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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 2012)
December 12, 2012 (Th ' ^.lortlanh (©bseruer Page 17 Marijuana Turns Legal in Washington Crowds celebrate; selling drug is still outlawed (A P) - The crow ds o f happy people lighting jo in ts under Seattle's Space N eedle early T hursday m o rn ing w ith nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: M arijuana is legal under W ashington state law. H u n d red s g a th e re d at S eattle C enter for a N ew Y ear's E ve-style countdow n to 12 a.m ., w hen the legalization m easure passed by v o t ers last m onth took effect. W hen the c lo c k stru c k , th ey c h e e re d and sparked up in unison. A few dozen people gathered on a sidew alk outside the north Seattle h e a d q u a r te r s o f th e a n n u a l H em pfest celebration and did the sam e, offering jo in ts to reporters and blow ing sm oke into television new s cam eras. "I feel like a kid in a candy sto re !" shouted H em pfest volunteer D arby H agem an. "It's all becom ing real now !" W ashington and C olorado b e cam e the first states to vote to d e crim inalize and regulate the p o sses sion o f an ounce o r less o f m arij uana by adults over 21. B oth m easures call for setting up state licensing schem es for pot grow ers, pro ces sors and retail stores. C olorado's law is set to take effect by Jan. 5. T echnically, W ashington's new m arijuana law still forbids sm oking pot in public, w hich rem ains pun- uary rarrisn smoKes marijuana in a glass pipe just after midnight on Thursday during a celebration by advocates of the drug at the Space Needle in Seattle. While possession of marijuana has became legal in Washington, the new law does prohibit public use of marijuana. (AP Photo) ishable by a fine, like drinking in baked, ord er som e pizzas and enjoy public. B ut pot fans w anted a party, a 'Lord o f the R ings' m arathon in the and Seattle police w eren't about to privacy o f your ow n hom e, if you w rite them any tickets. w ant to." T he Seattle Police D epartm ent He offered a catchy new directive told its 1,300 officers on W ednes- re fe rrin g to th e film "T he B ig day, ju st before legalization took Lebow ski," popular with many mari- hold, that until fu rth er notice they ju a n a fans: "The D ude abides, and shall not issue citations for public says 'take it inside!'" m arijuana use. "This is a big day because all o u r O fficers will be advising people lives w e've been living under the not to sm o k e in p u b lic , p o lic e iron curtain o f prohibition," said spokesm an Jonah S pangenthal-L ee H em pfest director V ivian M cPeak. w rote on the SPD B lotter. "The po- "The w hole w orld sees that prohibi- lice departm ent believes that, under tion ju s t took a body blow ." state law, you m ay responsibly get W ash in g to n 's new law d ecrim i- n a liz e s p o sse ssio n o f up to an o u n c e fo r th o se o v e r 21, bu t fo r now sellin g m a riju a n a re m a in s il- leg al. 1-502 g iv e s th e sta te a y e a r to c o m e up w ith a sy ste m o f sta te - lic e n se d g ro w e rs, p ro c e sso rs an d re ta il sto re s, w ith th e m a riju a n a ta x ed 25 p e rc e n t at e ac h stag e , A n a ly sts h av e e stim a te d th a t a le g a l p o t m a rk e t c o u ld b rin g W ash in g to n h u n d re d s o f m illio n s o f d o lla rs a y e a r in new tax re v - en u e fo r sc h o o ls, h e a lth c are an d b a sic g o v e rn m e n t fu n c tio n s, But m arijuana rem ains illegal under federal law. T hat m eans fed- eral agents can still arrest people for it, and it's banned from federal pro p erties, including m ilitary b ases and national parks. T he Justice D epartm ent has not said w hether it w ill sue to try to blo ck the regulatory sch em es in W ashington and C olorado from tak ing effect. "The departm ent's resp o n sib il ity to enforce the C o n tro lled S u b stances Act rem ains unchanged," said a statem ent issued by the S e attle U.S. attorney's office. "N either states n o r the ex ecu tiv e branch can nullify a statute passed by C o n g re ss." T he legal question is w h ether the establishm ent o f a regulated m ari ju a n a m arket w ould "frustrate the purpose" o f the federal pot p ro h ib i tion, and m any constitutional law scholars say it very likely w ould. T hat leaves the political q u e s tion o f w hether the ad m in istration w ants to try to b lo ck the reg ulatory system , even though it w ould re m ain legal to p ossess up to an ounce o f m arij uana. A liso n H o lc o m b is the d ru g p o lic y d ire c to r o f th e A m e ric a n C iv il L ib erties U n io n o f W a s h in g to n a n d se rv e d as the c a m p a ig n m a n ag e r for N ew A p p ro ach W ash in g to n , w h ich led the le g a liz a tio n d riv e . S he said th e v o te rs c le a rly sh o w e d th e y 're d o n e w ith m a ri ju a n a p ro h ib itio n . "N ew A p p ro a c h W a s h in g to n sponsors and the A C L U look fo r w ard to w orking w ith state and fed eral officials and to ensure the law is fully and fairly im plem ented," she said. Dreams Come True in Old Town Service center and affordable housing opens The Macdonald Center will provide support services for low-income people and 42 units of affordable housing for the working poor in the Old Town community. The M acdonald C enter hosted a grand opening celebration on T hursday to c o m m em orate the com pletion and opening o f the seven-story M acdonald W est, an com plex to provide an expanded service hub for the c e n te r’s outreach and support services for low -incom e individuals and 42 units o f a f fordable housing for the w orking p o o r in die O ld T ow n com m unity. T he support o f the com m unity, the city, the cou n ty , and the state d u rin g a very difficult econom ic clim ate, co m b in ed w ith M acdonald C en ter’s loyal donors o v er the past 20 years, provided the resources and energy to m ake this project a reality. LRS A rchitects and H ow ard S. W right have lead the design and construction team s for w hat will becom e safe and secure h o u s ing fo r the w orking poor. The studio ap art m ents w ill provide affordable housing for low -w age w orkers earning up to 6 0 percent o f area m edian incom e. T he capital cam paign to raise the rem aining funds for the project - Building a M ore C o n nected C om m unity - h a s also achieved a m ajor m ilestone with nearly $ 12 million raised for the construction costs and a program investm ent fund. M ajor contributors to date include M eyer M em orial Trust, H E D C O Foundation, Ann and Bill Swindells Charitable Trust, The Collins Foundation and a bequest from M aybelle C lark M acdonald. T h e G r a n d O p e n in g C e r e m o n y , M acdonald W est: W here D ream s C om e True, celeb rated the history o f the b u ild in g site, including the 106 year old W est H otel and m usic venue legend, the S atyricon, as w ell as the positive m om entum and bright future o f the C en ter and O ld T ow n C hinatow n C o m m unity. T h e M acdonald C en ter is a n o n -profit lead er in p roviding outreach, housing and supportive services to v ulnerable adults and sen io rs.
