The definitive list of the best munchies in Seattle. Written & sourced by local Seattle stoners. Find our fave feast-ready classics & gems.

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Check out our picks for the best places to be high in Seattle, complete with a recommended strain to perfectly match the vibe.

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Deep breathe in… now exhale. Let’s go win the whole f*cking thing. When the Seattle Mariners won their first home playoff game in twenty-four years under a crisp October sky Sunday night, how did you feel? How about when we watched that lead slip to a tie in the top of the 8th? When Cal […]

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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has urged a federal appeals court to deny a doctor’s attempt to administer psilocybin to dying patients under so-called Right to Try legislation, arguing that such laws do not provide for exemptions to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). 

Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, co-founder of the Advanced Integrative Medical Science Institute, a psychedelics research and treatment clinic based in Seattle, has sued the DEA several times for authorization to use psilocybin as a treatment for depression and anxiety by terminally ill patients. Aggarwal’s legal actions are based on federal and state Right to Try laws, which permit patients with terminal illnesses to use investigational drugs for therapeutic purposes before they are approved for general use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

Psilocybin, the compound primarily responsible for the psychedelic effects of magic mushrooms, has been shown through clinical research to have great potential as a treatment for serious mental health conditions including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and substance misuse disorders. The compound has been designated as a “breakthrough therapy” by the FDA but remains a Schedule I drug under the CSA, a classification reserved for drugs with no medical value.

The state of Washington approved a Right to Try bill in 2017, the same year former President Donald Trump signed the federal Right to Try Act into law. Aggarwal argues in his legal action that the legislation gives him the right to administer psilocybin to his patients with terminal illnesses.

The DEA, however, has rejected Aggarwal’s attempts to gain the authority to administer psilocybin to his patients. In its rationale for rejecting a 2022 petition seeking such authority, the DEA argued that treating terminally ill patients with psychedelics would be inconsistent with maintaining public health and safety. Aggarwal also claims the DEA wants him to register as a researcher to administer psilocybin, which is not a requirement of the federal Right to Try Act.

Aggarwal appealed the DEA decision to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, arguing that it was arbitrary and inconsistent with public health interests and established legal precedent. In February, he argued that the DEA must explain how its decision is consistent with the CSA and its own policies, noting that the agency has issued waivers for the therapeutic use of other Schedule I drugs, including the use of medical cannabis by children.

In a filing to the court last week, the DEA said that the Right to Try Act amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act but does not affect the CSA. The agency also said doctors who wish to administer controlled substances must abide by both statutes.

“The CSA and the FDCA (which the Right to Try Act amends) are separate regulatory schemes with separate requirements and restrictions,” the DEA wrote, as quoted by Green Market Report. “Nothing in the Right to Try Act changes that.”

The DEA also argued that the court should reject Aggarwal’s claims because he has not provided sufficient evidence to support them. The law enforcement agency also said it could not adequately evaluate his plan to administer psilocybin because he did not give enough information to justify the waiver he was requesting.

Shawn Hauser, a partner at the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente LLP, slammed the DEA’s position, saying the agency “continues to overtly misinterpret the law using unlawful delay tactics to deny terminally ill patients access to life-saving medicines that federal law affords them access to.”

“Federal Right to Try laws were designed to allow eligible, terminally ill patients who qualify to use investigational new drugs that have undergone clinical trials (such as psilocybin), even if they are Schedule I substances,” Hauser wrote in an email to High Times. 

“The law includes a clear exception to the FDCA’s safety/efficacy requirements that allow the use of unapproved, investigational drugs, such as psilocybin, that have completed successful FDA trials, by terminally ill patients,” she added. “This seems to be another excuse and obstruction by the DEA to deny patients access to a life-saving treatment that studies clearly demonstrate can be used safely as medicine.”

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A group of gay bar owners and LGBTQ+ advocates recently released a joint statement regarding recent “visits,” which they describe as raids, conducted by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Control Board (LCB) at their businesses in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. The LCB told bar owners on Jan. 26 and 27 that law enforcement observed violations of the law often called the “lewd conduct law,” which requires employees and patrons to clothe specific parts of their bodies.

