SALON

Monday, Nov 12, 2012 7:30 PM UTC

220 marijuana cases already dismissed in legalized Washington

"There's no point continuing to seek criminal penalties," said prosecutor

By

Topics: Marijuana Legalization, washington state, War on Drugs, marijuana, Colorado, Marijuana arrests, ,

220 marijuana cases already dismissed in legalized Washington (Credit: Shutterstock)

Less than a week ago, voters in Washington State approved the legalization of recreational marijuana use. Prosecutors in the state are already acting on the decision. Around 220 misdemeanor cases involving pot possession of less than one ounce by individuals over 21 (which will be legal under the new law) have already been dismissed in the Seattle area.

“Although the effective date of I-502 [the legalization bill] is not until December 6, there is no point in continuing to seek criminal penalties for conduct that will be legal next month,” King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg told the Seattle Times, adding “I think when the people voted to change the policy, they weren’t focused on when the effective date of the new policy would be. They spoke loudly and clearly that we should not treat small amounts of marijuana as an offense.”

According to the Seattle Times, “Satterberg is the first prosecutor to change charging policy after I-502, but other prosecutors are also considering these cases. Tom McBride of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys said his office ‘just starting to work through those issues.’”

Although legalization ballot measures passed in both Washington and Colorado, state legislatures are still in the process of deciding details regarding sales licensing, regulations and taxes. News of dismissed misdemeanor cases in Washington will no doubt please the pro-legalization advocates, many of whom highlighted the problems with marijuana arrests in states where the drug was already decriminalized (such as Colorado prior to last week’s full legalization decision).

As Salon reported, a report released ahead of last Tuesday’s vote found that, of the more than 200,000 people who have been arrested in Colorado for marijuana possession since 1986, a disproportionate amount of black and Latino young people were targeted. The report highlighted the potentially ruinous effects of even misdemeanor charges. For 220 individuals in Washington with marijuana possession cases already dismissed, these risks are already history.

[h/t Gawker]

 

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com. More Natasha Lennard.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 7 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: So long, Sookie Stackhouse

Recommendations