be legal in WA | KING5.com
KING5.com › news › health › marijuana...
A bill in the state legislature would allow parents to administer medical marijuana to their child on schoolgrounds. ... PST January 17, 2017. John Barclay puts drops of CBD oil on his daughter's cookie in an ...

 

[macbill]

Washington Bill Would Alter Marijuana Penalties, Allow Sharing

Legislation to alter the penalties associated with possessing and transferring certain amounts of marijuana has been filed in Washington State.

[T]he proposal would make several positive changes, such as reducing the penalty associated with possessing over the legal one ounce limit. It would also allow those 21 and older to share up to a half an ounce with others who are 21 and older, which is currently a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

 

[BabyFacedFinster]

which is currently a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison.

God-damn that is fucking cold- blooded.

 

[macbill]

Washington state bill would ban bitcoin for marijuana sales

A new bill in Washington state seeks to bar the use of Bitcoin in any sales transaction that involves marijuana. The bill's sponsor says there is no way to track the cryptocurrency, while opponents of the legislation say that claim "is simply false."

 

[CarolKing]

Legal Cannabis Delivery In Washington? Seattle Says Yes; Bill In Legislature
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Legal cannabis delivery has been a long time coming to Seattle. There were, of course, mostly legal medical marijuana delivery services, but even those were in something of a gray area, and the “mostly legal” part went away last July.

Convenient cannabis

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But Seattle hasn’t given up. This city wants convenient cannabis. Now, Seattle will be a driving force behind a new push for legal weed delivery – for the entire state of Washington, reports Mike Lewis at MyNorthwest.com. There would, of course, be restrictions on transport and branding.

Seattle tried last year to legalize a pilot program, with delivery just within the city, but that move would have to be approved by the Legislature. The Legislature was having none of it.

This year’s try, though, is more ambitious. It casts delivery as good for both public safety and for cannabis tourism. Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes’ staff wrote the bill. Holmes said it just makes sense for this to be next logical step for the industry, and it potentially helps with one public safety problem.

We know that people do drink and drive and smoke and drive and anything we can do to encourage them not to do that is harm reduction. – Holmes

The City Attorney pointed out that the bill would also allow house-bound users access to medical marijuana. In addition, it would boost sales for pot stores.

When you have visitors from out of town without private transportation, this is very much a marijuana tourism enhancing measure.

Safe delivery needs to be enforced

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Unofficial cannabis delivery services are, of course, available in Seattle, and always have been. But those are called “black market” deliveries because they don’t fill out the paperwork. It’s an open secret that Yelp has a subcategory of Best Marijuana Delivery In Seattle.

Holmes takes the difference seriously, though. He’s pressed charges against several of illegal delivery services. He said the new bill offers both limits and needed robbery protections for drivers. These include no bicycle delivery and no pot shop-branded cars.

You don’t want these guys to be like a Domino’s Pizza car – as an easy mark. – Holmes

This year’s bill still doesn’t have a number or a sponsor. However, Holmes said it should have enough bipartisan appeal to survive the Legislature and remove the legal prohibition on marijuana delivery.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray’s office expects the legislation to be introduced in the Legislature within two weeks, according to spokesman Benton Strong.

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Steve Elliott
Editor/Publisher at Toke Signals


What a $20 Bag of Weed Looks Like in Jamaica
Check out this exploration video of Jamaican weed, and just how much you can score for as little as $20.

 

[macbill]

Outdoor marijuana regulation continues to puzzle in Washington state

WENATCHEE – How do you regulate something you can’t measure?

That’s what’s stumping members of the Chelan County Planning Commission as they work toward a recommendation on a new set of rules to regulate the county’s commercial marijuana farms and processors.

Regulation for outdoor farms has been the biggest challenge.