Seattle Cops to Hand Out Snacks at Pot Festival, Operation Orange Fingers Tries to Educate Smokers

More than a few attendees at this weekend's Hempfest in Seattle are going to be confused when police walk up to them without the intention of arresting them for smoking marijuana but instead to give them a bag of delicious tortilla chips. It's all part of a program the Seattle Police Department is calling "Operation Orange Fingers," according to the Seattle Times.

Smoking marijuana is legal in Washington State thanks to a new law that was passed in 2012, although there are still a few regulations on how much marijuana you can be in possession of, where you can purchase it and where you can smoke it. Seattle police have come up with the idea of handing out bags of Doritos along with a pamphlet explaining the ins-and-outs of the new law, according to Time.

"A lot of people still have questions about the nuances of the law and 2013 is a year very much in transition for people who enjoy pot," Seattle Police spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb told the Seattle Times.

Operation Orange Fingers is not exclusively about trying to cure the munchies of some of the attendees of Hempfest but also about spreading the word about the new laws. The information pamphlet will also include a link to the Seattle Police's "Marijwhatnow?" FAQ explaining the law, reports the Seattle Times.

In the FAQ the police department explains the law and how they approached pot regulation in the years preceding, according to Time.

"Despite a longstanding national prohibition on marijuana, minor marijuana possession has been the lowest enforcement priority for the Seattle Police Department since Seattle voters passed Initiative 75 in 2003," the FAQ states. "Officers don't like grey areas in the law. I-502 now gives them more clarity."

Whitcomb told the Seattle Times that the police will be on hand to do more than just pass out information and snacks; they will still be enforcing the law. It is illegal to smoke if you are under 21 years of age and it is illegal to deal. Police will be on the lookout for offenders.

Although, many of the officers are a bit reluctant to work at the gathering out of fears that the second hand smoke will cause them to fail a drug test in the future. Despite marijuana being legal in the state Seattle police officers are sworn to protect federal law so it is illegal for them to imbibe, according to the Seattle Times.

For the most part the officers are having fun with Operation Orange Fingers. Whitcomb will speak about the way the police are approaching things under the new law at Hempfest's main stage on at 2:50 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Seattle Times.

"The much-coveted 4:20 spot had gone to someone else," Whitcomb joked.