220misdemeanor marijuana charges have been dropped by prosecutors in King and Pierce counties before a new law legalizing possession of the (still federally controlled) substance takes effect next month. Washington’s widely publicized legalization initiative is set to become the law of the land on Dec. 6, barring federal intervention in the interim, but local authorities see little point in trying to enforce laws that will soon expire. ““I think when the people voted to change the policy, they weren’t focused on when the effective date of the new policy would be,” said King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg. “They spoke loudly and clearly that we should not treat small amounts of marijuana as an offense.”source
