Marijuana and alcohol theft not uncommon in Seattle

Pot cookies, like these,
stolen from NE Seattle
marijuana dispensary.

On Friday, I posted information about North Seattle crime related to marijuana, including the sale of pot brownies to middle and high school students.  Yesterday, the Seattle Police Department shared information about recent robberies at North Seattle marijuana dispensaries.  Apparently, during one of the robberies in NE Seattle pot cookies were among the items stolen.

Marijuana is not the only drug targeted by thieves.  Theft of hard alcohol has been a problem since the approval of I-1183, the initiative that privatized the sale of hard alcohol, the Prevention WINS coalition learned during a recent general meeting.  Unless the items stolen value at least $1,000, the King County Prosecutor's Office generally does not prosecute offenders.  Both the Seattle Weekly and the West Seattle Herald reported on alcohol thefts recently. 

As the Seattle Weekly notes, youth who are caught with alcohol (minor in possession) generally are not charged with a crime but are referred to the King County diversion program. 

In the news: drug-related robberies on the rise

In July, the Seattle Times ran an opinion piece about the increase in pharmacy robberies that states that between 2008-March 2011, one in six Washington pharmacies was robbed.  It goes on to say, "Money is not the target. Addictive prescription narcotics such as Vicodin, amphetamines and OxyContin sell for as much as $80 a pill . . ."

 

Last week, federal, state, and local law enforcement officials and representatives from the pharmacy community met in Washington, DC to discuss the threat to public safety posed by pharmacy robberies and burglaries.

 

Also last month, Q13 Fox reported that robberies are escalating at local medical marijuana dispensaries.


August 8 Update

• Armed robbery of a pharmacy in North Seattle (SPD Blotter)
• Former staff member suspected of narcotics theft at retirement home (Ballard News-Tribune)
• On idyllic Cape Cod, Growing drug problem fuels a rise in property crimes (The New York Times)