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Forget Metro cutbacks, Seattle now has a Weed Bus that lets you smoke weed. On the bus. — UPDATE: Olympia says nope

photo (1)The Weed Bus Club, a party bus turned stoner’s paradise, has been out and about in Seattle this summer. Perhaps you smelled the bus when it stopped by Capitol Hill Block Party.

William Prigmore’s club provides what he says is a safe space for people to tour Seattle — while smoking weed.

“You can hop on the Weed Bus by yourself,” says Prigmore, “a lot of different people are always on the bus. I think that’s why people like it a lot, it’s not like you have to rent a party bus out.”

UPDATE 8/22/14: That didn’t last long. The day after we told you about Weed Bus, state regulators have snuffed the idea:

Citing multiple state laws and a concern for public safety, the commission stated that charter and excursion vehicles, drivers, and passengers are considered to be in view of the general public, therefore, the consumption or use of marijuana products on board a charter or excursion vehicle is prohibited.

We’ve posted the full announcement, below.

There are two buses in the club that eventually will have set routes between legal marijuana retail stores and tourist sites such as Pike Place Market and Alki Beach in West Seattle, Prigmore says. He plans for people to hop on at different stops and ride for as long as they like.

It’s unlikely the routes will include Capitol Hill’s closest approved pot shop — 24th and Union’s Mello Times hasn’t announced an opening date. Meanwhile, the club might also provide an expensive, slightly inconvenient solution to the renter’s paradox.

It is against the law to smoke weed in a vehicle the same way it is illegal to have open containers of alcohol, but the company has found a loophole. The company says it is legal to smoke in a vehicle if there is a divider between the driver and the passengers, similar to alcohol in limousines and party buses.

The Seattle Police Department had not heard of the marijuana bus tours. A SPD spokesperson said that as long as the driver is sober and there is a divider between the driver and the “hot-boxed” bus, then the club is legal.

A ride costs $25 per person per hour. With the club is in its infancy, contact the company directly to set up a time to come aboard and check it out. Unlike limousine and party bus companies where you need to rent the vehicle for an evening, the Weed Bus can pick up singles as long as you are 21 or older.

Prigmore worked in limousine and party bus companies previously and decided to start his own business venture taking advantage of the new legislation.

Cannabus, another Seattle company, provides a similar 90-minute tour around Seattle to tourist sites and marijuana shops for $50 per person.

Once the club gets its bearing and makes contact with its clientele, Prigmore is hoping to do the tours from around 2 PM to 6 PM Monday through Fridays.

“We keep it fun,” says Prigmore, “and at the same time have a certain type of structure for the law.”

For more information visit weedbus.club or call (206) 423-9603.

UPDATE 8/22/14: Here’s the full Weed Bus snuffing announcement from Olympia:

State regulators’ message to tour bus companies: “No marijuana on the bus”
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Today, transportation safety regulators issued a notice to Washington state charter and excursion bus operators reminding them that the consumption or use of marijuana products on their vehicles by passengers or drivers is prohibited by state law.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) issued the notice after several transportation companies filed permit applications to provide marijuana-themed tour bus services.
Citing multiple state laws and a concern for public safety, the commission stated that charter and excursion vehicles, drivers, and passengers are considered to be in view of the general public, therefore, the consumption or use of marijuana products on board a charter or excursion vehicle is prohibited.
The notice also referenced a state law that prohibits smoking in public or at a place of employment and a federal safety regulation that prohibits the use of marijuana by commercial motor vehicle drivers.
The companies were notified that failure to comply with the law will result in the cancellation of their state-issued operating permit.
In April, the commission published a report about the safety of charter and excursion “party buses” and made recommendations to improve safety and oversight of the developing industry, which the commission will ask the Legislature to consider in the 2015 session. The report found numerous incidents across the country involving party buses that resulted in injuries and fatalities.
Commission staff found no record of reported deaths or accidents in Washington state. However, in 2012 an 11-year-old girl was killed after falling through an emergency window of a party bus in Oregon. The operator, Five Star Limousine, also operated in Washington. The UTC subsequently revoked the company’s permit to operate in the state.The UTC regulates the rates and services of telecommunications companies, investor-owned electric utilities, natural gas and water companies, garbage-collection haulers, household-goods movers and charter-bus companies, commercial ferries, pipeline companies, and a low-level radioactive waste repository.

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Timmy73
Timmy73
9 years ago

I wish they would engineer an odorless weed. Its great that its legal and people can enjoy (for the most part) as they wish but wow, the smell is so intense. I hope to never pass one of these busses!

Cheech
Cheech
9 years ago

Pedro: Hey how am I driving, man?
Man Stoner: [looks around] : I think we’re parked.

pbe
pbe
9 years ago

im pretty sure you can smoke weed on Metro busses…

HighAboveSeattle.com
9 years ago

Thanks for posting the video!

calhoun
9 years ago

What will the stoners think of next?

The legality of this is questionable, in spite of what the SPD says. Smoking pot in public is banned, and the bus is in a public space, so I don’t see how this business can be legal. But our City Attorney, Pete Holmes, is very pro-pot, so I doubt he will do anything about it.

Jim98122x
Jim98122x
9 years ago
Reply to  calhoun

With a separater between the driver and passengers, they must not consider it a public space. Otherwise the long-existent party buses that allow alcohol consumption, or limos with bars, wouldn’t be legal either. Because drinking in public isn’t legal either. I don’t see any difference here.

That being said…. $25/hr just to ride around and have a place to smoke your own weed? Um, OK– good luck w/ that business plan.

jc
jc
9 years ago
Reply to  Jim98122x

“$25/hr just to ride around and have a place to smoke your own weed? Um, OK– good luck w/ that business plan.”

It might be popular with tourists. And a little nostalgia for some people, the “Magic Bus” of the 60s.

Zak
Zak
9 years ago
Reply to  calhoun

Drinking alcohol in public is illegal also

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THE ORIGINAL CANNABUS
9 years ago

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THE ORIGINAL CANNABUS
9 years ago

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9 years ago

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grow shop
8 years ago

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