Earlier today, the Seattle Police Department released new operating procedures for cops who encounter marijuana gardens, thereby updating the city's guidelines to reflect last Friday's change to state law. The generally pot-tolerant police department is in something of a bind now that state rules explicitly ban dispensaries—which have visibly proliferated in Seattle for about a year—but allows bands of patients to cultivate collective gardens together.

In a cover letter to his officers, SPD Chief John Diaz says police and detectives should contact supervisors for guidance on handling marijuana grows and "approach the investigation with care."

As of last Friday, statewide rules provide that up to 10 patients may grow up to 45 plants and possess 72 ounces of dried marijuana. When a Seattle cop encounters a collective garden, SPD's new guidelines say, an officer is to "call a supervisor to respond to the scene." That supervisor must then contact a narcotics section supervisor and both must notify the next tier in their respective chains of command. Cops at the scene, if directed by superiors, are then to "seize all but the authorized supply of marijuana plants."

Acknowledging that marijuana remains a federal crime, the SPD makes clear that patients must provide valid state documentation to show that they have permission from a health-care provider to grow and posses the drug. An individual patient may grow up to 15 plants and possess up to 24 ounces of marijuana, the guidelines note (reflecting rules set by the state's Department of Health). Then the SPD's guidelines go on to say that if a patient is a care provider for another person, he or she may posses double that numbers of plants and usable marijuana (30 plants and 48 ounces of dry pot).

Today Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn signed a law that licenses medical marijuana operations to function under the same regulations and chronic nuisances laws as other businesses.