Washington
Prior to December 6, 2012, possession of less than 40 grams of cannabis was a misdemeanor crime in Washington state, punishable by a minimum mandatory sentence ranging from 1 to 90 days.
On February 19, 2009, SB 5615 - 2009-10 was introduced in the state legislature. The bill would have reclassified possession of forty grams or less of marijuana from a misdemeanor to a class 2 civil infraction. The bill did not pass.
Seattle, Washington: Initiative 75, passed by the 58% of Seattle, WA voters in September 2003, requires that "the Seattle Police Department and City Attorney’s Office shall make the investigation, arrest and prosecution of marijuana offenses, when the marijuana was intended for adult personal use, the city’s lowest law enforcement priority." The ordinance subsequently adopted by the Seattle City Council to implement the new policy included provisions for the president of the city council to appoint an eleven-member Marijuana Policy Review Panel to assess and report on the effects of this ordinance.
Tacoma, Washington, municipal voters overwhelmingly favored local ballot measures to mandate that the criminal enforcement of cannabis possession offenses be law enforcement’s lowest priority. In Tacoma, 65% of voters decided in favor of Initiative 1, which states that minor marijuana offenses shall be “the lowest enforcement priority of the City of Tacoma.”
On November 6, 2012 Washington residents voted Yes on Initiative Measure No. 502 to license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession (limited to one ounce per person) for people over age 21; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and earmark marijuana-related revenues. The law became effective December 6, 2012.
Read more about this topic: Places That Have Decriminalized Non-medical Cannabis In The United States
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