SPD officers to supply Hempfest munchies

SEATTLE -- Do you have any more Cooler Ranch chips, officer?

This is what thousands of hemp enthusiasts and pot smokers could be asking Seattle police officers at the city's annual Hempfest this weekend. Officers will hand out "bags of Doritos," with stickers providing links to the rules and regulations of Initiative 502, the law legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in Washington.

Cops will be handing out the favorite snack as a way to celebrate hemp and encourage people to "learn the rules and that they respect the vote," police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb told the Stranger. There's also a website link, which sends individuals to SPD's Marijwhatnow pamphlet and outlines the rules of I-502 and reminds citizens that recreational use of pot is legal, but selling and growing it remains illegal until I-502 is permitted and regulated by the state.



The funding for the chip handout came from a private foundation and police plan to distribute about 1,000 bags of Doritos over the weekend.

Whitcomb told the Stranger that police will continue a long-standing tradition and not issue tickets for public smoking at Hempfest -- the spirit of Initiative 502 will govern the event, he said.

Hempfest starts at 12 p.m. Friday in Seattle's Sculpture Park and runs through 8 p.m. Sunday. For more information on the event, click here.