Craigslist becomes a place for pot peddlers:

Not surprising since this is coming from Seattle...

The classified-advertising Web site craigslist has become popular in recent years with young, tech-savvy city dwellers seeking apartments, jobs and for-sale items.

But it's also being used as an Information Age black market for some Seattle-area marijuana dealers.

"I'm not too concerned about getting caught," said Eric, a Bellevue man in his early 30s who peddles pot online through craigslist.

Local and federal law-enforcement officials said they're aware dealers like Eric are turning to craigslist and other Web sites to sell pot,
but the amounts sold are generally so small they're not very concerned.

Eric, who spoke on the condition that his last name not be used, says he doesn't make much of a profit — if any — but sells enough marijuana so he can smoke for free. He sells small amounts — usually an eighth of an ounce, which brings in $30 to $40. Most clients are friends or friends of friends, Eric said.

But as some customers have moved away or no longer want to light up, he's found replacement demand online.

Craigslist prohibits illegal activity, but the Web site is mostly self-policed, according to a spokeswoman for the site.

Eric scans craigslist for ads placed by people who are seeking pot. More often than not, he'll find someone posting an ad looking for marijuana using code names like "Mary Jane," "MJ," "the sticky icky," "the chronic" and "420."

Recently, however, Eric posted an ad on craigslist indicating he was willing to trade marijuana for sexual favors from women or money from men. Men who offered up a woman for sex would get a discount.

"It's not prostitution," he said, noting he had completed a few transactions in response to the ad. "It's like a date, just weed instead of dinner."

Eric isn't alone in his sex-for-drugs cyber-trade. Recent ads posted on craigslist included an Everett man who wanted to "smoke some 420 and hook up with a cute guy" and a man in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood who offered women a place to smoke pot, but warned: "I might try to kiss you or touch you."

Eric doesn't flaunt his pot-dealing and said he doubts his neighbors — or law enforcement — know about what he does.

Local police and federal authorities haven't given him reason to worry.

Even though Seattle voters in 2004 approved an initiative that required police to make enforcing marijuana possession for adults the lowest priority, selling is still a felonious offense under state law. Possession of less than 40 grams is a misdemeanor.

Susan Best, spokeswoman for San Francisco-based craigslist, said the company prohibits drug peddling and similar crimes on its site and cooperates with law enforcement when asked.

Still, the site relies on users to monitor posts. Users can flag posts that potentially violate the site's rules, but many regarding drug use remain active for days, sometimes expiring before site administrators
can delete them.

"And, let me be clear," Best wrote. "We don't want illegal activity on our site. It is not welcome."

Yet they're not doing a whole lot to discourage it.