Legislature Passes New Weed Laws Just in Time for 4/20
Lawmakers in Olympia celebrated 4/20 early this year, passing three different laws this week that will make stoners lives easier across the entire state. Here’s what the lawmakers have been up to with regard to pot.
68,000 pot convictions can now be vacated: Do you have a misdemeanor marijuana possession conviction on your record? The Legislature just passed a bill that forces the courts to vacate all misdemeanor possession convictions as long as the person with the conviction applies to clear their record. The bill passed the Senate in March and the House on Tuesday. The law still needs to go through a conference committee and get signed by Gov. Jay Inslee, but that is expected to happen. Sen. Joe Nguyen, a Democrat representing West Seattle who sponsored the legislation, said he was “so fucking pumped about this one” shortly after it passed on Tuesday.
“[This is] literally one of the most egregious examples of institutional racism and failed justice system. And we fucking got it done… just needs the governor’s signature and he said he supports [it],” Nguyen said in a text message. The senator later added that he has requested that the governor sign the bill on Saturday, which is of course 4/20.
Compliance reform passes: The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) will no longer be able to punish pot business owners with huge fines after the governor signs Senate Bill 5318. The Senate passed the bill in March and the House passed the bill in an 88 to 8 vote on Tuesday. The law still needs to go through a conference committee but it’s expected to make it to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk and he is expected to sign the legislation into law.
Read more: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2019/04/18/39954911/legislature-passes-new-weed-laws-just-in-time-for-420
