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

Sammamish's approach to marijuana in parks is incorporation, not local drafting: SMC 7A.05.060 states "the following statute of the state of Washington is adopted by reference, now in effect and as subsequently amended: RCW 69.50.445." That technique mirrors how the same chapter handles two other controlled-substance topics: SMC 7A.05.050 adopts Chapter 69.05 SMC for illegal drugs generally, and SMC 7A.06.030 (Firearms and dangerous weapons) similarly adopts Chapter 9.41 RCW by reference. Practically, that means Sammamish police and park rangers enforce marijuana-use violations in City open space, trails, park facilities, and marine areas using the state statute's own terms and its own penalty class, rather than a separately written City infraction.

RCW 69.50.445, as codified, bars opening a package of, or consuming, marijuana or marijuana products "in view of the general public or in a public place," and treats a violation as a civil infraction under Chapter 7.80 RCW, meaning a monetary penalty rather than a criminal charge. Because Sammamish adopted the statute "as subsequently amended," any future state-level revision to the public-consumption rule applies automatically inside Sammamish parks without a separate City ordinance amendment. That reference-adoption model sits directly alongside the City's own drafted rules on alcohol (SMC 7A.05.010) and intoxication (SMC 7A.05.020), so a single park visit can implicate a locally written alcohol violation classed as a criminal misdemeanor and a state-referenced marijuana violation classed as a civil infraction, side by side, under the same chapter.