Medical vs. Recreational Marijuana Laws in Seattle
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Medical vs. Recreational Marijuana Laws in Seattle
Marijuana laws can be super confusing, especially in Seattle where their’s both medical and recreational laws on the books. Let’s break it down so you know what’s legal and what’s not when it comes to weed in the Emerald City.
Recreational Weed
Washington state legalized recreational marijuana use and sales way back in 2012 when voters passed Initiative 502. Here’s what you need to know about buying and using recreational weed in Seattle:
- You gotta be 21 or older to buy, possess, or use recreational marijuana. No exceptions! Don’t even think about trying to sneak some if you’re underage.
- You can buy up to one ounce of flower, 16 ounces of solid edibles, or 72 ounces of liquid edibles from licensed weed shops.
- It’s illegal to consume weed in public places like parks, sidewalks, bars, restaurants, etc. You can only use it on private property where the owner allows it.
- It’s illegal to drive while high. You can get a DUI if you have more than 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood.
- You don’t have to be a Washington resident to buy weed here, but you can’t take it out of state or across country borders. Gotta consume it in WA.
- Growing recreational weed at home is still illegal, even with legal shops. Leave the growing to the licensed pros.
- Weed shops have to get licenses from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. No unlicensed sales allowed.
- Shops can’t be within 1000 feet of schools, playgrounds, rec centers, childcare, parks, transit centers, libraries, or arcades. Keeps weed away from kids.
So in summary, adults can freely buy and use weed in Seattle, but there’s still rules around where and how much. Public use or underage use will get you in trouble quick!
Medical Marijuana
Washington has allowed medical marijuana since way back in 1998. Patients need authorization from a doctor to access medical weed. Here’s the deal:
- Patients can possess up to 3 ounces of flower, 48 ounces of edibles, or 21 grams of concentrate. That’s way more than recreational users!
- Patients can grow their own weed at home. Up to 4 plants for most patients, or 6 plants for patients on a registry. None for rec users!
- No sales tax on medical weed, unlike the huge taxes on recreational stuff. Saves patients a ton of money.
- Patients under age 18 can qualify for medical marijuana too with a doctor’s authorization. But they still can’t access recreational stores.
- Instead of going to recreational shops, patients can visit medically-endorsed dispensaries and consult with experts there.
- Special medical products are available like vegan edibles, non-GMO weed, and full spectrum cannabis oils. Not always in rec shops.
- Patients don’t need to be Washington residents. Out of state patients qualify with proper authorization.
- It’s illegal for landlords or employers to discriminate against medical patients, even if they ban recreational use.
So in summary, medical patients get access to more weed, cheaper weed, home growing, and marijuana experts to consult. Makes sense with their medical needs.
Where things get tricky…
Now here’s where Seattle’s weed laws can get confusing AF. You gotta pay attention here:
- Even though medical weed has been legal for way longer, there’s way more recreational shops than medically-endorsed shops. Like 5X as many!
- Most recreational shops don’t want to deal with the hassles of medical patients and endorsements even though they technically can. It’s easier to just focus on recreational.
- So med patients have a hard time finding shops that will sell to them, especially without crazy high prices. Supply of medical weed is limited.
- Patients aren’t allowed to shop at recreational shops unless they’re registered in a medical marijuana database. So they’re blocked from most shops!
- Patients say it’s too expensive and time consuming to register in the database, so they just shop recreationally. But then they lose their medical benefits!
- Basically, the recreational system overshadows the medical system now. Some think medical marijuana might go away completely in the future.
- For now, patients have to jump through hoops to register and find the few medically-endorsed shops if they want their full medical benefits.
So in summary, Seattle’s recreational weed industry has kinda pushed out the medical marijuana industry that voters originally approved back in the day. Patients get some nice benefits on paper, but actually accessing them can be a huge pain. Typical government stuff, am I right?
Looking to the future
With all this confusion between medical and recreational laws, what does the future look like for weed in Seattle? Here’s some possibilities:
- The state could combine the medical and recreational systems into one unified marijuana system. More simple for everyone!
- Medical marijuana could go away completely if recreational weed gets even more accessible.
- They could expand medical benefits to let patients access any shop without registering.
- They could subsidize medically-endorsed shops and growers to increase supply for patients.
- They could allow home growing for all adults 21+, not just patients.
- Delivery weed could make access easier, especially for medical patients.
- Consumption lounges could open so people can legally smoke in public-ish spaces.
Honestly, nobody really knows what will happen. Laws keep changing all the time! For now, patients just gotta deal with the hassles if they want their medical perks. Hopefully things get smoothed out soon though.
The takeaway
- Adults 21+ can freely buy and use recreational weed from licensed shops within certain limits.
- Medical patients get way more benefits like more weed, lower costs, home growing, and expert advice.
- Seattle’s recreational system has kinda pushed out the original medical system, unfortunately.
- Medical patients have to jump through hoops to get their benefits with so few endorsed shops.
- The future could hold anything from unified systems to dissolving medical completely.
So that’s the low down on weed laws in Seattle! They’re working out the kinks between medical and recreational, but overall weed is alive and well here. Just remember to consume responsibly and legally, folks!
Let me know if you have any other questions.
[1] https://www.seattle.gov/council/issues/past-issues/marijuana-in-seattle
[2] https://visitseattle.org/visitor-information/marijuana-in-seattle/
[3] https://www.tromboldlaw.com/blog/what-are-the-current-marijuana-possession-laws-in-seattle/
[4] https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/608035.pdf?uid=62709ab26d2a1
[6] https://www.visitspokane.com/trip-planning/marijuana-legalization-in-washington/