Seattle Cops to Hand Out 'Ironic' Bags of Doritos at Hempfest
With Washington's marijuana legalization initiative still in the process of taking effect, police in the state's largest city are doing their part to educate partakers — by doling out hundreds of bags of Doritos at Seattle's annual Hempfest.
A sticker attached to each bag will direct attendees to a website where they can learn more about the do's and don'ts of Initiative 502.
"Distributing salty snacks at a festival celebrating hemp, I think, is deliberately ironic enough that people will accept them in good humor," police department spokesman Sergeant Sean Whitcomb told The Stranger. "We want to make sure people learn the rules and that they respect the vote."
In all, the SPD expects to distribute some 1,000 snack-size bags of Doritos which were purchased by the Seattle Police Foundation as part of a police-led campaign.
"Our department has taken a leadership role in public education, and it's a responsibility we are taking very seriously," said Whitcomb. "We are not looking to have a heavy hand when it comes to enforcement. That said, the rules are the rules, and we want people to voluntarily comply with them."
Whitcomb told the alt-weekly his department's officers will not cite people for public pot use at Hempfest in the years to come as their actions will still be guided by a 2003 city ordinance that "deprioritized marijuana enforcement."
Minors caught using or dealers caught dealing, however, will still be subject to arrest.