Misdemeanor cases of marijuana possession will be dropped in Washington’s largest counties after voters legalized the drug last week.
King County will drop 175 cases, prosecutor Dan Satterberg said Friday.
Pierce County prosecutor Mark Lindquist said his office will do the same, but he didn’t immediately know the number of cases affected.
Under Initiative 502, possession of an ounce or less of marijuana will be legal for people 21 years or older after Dec. 6.
The initiative passed on Tuesday with 55 percent of the vote.
“Although the effective date of I-502 is not until Dec. 6, there is no point in continuing to seek criminal penalties for conduct that will be legal next month,” Satterberg said in a statement.
North Olympic Peninsula law enforcement officials say they will hold off on arresting and taking into custody residents with small amounts of marijuana in their possession.
Clallam County
“I don’t see any point in issuing a criminal citation for something I know will be legal in less than 30 days,” Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict said.
“If it becomes legal after Dec. 6, it wouldn’t even get to trial by then.”
Port Angeles Police Chief Terry Gallagher echoed that pledge.
“We would not make a custodial arrest,” he said.
“We might take a citation, document it and send a report to the prosecutor,” Gallagher added.
“I don’t believe the criminal justice system has been overly concerned about marijuana for quite some time because, frankly, the public has not been,” he said.
“We are going to spend our time enforcing laws that matter.”
Sequim Police Chief Bill Dickinson said Friday that he, too, would stop issuing marijuana citations immediately because to do so “would violate the spirit” of I-502.
“We know it will be completely legal in a matter of days,” he said Friday.
Forks Police Chief Rick Bart said that if an officer makes a traffic stop and the driver has marijuana, the officer would make the arrest.
“We’re not going to be hunting people down for it,” he added.
The county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office would not file charges against a person for possessing small amounts of marijuana no matter where he was arrested in the county, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney John Troberg said.
Most people arrested on marijuana offenses for small amounts go to drug court instead, he said.
“Unless we have a very large amount, I wouldn’t prosecute it,” Troberg said.
Jefferson County
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans said Friday he does not file drug charges for possession of under 40 grams — 1.4 ounces — of marijuana.
Those cited for under 40 grams are instead ordered, by letter, to attend drug education classes, Rosekrans said.
“That seems to have been quite successful,” he said.
North Olympic Peninsula law enforcement officials said they are assessing the impacts of enforcing the measure under a system similar to that which controls alcohol.
Port Townsend Assistant City Attorney-Prosecuting Attorney Dee Boughton said Friday he was discussing a plan of action with City Attorney John Watts regarding marijuana cases.
“The city is currently reviewing the provisions of Initiative 502 and making determinations of how that affects particularly law enforcement and what the law is and how it’s going to be enforced, given the recent change,” Boughton said.
When he was in court Thursday, several lawyers approached him saying, “Hey, what are you going to do with all the pot cases?” Boughton said.
“The city will have to weigh in and come up with a policy,” he added.
“I’m concerned about new cases.”
Federal lands
OPNET, the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team that covers Clallam and Jefferson counties, has been focusing on harder drugs such as illegal drugs heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, and pharmaceuticals such as Oxycodone instead of marijuana, “for quite some time,” Field Supervisor Jason Viada said.
“The harder drugs are our focus, and we are going to continue to focus on that,” Viada said.
Marijuana remains illegal on federal land, including in Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, which is traversed by about 17 miles of U.S. Highway 101 along Lake Crescent.
“My concern is that people might misunderstand that there are two sets of law out there, Washington law and federal law, and they’re different,” Viada said.
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