Gov. Jay InsleeGov. Jay Inslee
Starting Sept. 26, drivers in Washington State will have to abide by a new "open container" law for marijuana, according to an article in Newsweek.
House Bill 1276 "makes it a traffic infraction for a person to have an open container of marijuana in the main compartment of a vehicle while on a public highway," states the House Bill report.
"The law stipulates that marijuana, like alcohol, must be kept in the trunk of a vehicle, in an unopened container, or in another part of the passenger cabin 'not normally occupied or directly accessible by' the driver or passengers," reports Newsweek.
The bill specifies that a driver's license will be at risk for suspension if a test is administered on site and "the THC concentration of the person's blood is 5.00 or more, if the person is age twenty-one or over." (See page 9, beginning at line 31, for the full text on this.)
The law, House Bill 1276, passed in the Washington House June 11 by a vote of 88 to 2, and passed in the Senate June 25 by a vote of 38 to 6.
Governor Jay Inslee signed the bill into law with a partial veto of one section.
