With the passage of I-502, possession of certain amounts of marijuana becomes legal next week. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has published a list of frequently asked questions about what is and isn’t okay in unincorporated Snohomish County. Here it is for your reference…

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has released and posted the following information to assist the agency’s officers and staff, as well as the public, to clarify the impact Initiative 502 (I-502) may have in Snohomish County:

Legalization of marijuana possession for adults 21 and older: On December 6, 2012, adults age 21 and older may legally possess the following:

•One ounce (28.3 grams) or less of marijuana;
•Sixteen ounces of marijuana-infused product (in solid form);
•Seventy-two ounces of marijuana-infused product (in liquid form);
•Possession, use, and sale of marijuana-related drug paraphernalia will no longer be a crime or civil infraction.
•Until the State comes up with licensing guidelines there is no legal way for people to legally obtain marijuana, except for medical marijuana recipients.

Possession of marijuana exceeding legal amounts: Despite the legalization of certain amounts of marijuana for adults age 21 and older, the following remain criminal offenses:

•Possession of between 28.3 grams and 40 grams of marijuana will continue to be a misdemeanor crime;
•Possession of more than 40 grams of marijuana continues to be a Class C felony crime;

Possession of marijuana by persons under the age of 21: Possession of any amount of marijuana by a person under 21 years of age will remain a crime.

Manufacture and distribution of marijuana: While possession may be legal in some cases, the manufacture, sale and/or delivery of marijuana will continue to be a crime.

Displaying or consuming marijuana or a marijuana-infused product in view of the general public is a class 3 civil infraction. Similar to the consumption of alcohol in public, consuming marijuana in public will be illegal. This includes National Forest lands.

Legal definition of marijuana: The law added language to the definition of marijuana. Any part of the cannabis plant (whether growing or not), with a THC concentration greater than 0.3 percent of a dry weight basis is considered marijuana.

The laws regarding medical marijuana remain unchanged: Under RCW 69.51A.040, a qualifying patient or designated provider may possess no more than 15 cannabis plants and:

•No more than 24 ounces of useable cannabis;
•No more cannabis product than what could reasonably be produced with no more than twenty-four ounces of useable cannabis; or
•A combination of useable cannabis and cannabis product that does not exceed a combined total representing possession and processing of no more than 24 ounces of useable cannabis.
•If a person is both a qualifying patient and a designated provider for another qualifying patient, the person may possess no more than twice the amounts described above, whether the plants, useable cannabis, and cannabis product are possessed individually or in combination between the qualifying patient and his or her designated provider.

Amendments to impaired driving laws: SCSO deputies and officers can take a person suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana into custody and to a nearby hospital for a blood draw to measure THC levels.

RCW 46.20.308 (Implied Consent Warnings):
•After December 6, 2012, a person driving upon Washington’s roadways is presumed to have given consent to a test of his or her blood for the purposes of determining THC concentration.
•If an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect the driver is driving or was in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana, the officer will read the implied consent warning for blood and request the driver to submit to a blood draw.
•The Impaired Driving Section (IDS) has revised the implied consent warning for blood draws.

RCW 46.61.502 (Driving Under the Influence) and RCW 46.61.504 (Physical Control of a Vehicle Under the Influence):
•RCW 46.61.502 (Driving Under the Influence): After December 6, 2012, a person is guilty of driving under the influence if he or she at the time of driving has THC concentration of 5.00 ng/mL or higher within two hours of driving as shown by a test of the person’s blood.
•RCW 46.61.504 (Physical Control of a Vehicle Under the Influence): After December 6, 2012, a person is guilty of being in physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence if: (1) the person had actual physical control of a motor vehicle; and (2) the person has, within two hours after being in actual physical control of a vehicle, a THC concentration of 5.00 ng/mL or higher as shown by an analysis of the person’s blood.