A coalition of these advocates release a statement on Instagram on Jan. 29 about the raids, including Joey Burgess (The Cuff Complex and Queer/Bar), Keth Christensen (The Seattle Eagle), Kevin Kauer (Massive), Dan Savage (podcast host and author), Terry Miller (founder of the It Gets Better Project alongside his husband, Savage), and Kurt Olivo, and called on advocates to attend an LCB meeting on Jan. 30.

“We are issuing this statement to express our concern over recent events targeting gay men. Specifically, unjust raids were conducted by the Joint Enforcement Team (JET) and the Liquor Control Board at several historic gay bars, by extension threatening all active LGBTQ nightlife venues,” the statement said. “Our coalition consists of establishments that provide safe spaces for diverse and marginalized communities to express themselves through love, music, dance, and art. The recent raids have disrupted these operations and undermined trust and security within our community.”

The statement continued to explain that none of the venues within the coalition have ever previously been cited for alcohol or violent offenses, and at most, citations related to an individual’s clothing, such as “being shirtless or wearing a jockstrap.” Furthermore, raids on LGBTQ+ businesses have historically persecuted marginalized communities in their safe spaces, and the most recent events cause the relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and law enforcement to be challenged.

In response, the coalition statement called for an investigation into the LCB raids. “Our coalition remains committed to fostering positive relations with all stakeholders, emphasizing the need for mutual respect and an understanding of the unique challenges faced by gay, and by extension, LGBTQ+ community as a whole,” the statement concluded. “This statement serves as a call for justice, equality, and the protection of the rights and dignity of our community members.”

The coalition, alongside other residents and advocates, attended an LCB meeting on Jan. 30, where members of the community called out the LCB. “These were raids. Stop calling them visits. If everyone in a bar leaves when you show up, 10 of you in uniform with flashlights, they are not experiencing your presence as a social call,” Savage said. “The message sent was if they are raiding gay bars in Seattle, if they are harassing gay men for being shirtless in gay bars in Seattle, we are winning—the bigots are winning.”

According to King5, the LCB also had individuals taking photographs in the bars to obtain evidence of “lewd conduct.” The LCB investigators didn’t make their visit or their identity known to business owners or patrons at the time. “Taking pictures without consent of gay men and then posting those pictures as evidence is immoral,” said an unnamed speaker at the meeting. Savage described the LCB raid as a violation, rather than a “visit,” and explained that the photos are subject to the Public Disclosure laws which means they will be released to the public once the investigation has been completed. “Not all the men who go to the Eagle are out of the closet in all areas of their lives. Men could lose their jobs or homes once these photographs are released,” wrote Miller on Instagram on Jan. 31. “LCB officers knew these photos would become a part of the public record. LCB officers knew each photo they took had the potential to ‘cause harm to the depicted person.’”

At the meeting, LCB Director David Postman stated that the violations were recorded during the usual enforcement duties conducted by LCB officers. Postman also acknowledged the LCB’s history with the LGBTQ+ community in the past, and he and two other board members agreed to prevent incidents like the raids from happening again.

Washington State law, also referred to as the “lewd conduct law,” prohibits such conduct for any business that holds a liquor license, including employees or patrons being unclothed and exposing parts of the body “to view any portion of the breast below the top of the areola or of any portion of the pubic hair, anus, cleft of the buttocks, vulva, or genitals,” among many other examples. King5 wrote that the law was intended to prevent strip clubs from serving alcohol, but Postman commented that changes to the law are being reconsidered in the Washington legislature. “The lewd conduct law, it’s problematic, just talking about my personal point of view here,” Postman said.

However, Postman also added that even if the law is archaic, they must continue to enforce it until changes are made. “When there’s laws on the books, it’s really hard to just say ‘Well, we’ve decided not to enforce that one’—the lawmakers, the legislature doesn’t like that, and for good reason,” said Postman. “I can tell you; there is no crackdown on lewd conduct right now, there is no crackdown on gay clubs, there’s no crackdown on clubs in Seattle or anywhere else. We’re doing our normal business here.”

LCB board member Jim Vollendroff also spoke at the meeting, ensuring members of the LGBTQ+ community that they will seek a way to prevent it from happening in the future. Likewise, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell also issued a statement about the LCB inspections, acknowledging community concerns. “Under my administration, we will not target people or communities based on their sexuality,” Harrell said. “We understand concerns raised by the community based on a perception of violating this principle.”

