Washington's Go-To Guy For Rules On Legal Pot Steps Down

By Julie Sabatier (OPB)
Portland, Oregon Aug. 21, 2015 9:24 p.m.
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Randy Simmons is the outgoing deputy director of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board.

Randy Simmons is the outgoing deputy director of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board.

courtesy of the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board

Washington state's main man for the creation of the recreational marijuana system will be leaving his post at the end of the month.

Though Randy Simmons will be remembered in his role the deputy director of Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board as essential to pot legalization, he said on OPB's daily talk show Think Out Loud that he initially turned down the job.

"The reason why I didn't want to do it was exactly what happened: It became all-consuming," he said. "Starting up anything takes a lot of time and effort."

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Simmons said one of the toughest parts of the job was putting together the rules before the federal government weighed in with how it would approach enforcement once states began legalizing recreational pot. The U.S. Department of Justice issued a memorandum in August 2013, outlining its enforcement priorities and letting states know that regulated, legal marijuana activities were not among them. Given that information, Simmons said Washington's rules are more restrictive than they need to be.

"I think the state over the next couple of years will go through and figure that out and relax some of the rules that are there," he said.

Simmons also pointed out that rules vary greatly from state to state. For example, Oregon allows people to grow their own pot on a small scale, but Washington doesn't. Simmons predicts that Washington will allow home grows in the future.

"I think we're seeing exactly what we saw with the end of alcohol prohibition — each state is doing its own thing," he said. "Each state is in control of how they do it and each state is going to be unique ... and I think you have to do what works best in your political environment."

New data show a significant increase in the number of Washington drivers involved in fatal accidents who tested positive for marijuana. Simmons said while the numbers are correct, they may be misleading.

"Everybody tests for marijuana now in Washington for everything because it's now legal. So I think you're getting more positive tests because more tests are being taken in fatal crashes," he said.

Simmons will move on to a job with the Washington Department of Revenue.

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