Seattle Police Issue Doritos for City's Upcoming HempFest in Response to New Marijuana Laws
The Seattle police department is coping with the new state law permitting the recreational use of marijuana by starting a new campaign for this year's HempFest - offering Dorito chips to the event's attendees.
The city's police department is announced this week that during the festival they would conduct "Operation Orange Fingers," to help attendees understand the state's new marijuana laws.
Seattle's HempFest is an annual event that celebrates marijuana culture and the police department will be issuing bags of Doritos with a sticker attached to each bag directing them to a website with information on following state laws when smoking marijuana.
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"Distributing salty snacks at a festival celebrating hemp, I think, is deliberately ironic enough that people will accept them in good humor," Sgt. Sean Whitcomb told Seattle's The Stranger. "We want to make sure people learn the rules and that they respect the vote."
HempFest will feature music and activities across three waterfront parks in the city over the upcoming weekend, according to organizers.
Last year, after Washington voters overwhelmingly pushed through a bill legalizing pot consumption on November's ballot, the police offered some tongue-in-cheek advice for residents to enjoy their pot safety and responsibly.
"The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a Lord of the Rings marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to," the department previously quipped.
"In the meantime, in keeping with the spirit of (the new bill), the department's going to give you a generous grace period to help you adjust to this brave, new, and maybe kinda stoned world we live in."
The Controlled Substances Act, a federal law, prohibits the possession and sale of marijuana, going so far as to classify it as a Schedule 1 drug, placing it alongside cocaine, LSD and heroin, but Washington voters passed a measure that would legalize the recreational use of the drug
The White House has already signaled to the Department of Justice to avoid prosecuting cases and enforcing laws involving casual marijuana use, thus allowing the states to pass and enforce their own drug laws.
