I-502 & Hempfest 2013: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

As one of your resident Washington State marijuana journalists (that’s a thing now!), I wanted to say a little about how WA has fared since the passionately discussed I-502 “legalization.” Considering the rules and regulations are still in the process of being written, the picture is still somewhat hazy about how this will finally play out. That also means that hard statistics are challenging to locate.

Seeing as how Hempfest is set to descend upon Seattle in mid-August, it seemed a fitting time to take a look at how the landscape has shifted since Hempfest 2012. I don’t know if you recall, Weedists, but the 2012 Hempfest atmosphere took on a noticeably more serious tone. What caused this traditionally jovial gathering to head into stormy seas? It was the debate about the impending I-502 bill that ultimately passed on a strong majority vote.

Seattle Hempfest 2012 – The Great I-502 Debate

The cannabis aficionados were split into two groups: those in favor of I-502 and those opposed. Those in favor wanted to take a much needed step toward ending prohibition, those against (including most of the MMJ providers) still wanted an end to prohibition, but the potential taxes and fears of a unrealistically stringent THC DUI threshold of 5-nanometer/blood level led many to say that I-502 was not really legalization at all and would lead to a huge uptick in cannabis-related arrests/citations.

As stated above, hard numbers on I-502 are hard to find, simply because the data is still below the critical mass needed to generate a comprehensive report. However, Matt Driscoll, writer for Seattle Weekly, was able to get some early stats. The issues on cannabis taxation will have to wait for another article, one that can be written only after the regulations are written themselves. But there is some preliminary information regarding marijuana related DUIs since I-502 passed.

Depending on which side of the debate you fell on, you’ll either be pleasantly surprised or get to thumb your nose and say, “I told you so.” The following is quoted directly from Driscoll’s article, regarding DUI fears:

“…six months into our legal weed experiment in Washington those fears have yet to materialize. The King County Prosecutor’s Office says only 14 DUI cases have been filed under the five nanograms provision, while the Seattle City Attorney’s Office says it has filed exactly one case (though spokesperson Kimberly Mills says there are “several under review for possible filing”). The Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office, meanwhile, reports a total of 19 marijuana-related DUI charges so far in 2013.”

For those that don’t know Washington well, King and Pierce counties are the largest and most populous in the state with a combined population of 2,744,750. Seattle itself is in King county. That means out of about 2.7 million people, only 34 marijuana related DUIs have been issued. I’m no mathlete, but I’m guessing that’s nearly statistically insignificant.

Granted, this could all change once laws officially go into practice, but I think as Driscoll’s article intones, this year’s Hempfest should involve some healing.

On a personal note, I would like to point out that from my perspective, not a whole lot has changed since I-502, except I feel a little safer about discussing and using cannabis without fear of criminal suspicion.

I think that if you’re driving around like an asshole and creating an unsafe environment on the roads, you should be pulled over, whether that’s from weed, alcohol, sleep deprivation, a fight with your spouse or anything else. You still need to get pulled over to get a DUI, if you can’t drive in a safe enough manner to not be pulled over, then you should not be driving. Maybe that’s a little Darwinian, but if we want to be taken seriously, Weedists, we have to exist in the world as it is, not the pot utopia of our addled dreams.

To be certain, there are cases where the law has gotten it wrong and the tests don’t accurately reflect reality, and I truly feel bad for people in that situation. But most DUIs (I’m speaking about all DUIs, not just pot DUIs) are issued as a reaction to driver behavior, and most DUIs are probably legitimate. I do think trying to measure THC blood level as an indication of intoxication is stupid, but I also see this step as a necessary shackle we must bear in the mean time. Legalization would never happen, ever (not in the USA or anywhere else), if it was not tied to safety protocols. As it stands, the only DUI protocols in place are there for the biggest and most classically relevant player: alcohol. I hope that as the laws develop we can get more accurate ways of measuring cannabis impairment, but that may be tomorrow’s fight.

We have to baby step our way out of the prohibition dungeon, not all steps are comfortable and not all will remain in the long run. As Driscoll’s article mentions, marijuana has never been fully legal anywhere, and there is no right way to do this yet.

In Washington and Colorado, we are the Lewis and Clark of cannabis exploration. We are bound to lose a few of our preconceptions and encounter unknown trials, but we also stand on the verge of a greater world. I, for one, am excited and willing to take the splinters that come with climbing giant trees.