Inslee urges board to stop spread of ‘pot bars’

SEATTLE — Gov. Jay Inslee wants the state Liquor Control Board to figure out how to stop the spread of bars that allow patrons to consume marijuana on site.

Voters last fall legalized marijuana for adults over 21, but Initiative 502 prohibits the public use of marijuana, which typically would include bars and restaurants.

While most bars are steering clear of allowing pot use until officials come up with rules, a few have been testing the boundaries, The Associated Press reported last week. The AP wrote about two venues in Washington state —Frankie’s Sports Bar and Grill in Olympia and Stonegate in Tacoma — that allow pot use.

That prompted concern from the governor.

“We think the board needs to give this a very hard look,” Inslee spokesman David Postman told The Seattle Times in a story published Sunday. “We will implement the will of the voters and create a well-regulated industry. Washingtonians did not vote for a wide-open policy.”

Liquor Board chairwoman Sharon Foster said she expects the board to try to come up with a rule to deal with the situation.

“We’re proceeding at next week’s board meeting with proposed rule-making to deal with the potential issue,” Foster said Friday.

“Once people are aware this is a business model they’re going to be popping up all over the place,” board enforcement chief Justin Nordhorn warned members in a meeting last week.

He noted that there’s “a loophole in the law that doesn’t allow the board to hold licensees accountable” for such activity.

Washington’s law bans pot distribution by anyone but a licensed seller — and no such licenses will be issued until the end of the year at the earliest. There’s also a statewide smoking ban that prohibits smoking where people work.

Frankie’s allows members of its private smoking room to use tobacco or marijuana. To evade the smoking ban, there’s no smoking allowed at Stonegate — only “vaporizing,” a method that involves heating the marijuana without burning it.

State officials are concerned that marijuana can compound alcohol’s intoxicating effects.

According to the Times, Nordhorn said the state’s new pot law bans use in public view, but doesn’t define public view.

“If you’ve got a private room, and patrons pay a fee to be a quasi-member and they’re not in public view, you run into enforcement problems because they’re not openly consuming in public,” he said.

If patrons are ingesting their own personal supplies, the only enforcement action under the state law is to issue civil infractions, which come with $103 fines, against customers for public use, Nordhorn told The Times.

Board enforcement officers have not yet fined pot-using patrons, because they are waiting for the board to write rules for the new law, he added.

That is more labor- intensive than citing bar owners for violations. It also raises questions about the public’s understanding of the law, Nordhorn said, and whether an education campaign would be a more appropriate starting point than fines.

Frankie Schnarrs told The Times he has no intention of changing his bar’s policy. His pot-patrons are well-behaved, he said, and most are medical-marijuana patients.

“What the hell is the difference,” he said, “if somebody smokes in the parking lot or inside?”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett will welcome new CEO in June

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Kelli Littlejohn, who was 11 when her older sister Melissa Lee was murdered, speaks to a group of investigators and deputies to thank them for bringing closure to her family after over 30 years on Thursday, March 28, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘She can rest in peace’: Jury convicts Bothell man in 1993 killing

Even after police arrested Alan Dean in 2020, it was unclear if he would stand trial. He was convicted Thursday in the murder of Melissa Lee, 15.

Ariel Garcia, 4, was last seen Wednesday morning in an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Dr. (Photo provided by Everett Police)
Everett police searching for missing child, 4

Ariel Garcia was last seen Wednesday at an apartment in the 4800 block of Vesper Drive. The child was missing under “suspicious circumstances.”

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.