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

The rule sits in IMC Chapter 9.07, titled Controlled substance, in section 9.07.010. That section lists 26 lettered RCW sections (A through Z) and adopts them by reference "as a part of the IMC and established in all respects as though such sections were set forth herein in full." Item W is RCW 69.50.445, captioned "Opening package of or consuming marijuana, useable marijuana, or marijuana-infused product in view of general public – Penalty." Because the adoption covers the statute "as they now exist or may hereafter be amended, renumbered or recodified," a change by the Legislature carries into Issaquah without a new city ordinance. The section was last amended by Ord. 3148 in 2026, which also repealed the old local paraphernalia section, IMC 9.07.020.

The IMC does not reprint the statute's text, so the conduct standard and the penalty are those of RCW 69.50.445 itself. The same list also adopts RCW 69.50.4014 (possession of forty grams or less of marihuana), RCW 69.50.4013 (possession, including useable marijuana and marijuana-infused products), RCW 69.50.425 (misdemeanor violations, minimum penalties) and RCW 69.50.505 (seizure and forfeiture), so public consumption sits inside a wider adopted set of drug offenses.

Two neighboring Issaquah rules matter to anyone consuming in a car. IMC 10.05.030(A) makes it a traffic infraction to consume marijuana, useable marijuana or any marijuana-infused product in a motor vehicle when the vehicle is upon a highway. Subsection C requires an opened container to be kept in the trunk, or elsewhere outside the area occupied by the driver and passengers, and states that a utility compartment or glove compartment is deemed to be within the occupied area. Retail and production businesses are a separate subject under Land Use Code § 18.502.090, which limits Issaquah to two retail cannabis facilities at a time.