By Eliott C. McLaughlin
CNN
(CNN) — Sure, it’s a veiled shot at stoners, but it also shows cops can have a sense of humor about marijuana legalization.
The Seattle Police Department announced on its Twitter feed that officers will attend the city’s Hempfest to hand out Doritos and literature explaining the new rules surrounding recreational marijuana use in the state.
Minor marijuana possession has been the police department’s lowest priority since 2003, but voters last year cast ballots to make recreational use legal.
Before Seattle residents start farming ganja on their stoops, the police want to make a few things clear (such as, you can’t grow marijuana on your stoop yet).
“Yes, we will be @seattlehempfest. But we’ll be giving out @Doritos & #Marijwhatnow literature. Please make a note of it. See you Saturday!” read a Wednesday tweet.
Initiative 502 states that beginning December 6 residents over 21 years old may possess up to an ounce of pot for personal use. There are also guidelines for the possession of oils and edibles.
Hempfest, which begins Friday and runs through Sunday, says its goal is “to educate the public on the myriad of potential benefits offered by the cannabis plant, including the medicinal, industrial, agricultural, economic, environmental, and other benefits and applications.”
The Wednesday tweet set off a witty back-and-forth with residents who seem charmed by the police department’s light-hearted means of educating the public on a serious matter.
But it hasn’t come without rumor and innuendo.
Responding to one such vicious affont, the department tweeted, “Please ignore maliciously false reports that we’re giving out Bugles at @seattlehempfest. We would never, ever do that.”
The-CNN-Wire
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