RCW 46.61.503 (Driver Under Twenty-one After Consuming Alcohol or Marijuana):
•After December 6, 2012, a person is guilty of driving or being in physical control of a motor vehicle after consuming marijuana if: (1) the person is under the age of 21; (2) the person is driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle; and (3) the person has a blood THC concentration over 0.00 ng/mL but less than 5.00 ng/mL within two hours after driving or being in physical control of the motor vehicle as shown by an accurate test of the person’s blood.
•Impairment is not an element of this offense.
•Offense must occur in officer’s presence.
•Must have individualized probable cause that the driver consumed marijuana.
•Must use implied consent warnings.

Impacts in the Sheriff’s Office Workplace: I-502 does NOT legalize marijuana use in the workplace. It also does not alter employment conditions of the employer. The Sheriff’s Office drug policies will remain unchanged and all SCSO Office employees are bound to the constitutional, criminal, and civil laws of the city, county, state and federal government.

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photo courtesy KOMO News

The post Not an Everett Story but a Sad Day For All in Everett Who Care About News. Kathi Goertzen Passes Away appeared first on MY EVERETT NEWS.

Fatal Car-Pedestrian Accident South of Everett

Not a lot of details yet but the State Patrol is handling a Fatal Car-Pedestrian Accident in the Southbound lanes of Highway 99 north of Lincoln Way. This is going to cause major problems for those heading out of Everett into Lynnwood or those who take the 525-Highway 99 interchange to southbound I-5, 405 or the Alderwood Mall. If you normally take SB 99 or Airport Road out of Everett, go east on 128th to avoid the backup that’s already starting.

The post Fatal Car-Pedestrian Accident to Affect P.M. Commute between Everett and Lynnwood appeared first on MY EVERETT NEWS.

Everett police at shooting scene

The post 7:05pm update appeared first on MY EVERETT NEWS.

K-9 units out looking for suspects. More info. coming. Horizon Elementary is the scene. Victim being transported to hospital

The post Everett Police investigating shooting at South Everett schoolyard appeared first on MY EVERETT NEWS.

Here’s the latest from SCSO…Everett police officer-involved shooting under investigation

EVERETT – Detectives with the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team are investigating an officer-involved shooting that started at 11:15 p.m. Sunday at 33rd St. and Rockefeller Ave. in north Everett. No one was injured in the incident.

It began when an Everett police officer made a traffic stop on a 1984 Cadillac Fleetwood. The driver – who was the only person in the car – displayed a gun. The officer fired his weapon, but the driver was not injured and drove away in the Cadillac. It’s not yet clear if the suspect/driver fired at the officer during the traffic stop.

Minutes later, an Everett police sergeant spotted the suspect’s vehicle headed southbound on I-5 and followed it. The suspect pulled into the 112th Street park-and-ride lot in south Everett where he fired shots at the police sergeant. The sergeant was not injured.

The suspect then fled the park-and-ride lot and headed westbound on 112th St. SW. He stopped the Cadillac in the 900 block of 112th St. SW and fled on foot to a nearby apartment complex.

Officers set up containment in the area and brought in K-9 to search for the suspect. K-9 narrowed the search to the “D” building in the apartment complex. Officers continued the search and found the man in one of the apartments in the “D” building. They arrested the man without incident at about 12:25 a.m. today.

It appears the people who live in that apartment allowed the suspect to come in, but detectives have not yet determined the relationship between the residents and the suspect.

The officer involved in the traffic stop incident is 35 years old. He has been with the Everett Police Department for four-and-a-half years. He has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is routine.

The sergeant involved in the park-and-ride lot incident is 47-years-old and has been with the Everett Police Department for 19 years. He is not on paid administrative leave as he did not fire his weapon.

Detectives are processing the various crime scenes involved in this case. They have discovered a gun in the suspect’s car. The car is not believed to be stolen. The suspect is 25-years-old. His city of residence – and any possible criminal history – is still being confirmed. He is expected to be booked into the Snohomish County jail today for assault and other possible booking charges.

The Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team is a specialized team of highly-trained detectives from law enforcement agencies throughout Snohomish County called upon to investigate officer-involved shootings.

The post 7:00am update on Everett Police Being Shot At… appeared first on MY EVERETT NEWS.