Comments on Who's Got the Herb?

Well, a problem with smoking (anything -- tobacco, marijuana, maple leaves, dried banana slugs) indoors is that the secondhand smoke can damage the health of everyone else (the people who are choosing not to smoke). In that way, it really isn't a "safe" environment. Outdoor smoking patios for the smokers (of whatever) are probably best.

The need for it doesn't make any sense? I'm not sure where the "lowest law enforcement priority" data comes from (I would assume you'd need a count of actual prosecutions vs. estimated offenses) but I really doubt that if I walked up to a cop toking a spliff and asked directions to the nearest cupcake stand, the cop would not take action. I'm probably not going to jail but I'm probably also not walking away with the shit. And if I got pulled over and rolled to down the window to let loose a Snoop Dogg video-esque blue cloud, I get the feeling I'm not getting off with a warning. Illegal is illegal and just because it seems like a waste of law enforcement bucks doesn't make it less illegal (there is no such thing as semi-illegal).

And I'm baffled by your closing paragraph - Neumo's is not private, it is public. Doors and dim lighting don't make it private, eh? My guess is that Neumo's and some other clubs get undue attention because the city does not want to give the appearance that it is *only* focused on getting rid of hip-hop clubs because that would seem latently - OK, blatantly - racist. Although I have heard that Explosions in the Sky really bring out the thugg crowd...

“If it’s an illegal substance, it gets reported to Liquor Control Board and everything else Mayor Nickels has to try to shut down nightlife, and that’s gonna go against us.”

Enough said.

By the way, it was easy to sneak a toke in a club when smoking was still allowed. Save it for Hempfest.

@2--neumo's is a privately-owned place of business, the opposite of out on the street, which is public property.

heres a brief description of prop I-75:

I-75: Drug Policy Reform (City of Seattle)

Type: Indirect Statute
Election Date: September 16, 2003 (the Seattle primary)
Election Result: Passed - 57.64% to 42.36%

This measure requires the Seattle Police Department to make marijuana possession for personal use its lowest priority. It also requires creation of an 11-member marijuana task force to report directly to the City Council on what marijuana arrests/prosecutions have been conducted. After a period of six months to a year, the task force will issue a report and the City Council may then choose to either modify, retain or repeal the measure. Proponents argue that too many people who are just holding small amounts of marijuana are being put in jail, which places an undue strain on the judicial system.

Proponents: The Sensible Seattle Coalition
Opponents: There was no organized opposition.

full text available at http://www.sensibleseattle.org/text.php

again, i have no issue w severins stance. its a smart one. but it doesnt make sense that outside, in public, on the street, marijuana has been downgraded to lowest enforcement priority, but inside, in a privately-owned place of business, its an issue.

"[T]he need for it doesn’t make sense"?

No one has trouble understanding why I don't want to breathe their tobacco smoke. Why does it become a mystery when we're talking about pot?

JZ:

I understand that Neumo's is privately owned, but that does not mean it's not public (anyone can go there). It is still subject to a whole slew of regaulations that truly private places are not. It is also commercial as opposed to residential and there are a bunch of rules that apply in that case as well. Whatever happened to just getting high in the walk-in at your dishwashing job before the reggae show? Must we turn a well-meaning club into my college apartment?

the smoking ban applies to any smoking product. tobacco, marijuana, cloves, or whatever else you may feel the need to set alight and inhale.

I was at the show. I was stoned. I smoked outside where the air is free and I don't have to harsh the mellow of anyone around me who may not smoke marijuana.

I'm a fucking hippie. Kill me now.

I actually read a recent interview with Scratch where he said he doesn't smoke weed anymore because it's bad for his health - he does cook brownies and such with it though, and recommends that as a healthier alternative than inhaling all that smoke into your lungs.

There was plenty of incense at the show. Does that count as smoke? Scratch should get a vaporizer if he's concerned about his health, though I got a feeling he likes the indica body high of the ingested stuff.

The real story here is Sly and Robbie AND Horace Andy on the same stage! Yeah!

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i guess its consensus that people at a show dont want someone smoking pot near them. can that be true? am i such a rebel/hippie/weedhead that not only does it not bother me if someones smoking a joint nearby, id actually rather see it at shows than not?

yeah, i guess it does. thing is, i dont even smoke that much these days. i just like to see more of an "anything goes" atmosphere at shows--like, thats what shows are for.

Not in Seattle.

As for the incense, if I remember correctly (but don't quote me on this) that you need a special permit for candles, incense and the like. The fire department came by the Blue Moon the other day to check out our permit for some reason. (Everything's A-OK!)

Yeah, I don't like people smoking any kind of anything near me at a show. Weed smells worse than regular cigarettes. Do it outside, or eat a brownie or something.

I don't really like people smoking weed near me, as i don't puff the reefer - even though i am a huge reggae fan. Go to your cars, people.

I don't really care if folks do blow however, as there's no second-hand smoke.

It wouldn't bother me a bit if there were a cloud of herbaceous smoke at every club show I went to. Hell, back in the 70s, every ARENA show I saw had a smoke-filled haze.

The bigger issue, though, which people really should take the time to think about, is the risk of FIRE. Burning anything indoors is a risk, especially at clubs which are generally barely up to code anyway. Add alcohol and a large crowd, and you've got a disaster waiting to happen.