Seattle

Law Enforcement

Seattle’s I-75, passed in September 2003, put adult personal possession at the bottom of local enforcement priorities while public smoking could still draw police. The November 3, 2005 Denver Post piece by Christopher N. Osher gives 178 Seattle possession prosecutions in 2003 and 59 in 2004, in a city then estimated at 573,000 people and 6,800 per square mile. Some felt officers had never cared much unless somebody made a bust easy. Others pointed to August 2006 coverage in Seattle Weekly and said pressure on medical patients drove the market underground. The West NET bust at Cannacare was a sore point. A ‘60-day supply’ also left patients guessing: roughly 3–4 oz for someone using 1.5–2 oz a month, versus 7 oz for a friend with cancer using 3.5 oz a month for pain and nausea. Washington has since introduced regulated adult use, as covered in Marijuana Laws.

Where to Buy Marijuana

Pike Place Market, Fourth Avenue, the waterfront and Victor Steinbrueck Park all came up. US$10 might get 0.7–1 g in the park compared with 0.5 g in the University District. One person bought four decent dimes by the fountain in about a minute. Others got green shredded paper four times out of six, lost money twice before turning to Craigslist, or were shown grass clippings that seemed treated with pesticides. Bike officers sometimes watched the park from half a block away. A dub could be the same 0.7 g bag as a dime, and a broker might ask for another US$5–10 after an introduction. Some locals shared or pointed people across the street for better flower. A regular contact could meet elsewhere in the city.

Downtown, skaters and hip-hop kids met on the concrete couch outside Westlake’s Starbucks or by the arch across the street. Dimes and ‘twamps’ were common, with warnings about following strangers into alleys. Head shops had numbers for sellers who worked by pager, and festivals like Hempfest and Folklife had a wider range. On the Ave, University Way NE between 45th and 50th, some found good flower or started a conversation by sharing a cigarette. Others struck out altogether as officers drove by every 15 minutes or stayed parked. Broadway also came up as a place to compare prices.

Marijuana Prices

• ⅛ oz: about US$40, sometimes US$30 with a regular connection.
• ¼ oz: US$80–100. One particularly good quarter went for US$80.
• BC bud: US$200 per oz with a connection, typically US$240–260.
• Locally grown Afghan indica and F1 hybrid chronic: US$280–300 per oz.

Types of Marijuana

Purple, AK, BC flower and hybrids were common. Outdoor flower made supply seasonal. Northern Lights and White Widow turned up if you were lucky.

More Information

The 2005 Denver Post comparison put Denver at 1,565 prosecutions versus Seattle’s 59 in 2004, and quoted a minimum US$100 fine under the state law Denver used. Oakland was an example of a city where arrests continued despite a voter-approved measure. Around the Seattle street scene, people remembered regular patrols from noon to 4 p.m. and more harassment after dark. Seattle Hempfest was described then as an annual August event and the largest of its kind in the U.S.