Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014 - Mason County Journal - Page C-9
Mason County Sheriff's Deputy Justin Cotte
adapting to the state's new marijuana law.
works the swing shift in 2012. Sheriff's Office
Journal file photo
deputies are among local law enforcement
00
By NATALIE
JOHNSON
Officers in Mason County
have more time, less red tape
s marijuana an "unspeakable scourge,"
a "frightful assassin of our youth," as
it was called in the 1937 movie "Reefer
Madness?"
The jury may still be out for many
people.
However, the legalization of recreational
Cannabis so far hasn't had much of an effect on
law enforcement or criminal justice in Mason
County, according to officials.
"I don't even think we can say we've seen an
increase in marijuana DUIs," Mason County
Prosecutor Mike Dorcy said.
After a year and a half, law enforcement of-
ricers are still in a holding pattern, waiting to
see what trends show up in the arrest data over
the next few years.
"As of yet it hasn't affected our job," said a
Mason County Sheriffs Office sergeant involved
with the Special Operations Group (SOG),
which investigates drug crimes. "A lot of people
are waiting to see how this plays out."
Despite their impressions, arrests and pros-
ecutions for marijuana possession have de-
creased in the past year.
***
In November 2012, Washington voters ap-
proved Initiative 502, legalizing recreational
marijuana use in the state. The next month,
portions of the new law took effect, making it
legal for people age 21 or older to possess up to
1 ounce of Cannabis.
After more than a year and a half, not much
has changed for law enforcement, said interim
Chief Les Watson of the Shelton Police Depart-
ment.
"I didn't anticipate there would be signifi-
cant changes in our daily operations or the way
we work," he said. "We're talking about misde-
meanor possession."
While it is legal for an adult 21 and older to
possess 1 ounce of marijuana, it is still a misde-
meanor offense to possess between 1 ounce --
28.3 grams -- and 40 grams.
It is still a felony for an adult to posses more
than 40 grams, or 1.4 ounces of marijuana.
In 2012, before 1-502 became law, Shelton
police arrested 57 adults and 35 juveniles for
possession of marijuana.
In 2013, they arrested one adult and 23 ju-
veniles.
The one adult arrest was for an 18-year-old
CHOICE Alternative School student, who was
caught with 0.8 grams, or 0.02 ounces, of mari-
juana in his car during a drug sweep with Ma-
son County Sheriffs deputy Sean Dodge and his
narcotic sniffing K-9 partner, Kona.
The marijuana was logged into evidence and
the case was forwarded to the Shelton city pros-
ecutor.
see page C-10
Marijuana's
Ion& strange histor9
Cannabis~'has been used for its medicinal and intoxicating effects
throughout recorded human history, but its status as an illegal drug is a
fairly recent phenomena.
Medical usa
Earliest written of marijuana
reference to in the Middle
marijuana East recorded
in Chinese in the anicent
pharmacopeia Persian text,
the Venidad
Persion prophet/philosopher Zorooster
Medical
Cannabis
used in
ancient
Greece
British herbalist
Nicholas
Culpeper writes
about medical
uses for hemp
CREDITS: Text by www.ProCon.org and
Mason County Jourr~l staff Zoroaster
photo, forelgnpolicyjoumal.com.
Napoleon's forces
bring marijuana
from Egypt to
France
Marijuana
added to the
"United States
Pharmacopeia"
February: Washington becomes one of
the first states to outlaw marijuana
Pure Food and
Drugs Act requires Sept. 10: First residents of Washington
labeling of arrested for possession of marijuana
medicine, including under new state law.
Cannabis ! ....
Massachusetts becomes first
state to outlaw Cannabis
January: President
Woodrow Wilson signs
the Harrison Act, the
model for future drug
regulation legislation
Feb. 19." League
of Nations signs
multilateral
treaty restricting
Cannabis to
scientific and
medical use only
~[;i ~~~l|lg i I Igli I I] [ i[ 7 i i: I ~ i [ ~ li li I [11 III l I
