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

Section 9.44.035 of the Lacey Municipal Code covers two acts: opening a package containing marijuana, usable marijuana, or a marijuana-infused product, and consuming any of those products, when either happens in view of the general public. The section does not list parks or streets. The test is public view, so the question in the City of Lacey is whether the act can be seen by the general public, not where the person is standing.

The penalty is civil. A person who violates the section is subject to a civil fine of up to $50.00, not including statutory assessments. City law enforcement personnel enforce the section by issuing a notice of infraction. Those infractions are processed, and fines paid, in the manner set forth in Chapter 46.63 RCW for the disposition of traffic infractions, and the fines assessed and recovered are paid to the city. The section prints no jail term and no criminal charge for the public use itself.

The same chapter draws a separate line on possession. Section 9.44.030 makes knowing possession of forty grams or less of marijuana a misdemeanor, but possession by a person twenty-one years of age or older of up to one ounce of usable marijuana, sixteen ounces of marijuana-infused product in solid form, or seventy-two ounces of marijuana-infused product in liquid form is not a violation of that section. The same section encourages the prosecutor to divert cases for assessment, treatment, or other services. Lawful possession for an adult therefore does not remove the public-view restriction in § 9.44.035.

Smoking is a second, separate track. Chapter 9.46 prohibits smoking in a public place or place of employment and defines smoking as carrying or smoking any lighted pipe, cigar, cigarette, or other lighted smoking equipment, with a civil fine of up to $100.00 under § 9.46.060. That chapter is built around buildings, vehicles and a twenty-five foot buffer at entrances, so it is a different question from the view-of-the-public test in § 9.44.035.