Marijuana Tourists are Crossing the Border into Washington State Looking for Legal Weed

Crowds of happy people have been huddled near Seattle's famed Space Needle tower with pipes, bongs and hand-rolled joints to celebrating Washington's new status as the first state in the nation to legalize pot for adult recreational use often the last couple of days. Today is Saturday, the weekend, and the first wave of BC and American marijuana tourists is already across the border in a mood to do some celebrating too. No doubt the tourism industry statewide is atwitter.

In the long run smoking pot in public will be just as illegal in Washington as drinking beer is, but for now, the police are just handing out verbal warnings if they happen to run into somebody lighting up in public. Nothing has really changed in Washington state, no pizza delivery trucks clogging up the highways, no shortage of taco chips or peanut butter being reported...yet.

Despite a survey out Friday showing that, by 51% to 44%, what Americans want the federal government to do about the states whose drug laws clash with national laws is: leave them alone. Yet White House and Justice Department officials are considering plans for legal action against Colorado and Washington that could undermine voter-approved initiatives to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. At the same time the state government is about to begin hearings in advance of writing rules for the growing, processing and sales industries. Yikes! What's a poor pothead to do? [Answer: see line 1 above.]

There's no doubt 'the people have spoken' in Colorado and Washington states but the courts haven't yet so the folks down by the Space Needle should celebrate, they're won a huge battle, but 'the war against drugs' isn't over so... who knows where this wild west show will go next.