Washington state officials want to ban pot in cars

OLYMPIA— State officials want the Legislature to tweak the state’s recreational marijuana law so that it’s illegal to smoke marijuana in a car.

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission notes that under the state’s new recreational pot law, there’s no explicit language addressing marijuana in vehicles, the News Tribune of Tacoma reported Thursday.

The commission plans to ask lawmakers to create a clear rule covering both drivers and passengers’ ability to smoke or have open packages of marijuana inside a vehicle, said Darrin Grondel, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

The passage of Initiative 502 at the end of 2012 legalized the recreational use of marijuana in Washington. Even though the law prohibits smoking marijuana in public view, officials say many people don’t think of their car as a public place. The next Legislative session begins in January.