Last year in July, a new cannabis ordinance took effect, which offers labor protections for employees, which “will help provide a stable workplace, stronger workforce, and contribute to a better overall economy for Seattle.”

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A newly enshrined ordinance in Seattle will give cannabis dispensary workers in the city stronger labor protections, part of an ongoing effort by leaders to make the marijuana industry more equitable. 

The ordinance, which took effect last Wednesday, requires covered outgoing cannabis business employers to post “written notice of a change in control” and provide “a preferential hiring list to the incoming cannabis employer,” while also requiring the incoming employer to retain “covered employees for a certain period of time following the change” and follow “other hiring and retention requirements.” 

Steven Marchese, the director of Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards, said that his office “is committed to providing outreach, education, and enforcement for Seattle’s newest labor standard.” 

Marchese said that the new law, known as the Cannabis Employee Job Retention Ordinance, “provides protections for workers in this industry that will help provide a stable workplace, stronger workforce, and contribute to a better overall economy for Seattle.”

Cody Funderburk, a local cannabis activist who works in the cannabis industry and is a former member of a local cannabis union, called the Cannabis Employee Job Retention Ordinance “a monumental step toward protecting the rights of cannabis industry employees.”

“The effects of this legislation will improve job security for thousands of employees in Washington State’s cannabis industry. Workers deserve the peace of mind of knowing that their livelihoods will be safe as the cannabis industry continues to rapidly shift and evolve,” Funderburk said in a statement.

A press release from the Office of Labor Standards said that the new ordinance reflects the commitment from the city of Seattle and its mayor, Bruce Harrell, “to improve equitable outcomes in the cannabis industry and clarify matters raised in the ordinance, including provisions related to preferential hiring, offer of employment, and discharge from employment for just cause.”

Last summer, Harrell introduced a trio of bills to the Seattle city council aimed at promoting diversity in the local cannabis industry.

The three bills sought to require the following, per a press release from Harrell’s office at the time: “Creation of a City-level social equity license, intended to reduce barriers toward opening cannabis stores for underrepresented communities and those most impacted by the war on drugs; Laying the groundwork for future cannabis-related businesses, in collaboration with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, to also issue licenses through a social equity framework; Ensuring transparency to employees around ownership of cannabis store business licenses holders; Requiring a 90-day retention of store workforce when ownership changes, similar to protections created for hotel workers in 2019; Creation of a short-term cannabis advisory committee, selected in collaboration with City Council to collect input on cannabis equity and needs from workers, community members, and industry leaders; Implementation of a needs assessment to understand additional steps to make the industry more robust and sustainable for diverse communities; Collaboration with County and community efforts to further the work of expunging convictions for cannabis-related crimes prior to 2014; Development of a state and federal legislative agenda promoting cannabis equity, as well as safety improvements, capital investments, and access to banking services.”

Harrell said that the proposals were designed to help the city’s cannabis industry continue to evolve.

“As the cannabis industry continues to develop, we must course correct and support the communities who too often have been left behind. Equity in this industry means safe working conditions and fair treatment for workers, store ownership that includes the communities most impacted by the war on drugs, and a commitment to fairness, innovation, and opportunity,” Harrell said.

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People living in homeless conditions in Seattle, Washington are dropping dead left and right, mostly thanks to fentanyl and its knack for causing sudden death by overdose.

Seattle Times reports that according to medical examiner records, a record-setting 310 people died while homeless in Seattle and throughout King County, Washington during 2022. Over half of those deaths, or 160 of them, are fentanyl overdose-related.

That means that fentanyl-related deaths amounted to more than accidents, natural deaths, homicide, suicide, pending, and undetermined deaths combined.

The number reflects a 65% jump over 2021 and an increase of over 100 people from the previous record set in 2018, with 195 deaths. The shocking numbers are alarming public health officials in the area. REACH is an organization in Seattle battling homelessness, providing people with meals, healthcare, and drug addiction tools.

“That’s just appalling,” Chloe Gale, policy and strategy vice president for REACH, told Seattle Times. An estimate of the scope of homelessness in the County last year found that 13,368 people were living outside.

Previously, in December 2020 the area set a recent record for the most people dying without housing in a single month, with 29 deaths. In 2021, 188 people experiencing homelessness died. 

