We caught a quick glimpse of a Twitter conversation between users and the Seattle Police Department.
@chrisburlingame @gregr1077 Jeez. Haven’t they read this? http://t.co/7EdrfgXRcW
— Seattle Police Dept. (@SeattlePD) July 27, 2014
This begun our day with a nice little chuckle. We are pretty sure Chris was being sarcastic. At any rate, this conversation made us revisit the same link we have viewed many times before, but this time we brought a magnify glass. Sure enough, something jumped out at us:
Can I smoke pot outside my home? Like at a park, magic show, or the Bite of Seattle?
Much like having an open container of alcohol in public, doing so could result in a civil infraction—like a ticket—but not arrest. You can certainly use marijuana in the privacy of your own home. Additionally, if smoking a cigarette isn’t allowed where you are (say, inside an apartment building or flammable chemical factory), smoking marijuana isn’t allowed there either.
No where does it say ‘one is NOT allowed to smoke in public.’ It doesn’t state ‘Yes, you can smoke weed in public,’ BUT it doesn’t state ‘NO’ either. Nor does it say it is AGAINST the law.’ In fact, it doesn’t even say: ‘We ask that you DON’T smoke pot in public.”
To paraphrase what it actually states: ‘If you smoke pot in public, it COULD result in a civil infraction.’
So, is it really okay to smoke marijuana in public, if you are being discreet about it and aware of your surroundings, but you MIGHT get a citation for your actions? Or is is NOT okay to smoke marijuana in public and you might get a citation for your actions? Or is it neither, and you might get a citation?
