I highly doubt I am the first to say it, but I am going to say it again: what in the clear blue f*#k is up with the Washington State Liquor Control Board and it’s draconian crusade against cannabis?

I have written at length about what this shady panel is going for the throat of the 15-year old, widely successful MMJ law. Now the WSLCB are jabbing their long, greedy fingers at potential pot bars / night clubs. The Liquor Board submitted a draft of a law that would render it illegal for any business with a liquor license to have any marijuana use on site. You read that right. They want to make it so you can only buy cannabis from state authorized stores. Authorized by who? You guessed it, the Liquor Board! But you can’t use that pot at any business that is licensed by the selfsame Board.

Just to be clear, the Board does not give two shits (and likely salivates at the sound of gold tinkling into their coffers) if a person gets completely obliterated on booze. But allowing people to smoke a bowl in a bar-like, private club? Whoa, whoa! that might mean that reliable booze dollar would not make it to their piggy-bank.

The Board is masking their greed with a thin patina of concern for public safety, claiming that the ban is meant to prevent people from using booze and cannabis in conjunction. First off, as a professional stoner, I can speak with authority when I say that those who prefer alcohol and those who prefer marijuana rarely occupy the same body. In my experience, if you really like cannabis, you’re not likely going to be a weekend power-drinker. I used to drink…a lot. Since I started smoking pot, my liquor intake has plummeted to the point of statistical irrelevance. My wife, also a former drinker turned cannabis user, echoes that sentiment. It took both of us about 4 months to finish one six-pack of Corona.

Furthermore, how does getting drunk and then smoking weed somehow become more dangerous than just being drunk? It’s illegal to drive a car under the influence of any intoxicant, so the distinction the Board is attempting to make is lost on me. Also, in the discussion of which substance greater imperils your survival, alcohol is leaps and bounds more detrimental than cannabis. I’d actually feel safer if the guy who normally has 5-8 drinks at the bar instead had 2 drinks and a bong hit. I still say it’s just a public nicety to hide their incredible greed.

I know that the Washington Liquor Control Board isn’t a ‘business corporation’, per se. However, doesn’t this kind of stranglehold on the competition and monopolization of the industry strike anyone else as a violation of federal antitrust laws? Microsoft wasn’t allowed to hold all the market share and stifle competitors with these tactics. Why is the Liquor Board exempt? I do not see how any motive save avarice can be seen behind their actions.

The Wikipedia entry for the U.S. Antitrust Law opens with the following:

“United States antitrust law is a collection of federal and state government laws, which regulates the conduct and organization of business corporations, generally to promote fair competition for the benefit of consumers…These [laws], first, restrict the formation of cartels and prohibit other collusive practices regarded as being in restraint of trade. Second, they restrict the mergers and acquisitions of organizations which could substantially lessen competition. Third, they prohibit the creation of a monopoly and the abuse of monopoly power.

The Federal Trade Commission, the US Department of Justice, state governments and private parties who are sufficiently affected may all bring actions in the courts to enforce the antitrust laws.”

It seems to me the above definition applies to near perfection. I found the use of “cartel” particularly poignant in this context. What a perfect label for what this Board is trying to become. We overwhelmingly voted to legalize cannabis in Washington state. Overwhelmingly. What the MMJ community and the recreational users have in common is a desire to abolish the decades of failed marjiuana policy and take the criminal element out of the industry. Banning cannabis from private clubs and destroying the MMJ industry will not achieve the ends the Board is seeking.

If they get their wishes, WA will have effectively legalized weed only long enough to squash the illegal black market and allow a federally backed cartel to rise up instead. These measures will not funnel cannabis consumers to buy and use State weed (certainly not in the droves they are hoping for). This will only serve to reinstall the necessity of said black market. It will actually be worse. The State cartel will have legal immunity and consumers will seek even darker shadows from which to operate.