Usually, it isn’t the cold that kills people who are living in homeless conditions. Examiners frequently found a combination of fentanyl and other drugs in the system of people who have overdoses, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.

The end is nowhere in sight for public health officials. “Maybe we’re plateauing at a really bad rate and maybe it’s going to get worse,” said Brad Finegood, who heads an opioid and overdose response for Public Health, “I don’t know when it’s going to stop.” 

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said despite the rise in overdoses, his administration is pushing to get more people indoors, working in collaboration with the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. 

King County officials said they have recently directed Public Health – Seattle & King County to work with the county’s Department of Community and Human Services and the King County Regional Homeless Authority to help homeless service providers learn more about what’s working and what’s not working to lower the risk of fatal overdoses among people living in homeless conditions.

Last year, Public Health – Seattle & King County distributed over 10,000 naloxone kits, and about 100,000 fentanyl test strips in an effort to reduce deaths. The agency is continuing to promote public awareness campaigns for similar efforts regarding people experiencing homelessness.

Homeless Drug Addiction Efforts

The cannabis industry has gotten creative through the years with ways to do its part to help combat drug addiction involving powerful narcotics such as fentanyl.

Commissioners in Clark County, Nevada passed a resolution in 2019 allocating almost $1.8 million from the local commercial cannabis industry to help subsidize programs dedicated to providing assistance to the homeless. A little more than $930,000 of the earmarked money was provided to HELP of Southern Nevada’s rehousing services.

A California homeless shelter gained 100 new beds in 2019 thanks to donations from cannabis dispensaries in the Ventura County, California community. The five licensed dispensaries that contributed to the cause were Emerald Perspective, Hueneme Patient Collective, SafePort, Tradecraft Ventures, and SkunkMasters, which donated $17,500 of the $25,000 in donations that were raised. 

In the interest of harm reduction San Francisco, healthcare workers in 2020 administered limited amounts of certain substances such as cannabis and alcohol to people experiencing homelessness and addiction.

The San Francisco Department of Health said doing this actually helps keep the addicts in isolation and, thus, prevents the potential spread of COVID.

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The most recent data available from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) shows that among all of the cannabis business owners in Seattle, Washington, only 4% are Black-owned. A new report from King5 News interviews minority business owners who lost their place in the industry when Washington State legalized adult-use cannabis, and how a Seattle task force is working on change.

Former cannabis business owners Peter Manning and Mike Asai recall what it was like living in Seattle decades ago. “I know that we use the War on Drugs to go after Black and Brown people,” entrepreneur and Seattle-native Peter Manning told King5. “You guys punish us for years for cannabis. And now it’s okay. Now you’re doing it. Now it’s okay.”

“Growing up in Seattle, in the ‘80s, [if you] just simply had a joint you would get five years in prison,” said Mike Asai, co-founder of the Emerald City Collective. “[I’ve] seen that happen with family and friends and acquaintances, you know, for just that.”

Washington State legalized medical cannabis in 1998, which led both Manning and Asai to pursue a role in the industry. In the 2000s, both of them joined a medical cannabis collective, which brought together growers and retailers in a way that was beneficial to the community.

“To be on the bad end, when it comes to cannabis and then revert to be on the good end was very empowering,” Asai said of the collective. “Because of growing up and just seeing the War on Drugs was really the war on African Americans, the war on Black men and Black women in this country.”

In 2015, the state legalized adult-use cannabis, which forced cannabis business owners to shut down their businesses and re-apply for a license—but many Black and Brown business owners were not able to secure one. “To be legitimate and then all of a sudden now being criminalized…It’s been very traumatizing,” said Asai. “It’s been very depressing and painful to see, especially to see all the money that’s been made since the last six years since we’ve been closed. I’ve had to figure things out. I had to do Uber for about a year, just to stay afloat.”

LCB data from 2021 shows that out of the state’s 558 available licenses, only 19 have been given to Black applicants. “There is zero African American ownership in the city of Seattle, and to be supposedly this progressive state, this liberal state, it’s not showing,” Manning said.

In recent years, both Manning and Asai have spoken with the press and attended city meetings to speak out about this injustice. Recently, they both attended a Seattle City Council meeting on July 20 as public commenters urging the council to address the issue.

The Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force was created in 2020 to establish a social equity program, and to issue and reissue retail licenses. It’s first set of recommendations were submitted on Jan. 6. 2022, with a deadline that a final report be submitted to the state legislature and governor by Dec. 9, 2022.

