3 ms·

I would have thought that the weed for the pacific northwest would come from BC.

loeg 14y ago
I don't have any sources to cite, obviously, but from what I know of it, quite a lot is grown locally (i.e., in Washington state). It's maybe less risky than moving it over the Canada-US border, and Washington has been fairly soft on marijuana users for a while (medical marijuana for two decades[0], lowest priority for the Seattle police department since 2003[1]). There have been ~illegal medical marijuana coops in Seattle for a long time now[2]. (IIRC, Washington's medical marijuana laws allowed patients to grow a few plants, but didn't allow for dispensaries[3]. Obviously federal law is different, which is what the DEA is acting on.) Those coops are largely stocked from locally grown plants. It wouldn't surprise me if some medical marijuana patients also sold into the grey/black market for some extra cash. [0]: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=69.51a&full=true http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=69.51a&full... [1]: http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?d=CODE&s1=12A.20.060.snum.&Sect5=CODE1&Sect6=HITOFF&l=20&p=1&u=/~public/code1.htm&r=1&f=G http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?d=CODE&#3... [2]: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/11/15/feds-raiding-pot-dispensaries-in-western-washington http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/11/15/feds-ra... [3]: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/125532903.html http://www.komonews.com/news/local/125532903.html
- ryanmolden 14y ago
  From my experience (back in the high school days, I don't dabble anymore, so this is somewhat dated but not massively so) most high-quality marijuana in Washington comes from north of the border. While Washington has been fairly lax on consumers (as you point out), they have not been lax on growers, and definitely not growers on industrial scales [0][1][2] (though 2 does say they are seeing more local growing). Also, smuggling from BC is fairly sophisticated and most smugglers are doing it in both directions and have some sophistication. They generally don't just try and drive it through a manned checkpoint. Helicopters have been known to be involved [3][4][5]. It is not uncommon for BC marijuana to be smuggled in to Washington and exchanged for cocaine that came to Washington from California, and came to California from Mexico. When I was on a grand jury a couple of years back we saw numerous indictments involving this kind of thing (i.e. smugglers from Canada bringing down pot/ecstasy and exchanging it for cocaine and heroin in Washington). [0] http://www.wsp.wa.gov/crime/hotline.htm http://www.wsp.wa.gov/crime/hotline.htm [1] http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/08/23/1612457/3-jailed-in-pot-bust-worth-about.html http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/08/23/1612457/3-jailed-in... [2] http://www.king5.com/news/cities/renton/2-arrested-in-DEA-raid-of-Renton-home-143476886.html http://www.king5.com/news/cities/renton/2-arrested-in-DEA-ra... [3] http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1211/121107seattle.htm http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1211/121107seattle.htm [4] http://www.amsterdammarijuanaseedbank.com/news/Helicopters.html http://www.amsterdammarijuanaseedbank.com/news/Helicopters.h... [5] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/03/24/bc-smuggling-operation-busted.html http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/03...

loeg 14y ago

I don't have any sources to cite, obviously, but from what I know of it, quite a lot is grown locally (i.e., in Washington state). It's maybe less risky than moving it over the Canada-US border, and Washington has been fairly soft on marijuana users for a while (medical marijuana for two decades[0], lowest priority for the Seattle police department since 2003[1]). There have been ~illegal medical marijuana coops in Seattle for a long time now[2]. (IIRC, Washington's medical marijuana laws allowed patients to grow a few plants, but didn't allow for dispensaries[3]. Obviously federal law is different, which is what the DEA is acting on.) Those coops are largely stocked from locally grown plants. It wouldn't surprise me if some medical marijuana patients also sold into the grey/black market for some extra cash. [0]: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=69.51a&full=true http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=69.51a&full... [1]: http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?d=CODE&s1=12A.20.060.snum.&Sect5=CODE1&Sect6=HITOFF&l=20&p=1&u=/~public/code1.htm&r=1&f=G http://clerk.ci.seattle.wa.us/~scripts/nph-brs.exe?d=CODE&#3... [2]: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/11/15/feds-raiding-pot-dispensaries-in-western-washington http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/11/15/feds-ra... [3]: http://www.komonews.com/news/local/125532903.html http://www.komonews.com/news/local/125532903.html

ryanmolden 14y ago
From my experience (back in the high school days, I don't dabble anymore, so this is somewhat dated but not massively so) most high-quality marijuana in Washington comes from north of the border. While Washington has been fairly lax on consumers (as you point out), they have not been lax on growers, and definitely not growers on industrial scales [0][1][2] (though 2 does say they are seeing more local growing). Also, smuggling from BC is fairly sophisticated and most smugglers are doing it in both directions and have some sophistication. They generally don't just try and drive it through a manned checkpoint. Helicopters have been known to be involved [3][4][5]. It is not uncommon for BC marijuana to be smuggled in to Washington and exchanged for cocaine that came to Washington from California, and came to California from Mexico. When I was on a grand jury a couple of years back we saw numerous indictments involving this kind of thing (i.e. smugglers from Canada bringing down pot/ecstasy and exchanging it for cocaine and heroin in Washington). [0] http://www.wsp.wa.gov/crime/hotline.htm http://www.wsp.wa.gov/crime/hotline.htm [1] http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/08/23/1612457/3-jailed-in-pot-bust-worth-about.html http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2011/08/23/1612457/3-jailed-in... [2] http://www.king5.com/news/cities/renton/2-arrested-in-DEA-raid-of-Renton-home-143476886.html http://www.king5.com/news/cities/renton/2-arrested-in-DEA-ra... [3] http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1211/121107seattle.htm http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1211/121107seattle.htm [4] http://www.amsterdammarijuanaseedbank.com/news/Helicopters.html http://www.amsterdammarijuanaseedbank.com/news/Helicopters.h... [5] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/03/24/bc-smuggling-operation-busted.html http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/03...