US

Legal pot in Wash. state - questions and answers

SEATTLE (AP) — Marijuana became legal under Washington state law Thursday. So, bong hits and funny brownies for everybody?

Not quite. Pot legalization in the Evergreen State has raised many questions, some that likely won't be answered for a while. Here's a quick primer: WHO CAN USE MARIJUANA? Adults over the age of 21 can possess up to an ounce.

WHERE CAN PEOPLE BUY IT? You can have it, but for now it remains illegal to sell pot. Initiative 502, the measure state voters approved last month, gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores.

CAN PEOPLE LIGHT UP IN PUBLIC, SAY, UNDER THE SEATTLE SPACE NEEDLE? Technically, no. The new state law forbids smoking in public. People who do face a fine, as do people who openly drink alcohol in public. However, that didn't stop people from smoking joints under the Space Needle on Thursday, when the new law took effect. For now, Seattle police say they won't be writing tickets to those folks. They generally ignored small marijuana use even before Thursday, arguing they had bigger crimes to fight.

WILL POT BE TAXED? Yes, under Washington's new law, analysts figure a legal pot market could reap hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new taxes for schools, health care and other things. WHAT IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT GOING TO DO?

That's the question state officials want answered in Washington and Colorado, where marijuana becomes legal next month. So far, the Justice Department has reiterated that marijuana remains illegal under federal law, but Uncle Sam's lawyers have yet to specifically respond to the new pot laws in those two states. So, lighting up could still technically get you in trouble with the feds.

Related Headlines

  • 2 sought in NY killing of LA man

    Investigators have yet to identify a suspect in the brazen shooting of a Los Angeles man in midtown Manhattan. A gunman and a getaway driver ambushed Brandon Lincoln Woodard ... 

  • Rescued Christmas tree lifts wrecked town's spirit

    In the days after Superstorm Sandy wrecked this gritty blue-collar enclave on the New Jersey shore, creating iconic scenes of devastation and loss, the artificial Christmas ... 

  • John McAfee

    McAfee in Miami after deportation from Guatemala

    Anti-virus software founder John McAfee said U.S. authorities have made no efforts to question him since he arrived in Miami on Wednesday night after weeks of evading Belizean ... 

  • KHALED EL-MASRI

    European court condemns CIA in landmark ruling

    A European court issued a landmark ruling Thursday that condemned the CIA's so-called extraordinary renditions programs and bolstered those who say they were illegally ... 

Find your future job here

What

Where

Service