RCW 69.50.4014

Possession of forty grams or less of cannabis—Penalty—Referral to assessment and services.

Known as the Uniform Controlled Substances Act

The act spans §§ 69–69 (133 sections).

Applied in 23 court decisions — leading case State v. Blake (2021)

Most recently applied in State Of Washington, V A.l.r.h. (December 2021)

2023 sp.s. c 1 s 3; 2022 c 16 s 88; (2022 c 16 s 87 expired July 1, 2023); (2021 c 311 s 10 expired July 1, 2023); 2015 2nd sp.s. c 4 s 505; 2003 c 53 s 335.

How often courts cite this section

citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) Except as provided in RCW 69.50.401(2)(c) or as otherwise authorized by this chapter, any person found guilty of knowing possession of 40 grams or less of cannabis is guilty of a misdemeanor. The prosecutor is encouraged to divert cases under this section for assessment, treatment, or other services.

(2) In lieu of jail booking and referral to the prosecutor, law enforcement is encouraged to offer a referral to assessment and services available under RCW 10.31.110 or other program or entity responsible for receiving referrals in lieu of legal system involvement, which may include, but are not limited to, arrest and jail alternative programs established under RCW 36.28A.450, law enforcement assisted diversion programs established under RCW 71.24.589, and the recovery navigator program established under RCW 71.24.115.

Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.