Tagged: Crime

On Thursday, Dec. 6, it becomes legal in Washington state to possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use. But until the state sets up a licensing system, there’s no place to legally buy or sell marijuana, except for medical use. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

The privatization of liquor sales in Washington this year is having an unintended side effect: increasing theft of booze. In Olympia Friday, lawmakers quizzed top managers of the state Liquor Control Board.

Stricter recordkeeping requirements for scrap metal dealers and sellers have not stopped trafficking in stolen copper wire and metal parts. That's according to Northwest police agencies and crime victims. So in Olympia Friday, Washington state lawmakers promised to look at further steps, including a possible blacklist of suspicious sellers.

Thirty-two inmates walked out of the Lane County Jail Thursday morning without serving their full sentence. The Sheriff has closed more jail beds because of a lack of funding.

Officials with the Washington State Patrol say they don’t expect the initiative legalizing marijuana to alter their work very much. While the law contains a new limit on marijuana in a driver’s bloodstream, state troopers will continue to look at a driver’s behavior to see who is impaired.