DrugSense

The Columbian, 11 Feb 2013 – Liquor Control Board Is Finding the Road to Marijuana Reform Is Full of Bumps Taking the pot show on the road is producing more questions than answers for the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Previously, the board made tour stops at marijuana forums in Seattle and Olympia, listening to questions and answers about the decision by voters last fall to legalize recreational use of marijuana by adults. Thursday evening, the WSLCB visited Vancouver and heard from a crowd of about 400 people at Clark College’s Gaiser Hall.

Seattle Times, 10 Feb 2013 – IN the campaign over legalizing marijuana, the loudest voices for "no" came from medical users who feared they would unfairly lose their right to drive. They can relax. Initiative 502’s standard for driving under the influence has not led to the crackdown they predicted. There has been no jump in "green DUIs," said the Washington State Patrol’s toxicologist, Dr. Fiona Couper, at the hearing in Olympia Wednesday of the House Public Safety Committee. Seattle DUI attorney Patricia Fulton reported "absolutely no effect" in her defense practice.

DrugSense

Seattle Times, 07 Feb 2013 – OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – The state toxicologist says she hasn’t seen a spike in positive blood tests for marijuana since pot became legal under Washington law. Voters last fall passed Initiative 502, allowing adults over 21 to possess up to an ounce of marijuana. The measure, which took effect Dec. 6, set a driving-under-the-influence limit designed to be similar to the .08 blood-alcohol content for drunken driving – 5 nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood.

Seattle Times, 31 Jan 2013 – To get a handle on the strange new reality of Washington’s legal marijuana market, consider what could happen when state-licensed pot stores open in December and none of the businesses can get a bank account. That means no fiscal paper trail for state tax auditors and regulators to follow. No commercial loans or credit-card processing. And piles and piles of cash, in a startup industry estimated at $2 billion.

The Columbian, 28 Jan 2013 – State Faces Five Unique Challenges As It Goes About Implementing I-502 Passage of Initiative 502 last November created this irony: A 78-year-old state agency is trying to figure out how to do its job.

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Tulsa World, 20 Jan 2013 – YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) – Irrigation canals line Washington’s Yakima Valley east of the Cascade Range, transforming a desert landscape into one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world – including crops for some of America’s biggest vices. Thousands of acres of wine grapes dot the landscape, contributing to Washington’s No. 2 rank for premium wine production behind California. Farmers grow more than twothirds of U.S. hops for big beer companies and craft brewers alike, and a large tobacco field is flourishing.

Seattle Times, 11 Jan 2013 – WASHINGTON is uniquely positioned to show the nation how a well-considered market for marijuana is a safer, saner and more lucrative approach than prohibition. Let’s not screw it up. The Washington State Liquor Control Board, the new marijuana overseer for the voter-approved market, has its work cut out.