Bothell, WA Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

The City of Bothell does not write its own public-consumption section. Title 9 of the Bothell Municipal Code is the "Bothell criminal code" under § 9.01.010(A), and it works by adopting state statutes. Section 9.01.150 lists the Title 69 RCW sections the Bothell City Council has adopted, and one entry is RCW 69.50.445, headed "Opening package of or consuming cannbis, useable cannabis, cannabis-infused products, or cannabis concentrates in view of general public or public place" (the city prints the heading with the spelling "cannbis"). Adopted sections apply "as currently enacted or as hereafter amended or recodified from time to time," so a later change by the Legislature becomes the Bothell rule on its effective date, as § 9.01.010(F) confirms.

Section 9.01.010(D) states that the city intends to become the jurisdictional authority for enforcement and prosecution of misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor crimes, and that the word "state" in an adopted statute is read as "city" except where the statute sets administrative or licensing duties of the state. Under § 9.01.010(G), an officer or prosecutor writing a citation, information or complaint needs only to refer to the RCW section number, so a Bothell charge for public consumption cites 69.50.445 itself.

The Bothell code prints no dollar amount or jail term for this particular offense. Section 9.15.020(D) adds mandatory minimums, at least 24 consecutive hours of imprisonment and a fine of not less than $250.00 (not less than $500.00 on a second or later conviction), for a misdemeanor conviction under any Chapter 69.50 RCW provision adopted by reference. The city code does not say whether a public-consumption charge is such a misdemeanor, so read the adopted RCW section for the grade of the offense.

The same § 9.01.150 list names RCW 69.50.4014, possession of forty grams or less of cannabis, and RCW 69.50.475, sales to persons under the age of twenty-one. Separately, § 9.04.040(B) allows Stay Out of Drug Areas orders for anyone charged with or convicted of "possession of marijuana under 21 years of age," and § 9.04.050(E) gives those orders a two-year default term.