Marijuana

It may be surprising, but no state is required to have a law making possession of marijuana, or any drug, a crime. Therefore, any state can legalize some or all marijuana possession if it chooses. The federal government, if it chooses, can enforce the federal law against its possession and use, but it is up to each state to decide what to criminally prohibit, based on the 10th Amendment. This basic insight has been lost in the public discussion about whether the initiatives legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana passed by Colorado and Washington voters in November are pre-empted by federal law. The two states will soon finalize regulations to implement those initiatives, including how to tax and regulate marijuana. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told a recent meeting of state attorneys general that the Justice Department review of the initiatives was winding down, suggesting an imminent decision as to whether it intends to challenge the initiatives as being pre-empted by federal law.

OLYMPIA – Sometime in the next year, Washington residents will be able to walk into a store and buy legal marijuana. Will that store be like Nordstrom, Wal-Mart or a mom-and-pop grocery? That question surfaced Tuesday in a legislative hearing, although it couldn’t be answered. The State Liquor Control Board, which is tasked by Initiative 502 with setting up the system to regulate growth, processing and sales of legal marijuana, announced early in the day it had just hired consultants to help set up that system.

Federal investigators seized about 90 marijuana plants in Greenacres on Wednesday after detectives found a Craigslist posting advertising “extra top quality” marijuana. DEA agents believe Paul E. Ellis continued to grow marijuana at his property in the 18000 block of East Riverside Avenue despite prior investigations, according to court documents filed this week.

BOISE – Idaho senators voted along party lines Monday to declare that their state should never legalize marijuana for any purpose, but rejected another measure calling for a federal crackdown on states like Washington that have. “Idaho cannot go into any other state and enforce Idaho law there. We are looking to the federal government,” state Sen. Chuck Winder, R-Boise, sponsor of both measures, told the Senate.

The number of businesses in Spokane specializing in medical marijuana will be frozen at about a dozen for at least the next six months. Fearing the proliferation of businesses that sell pot before Washington even finishes crafting regulations for the state’s new legalized recreational marijuana industry, the Spokane City Council on Monday instituted a moratorium on new medical marijuana dispensaries and related businesses.

OLYMPIA – The cannabis plant could provide Washington state with two new agricultural crops: one for smoking and one making rope and fabric. Different strains of the plant would be used for the different products, and different state agencies would control the crops. They share one key element: They’re currently both against federal law.

BOISE – Idaho should never legalize marijuana for any purpose and should call on the U.S. Justice Department to crack down on states that do, state lawmakers declared Wednesday. The unmistakably clear anti-pot message is taking shape in two proposed resolutions that cleared the Idaho Senate State Affairs Committee after more than two hours of emotional testimony.

Two resolutions calling for Idaho to never legalize marijuana for any purpose, and for the U.S. Justice Department to crack down in states that do, cleared an Idaho Senate committee on Wednesday after more than two hours of emotional testimony on both sides.

Spokane leaders on Tuesday got a glimpse of where the first pot for recreational use might be grown or sold legally within city limits. The map is heavily dominated by areas north of Interstate 90 and east of Division Street, especially east Hillyard, along East Trent Avenue and several commercial areas north of Francis Avenue.

Anticipating a large crowd at today’s forum on legalized marijuana rules, a state agency made an 11th-hour decision to move to a bigger room – the Spokane Convention Center. The Washington State Liquor Control Board’s forum on its efforts to comply with Initiative 502 will be held at 6 p.m. today in the Spokane Convention Center. A spokesman for the board said agency officials feared the Spokane City Council Chambers wouldn’t be big enough.

In late August, baby boomers (and others whose teen years were spent in a haze of marijuana smoke) seemed to get the comeuppance they had long feared: A study suggested that early and frequent pot smoking resulted in depressed intelligence scores well into adulthood. But a new analysis suggests that in assigning blame for the lower IQ scores they found, the authors of that study may themselves have gotten caught in a haze of confusion.

OLYMPIA – Public forums on Washington’s new recreational marijuana law are proving so popular that the state agency sponsoring them is adding events and sometimes booking bigger venues to handle the expected crowds. The Washington Liquor Control Board originally scheduled six forums around the state to discuss implementation of Initiative 502, including setting up the production, processing and sale of marijuana. Among its forums is a Feb. 12 Spokane event that starts at 6 p.m. in the Spokane Convention Center.

Some lawmakers in Olympia say Washington state needs to tax sales of medical marijuana, just as it will tax sales of recreational marijuana if and when legal sales begin in the state.

Master Gardeners in Spokane help people with questions about horticulture, pests and even environmental stewardship. Just don’t ask them for help growing marijuana.