To all the jokers, smokers and midnight tokers out there, it’s safe to come outside: Initiative 1 has passed.

With 64.7% of the votes, one might even say it smoked the competition (that pun might actually be more criminal than marijuana now).

In jubilant response, a recent Trib article suggested advocates new attitude could best be summarized as ”Ladies and gentlemen, start your bongs.”

Sherry Bockwinkel, one of the measure’s co-petitioner’s, was thus quoted, “Lowest enforcement means lowest enforcement. That means no arrests for marijuana possession under 40 grams, period.”

Not so fast.

True, this vote is a …

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Advocates for medical marijuana have made great progress in the last few years.

Several states, including Washington, have taken varied steps towards legalizing medical cannabis, and public sentiment is not inclined to throw a wrench in the works.

But the actions of a growing number of pot heads could change that.

An investigative journalism piece by the Trib’s Rob Carson (10/2) shed some light on a growing phenomenon-  modern day carpetbaggers setting up marijuana permitting clinics in Tacoma. Medical credentials aside, the aim of these individuals and their storefronts is to churn out a high volume of marijuana permits whether or not their patients’ needs are legally valid.

Like dope dealers everywhere, these individuals are all about skirting the law in the name of profit.

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The old story, medical marijuana dispensaries are illegal, is the new story.  Or is it?

Lately, the debate on legalized marijuana is bearing a striking resemblance to the hokey-pokey. With state and local governments calling the dance, dispensers are taking their open signs in and then taking them back out on almost a weekly basis. It’s hard to keep track.

Seattle has chosen sides. After a city council resolution to minimize the priority of marijuana possession crimes, it comes as no surprise that the city appears to be welcoming medical marijuana merchants.

Tacoma, well, not so much. Mayor Strickland appears to be saying no in a recent Trib article, but the negative doesn’t seem to have much of a punch. At question is whether or not there will be any enforcement on the current dispensaries.

What, exactly, is going on? The roadblock, or the grease, depending upon your point of view, is the federal government.

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