Feds Force Washington To Change Marijuana Measurement [View all]

[Newsjock]

Source: The Stranger

The Washington State Liquor Control Board will announce later today that it is scrapping a rule about how the agency will measure distances between legal pot shops and schools to meet demands from the US Department of Justice, sources say.

Initiative 502 requires a 1,000-foot buffer between such places, and in the final pot rules announced last week, the agency had decided to measure that distance by "common path of travel" rather than "as the crow flies." The federal government is up in arms about this legal interpretation, and thinks it should be more difficult to site cannabis retailers in Seattle.

... Liquor board head Rick Garza ... said the feds have not specifically said they will raid legal pot shops within 1,000 feet of schools, but the threat was obvious. He says potential licensees, many of whom have started finding potential pot properties based on the "common path of travel" measurement, need to be aware of the change. "We want to make sure they're aware the board plans on using a measurement that aligns with the federal government."

... I received the following response from Department of Justice spokeswoman Emily Langlie: "The Attorney General made clear to Governor Inslee that the Justice Department will continue to enforce the Controlled Substances Act with a sharp focus on federal enforcement priorities."

Read more: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/09/13/feds-force-washington-to-change-marijuana-measurement