LCB Board Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force member Ollie Garret told King5 that change needs to happen now. “Yes. I mean…what’s the saying? A day late, and a dollar short. Now the community is screaming, ‘What about us? What about us?’ Garrett said. “We go, ‘Oh, we need to fix this.’”

Garret describes the situation as a “failure” and a “missed opportunity.” “Could it have been done different in the beginning? Yes. But this was a new industry. Who knew, who thought about inclusion and Blacks being left out,” Garret said.

According to King5, the Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force is setting aside 38 licenses for people of color. Unfortunately, over half of the licenses are for business locations in areas that currently ban cannabis. “Where we’re at right now, the LCB cannot move licenses out of the areas that they’re in or create new license[s] without legislation,” Garrett said. “We are going to introduce [that] in this upcoming session.”

Manning questions the task force’s view on equity. “What are you giving me?” Manning said. “A license that says I have the right to sell cannabis? But I can’t sell cannabis because I can’t open up in this location because it’s banned. How’s that equity?”

He also suggests that consumers be conscious about where they choose to buy their cannabis. “There’s white-owned stores in our Black neighborhoods,” Manning said. “Ten years ago, you were locking us up for the same thing. White people were making millions of dollars. You’re taking that money out of our community, and they’re putting it in the white community. We want our Black-owned stores in our communities.”

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Tired of waiting on state officials to act, Seattle takes matters into its own hands. Here’s what it takes to get things moving.

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People asked, and the voices have been heard about the push for a more equitable cannabis industry, and Seattle, Washington leaders are making change.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell introduced three new bills to the Seattle City Council that would encourage more diverse inclusion in the city’s cannabis industry, announced on August 9. The proposals were developed in partnership with Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda as well as a pool of cannabis industry stakeholders and employees.

The proposed bills would allow the city to take “tangible steps to improve fairness and opportunity” in the cannabis industry, as Washington begins to allocate social equity cannabis licenses across the state.

“For a thriving Seattle economy, every worker and business deserve[s] safety and the opportunity to learn, grow, and prosper,” Mayor Harrell said in a press release. “As the cannabis industry continues to develop, we must course correct and support the communities who too often have been left behind. Equity in this industry means safe working conditions and fair treatment for workers, store ownership that includes the communities most impacted by the war on drugs, and a commitment to fairness, innovation, and opportunity.”

The suite of bills would create a city-level social equity license, intended to reduce barriers toward opening cannabis stores for underrepresented communities and those most impacted by the War on Drugs. They would lay down the groundwork for future cannabis-related businesses, in collaboration with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, to also issue licenses through a social equity framework.

The legislation would require a 90-day retention of store workforce when ownership changes—similar to protections created for hotel workers in 2019. They would create a short-term cannabis advisory committee, selected in collaboration with City Council to collect input on cannabis equity and needs from workers, community members, and industry leaders. A needs assessment would be implemented to understand additional steps to make the industry more robust and sustainable for diverse communities.

The legislation would work in tandem with County and community efforts to further the work of expunging convictions for cannabis-related crimes prior to 2014. Finally, the legislation would develop a state and federal legislative agenda promoting cannabis equity, as well as safety improvements, capital investments, and access to banking services.

Mayor Harrell joined the Seattle City Council to call for the passage of the federal SAFE Banking Act to allow cannabis businesses to get access to banking.

“After years of [our] community asking for greater equity in the cannabis industry, this legislation represents an initial step in the right direction towards creating local equity applications, improving workforce standards, and focusing on safety for workers in the cannabis industry. Thank you, to the broad coalition led by cannabis industry workers and businesses who have been calling for reforms in this industry, and for not letting up. I look forward to continuing to work with you and the Mayor’s office to make these first policy steps impactful, and to building on this approach to create greater cannabis equity to address the harms caused by the war on drugs and past harmful policies.”

The legislation was also supported by union members from UFCW 3000. “This legislation is an important first step to gain vital protections for cannabis workers,” said Joe Mizrahi, Secretary-Treasurer of UFCW 3000. “Essential cannabis workers in UFCW 3000 look forward to working with the Mayor’s office and City Council, with a broad coalition of community stakeholders, to build on this foundation in the years to come.”

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