Recreational weed is legal in Washington—but its complicated.

Recreational weed is legal in Washington—but it’s complicated. THINKSTOCK.COM

Dear cannabis-using and cannabis-curious college students of 2015: You have now matriculated in one of the most weed-friendly cities in the United States. That could be a godsend or a problem for you in the years to come, but we’ll get to that in a moment. For now, congratulations.

Washington State legalized recreational marijuana (for people 21 and older) in 2013. But our pot friendliness dates back much further than that: A decade earlier, Seattle voted to make low-level marijuana possession the “lowest law-enforcement priority” in the city. Three decades before that, in 1968, a “citizens’ committee on crime” organized by the state attorney general recommended liberalizing pot laws (as well as abortion laws). Seattle is also home to Hempfest, one of the biggest pro-legalization events in the country. You get the idea.

However! That does not mean you can light up a joint and blow smoke in a police officer’s face.

Brend an Kiley has worked as a child actor in New Orleans, as a member of the junior press corps at the 1988 Republican National Convention, and, for one happy April, as a bootlegger’s assistant in Nicaragua....