Community | January 28, 2012 | 105 comments

Washington state marijuana legalization headed for ballot

source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/28/washington-state-marijuana-legalization-headed-for-bal...

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KB723
By Reuters
Saturday, January 28, 2012 10:01 EST

(Reuters) – Supporters of legalizing marijuana for recreational use have submitted enough signatures to put the matter to voters in Washington state in a bold move that, if successful, could put Olympia on a collision course with the federal government.

The group New Approach Washington submitted nearly 278,000 valid signatures for the measure, more than required to put it on the November ballot, David Ammons, a spokesman for the Washington Secretary of State’s office, said in a statement.

The move comes as federal prosecutors have sought to crank up pressure on several mostly western states, including Washington, that have legalized medical marijuana even as cannibis remains classified as an illegal narcotic under federal law.

The proposal, if approved by voters, would allow marijuana sales to people 21 and older, permit state taxes to be collected on the drug, ban pot advertising and prohibit driving under the influence of cannabis.

Supporters of legalizing marijuana, who include acting Seattle city attorney Peter Holmes, say the federal prohibition on the drug has not curbed use and that it enriches drug cartels.

“This is the grown-up approach to regulating a relatively harmless drug,” Holmes said.

Opponents of legalization say it would lead to more abuse of the drug, including by young people, and that underground sales would continue.

“There will always be a black market. That’s been proven with cigarettes with the tobacco industry,” said Calvina Fay, head of the Florida-based Drug Free America Foundation. “Even though tobacco is legal and it’s regulated, there’s still a huge global black market.”

Washington is one of 16 states that, along with the nation’s capital, have decriminalized medical marijuana. But federal agents have raided medical marijuana dispensaries in several states, including Washington, in recent months.

Under state law, the recreational legalization initiative next heads to the Washington State Legislature, which has the option of avoiding a popular vote by itself enacting the proposal to legalize marijuana, Ammons said.

The legislature could also allow the measure to go to the ballot alongside an alternative from lawmakers, Ammons said.

Alison Holcomb, campaign director of New Approach Washington, has said she did not expect the legislature would enact the proposal on its own, but would leave the issue for voters to decide.

In 2010, a measure to legalize marijuana in California lost at the ballot box when less than 47 percent of voters approved it.

No modern, affluent nation has ever legalized commercial production and distribution of marijuana, according to research organization RAND Corp.

In the Netherlands, famous for its Amsterdam cafes where guests buy and smoke marijuana, authorities allow adults to buy the drug but the country officially has a policy that commercial production of it is illegal, said Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center.

(Reporting By Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/28/washington-state-marijuana-legalization-he...

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105 comments // Washington state marijuana legalization headed for ballot

  • JangoFetish
    • +1
      JangoFetish  

    • It is a waste of time and taxpayer dollars for any state to leagalize something that the feds will just raid and destroy. State legal does NOT mean federal legal. At least that is how the DEA sees it.

    • 4 months ago
  • FoosMaster
    • -2
      FoosMaster  
    • JangoFetish:

      There is NO Federal law against "possession" of small amounts. The Federal laws are on "Trafficking", (which I believe is 10 pounds or more), Transporting across state lines and manufacturing, which Would affect growers. Smaller offenses are the jurisdiction of the 'States' and the States have the right to block the Feds if they try to enforce any other laws.

      LEGALIZE!

    • 4 months ago
  • Dagum
    • 0
      Dagum  

    • The 10th amendment to the Constitution clearly trumps the feds. Montana state can, and should, use State troopers or local police to arrest any DEA or other federal agents that harass state legislator or Montana citizens once the bill is passes. There is already numerous precedent for local police arrested federal agents that are acting contrary to state law and the constitution.

      I'll try and dig if up but their is a pretty recent where there was stand off between state troopers and federal agents.

    • 4 months ago
  • HarukoHaruhara
  • rhythmstick
    • +4
      rhythmstick  

    • I was going to comment on this subject............... but I can't find my roach clip..........ah there it is. As I was about to say..........................right on!!

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • GRC54
    • +3
      GRC54  

    • Once again we see the do goobers at work. When are these idiots going to realize that the money this nation spends on keeping it off the streets and putting people that just smoke it in jail isn't worth the deaths caused by keeping it illegal. This being done by those who will do anything to bring it in to this country and make millions selling it. To the boob who says that there will be a black market even though it will be legal is talking out of their hat. Since it's illegal it's already in the black market chain. Talk about stupid statements.
      It's about time these morons wake up and see what their policy has done. Let the states choose for themselves since all the republicans are screaming about reducing the size of government. They can start with legalizing the weed.

    • 4 months ago
  • Leen61
  • nardo1224
    • +2
      nardo1224  

    • The only way legislation like this will pass is if we get all the crazy loud mouthed asshole politicians from in front of the camera into insane asylums.

    • 4 months ago
  • snoskier
    • +4
      snoskier  

    • I live in a rural area, that has expended lots of energy and resources combating cartel growing operations. Helicopters, ground troops, eradication campaigns... what a waste. Perhaps we will finally move past all this and create a new revenue source for our struggling budgets.

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • snoskier
  • KB723
  • Ambill94
    • +4
      Ambill94  

    • "Supporters of legalizing marijuana, who include acting Seattle city attorney Peter Holmes, say the federal prohibition on the drug has not curbed use and that it enriches drug cartels." Been arguing this for years...prohibition is the government underwriting organized criminal behavior...

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • Ambill94
  • Ambill94
  • KB723
  • Ambill94
  • galwayman
  • KB723
  • cabinettags
    • +2
      cabinettags  
    • galwayman:

      And then DO what they tell you. It's weird that we elect people to handle our affairs, then they do stuff we don't like and we have no say in it. This election is going to be the pitts. I'd like to see Obama pay the price for intimating he agreed with d-criminalized pot and then turns around and takes the other side. Yet there's nobody in the Republican stable I want to see in the White House either. Maybe the fed should just handle foreign affairs and leave everything else to the states.

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • galwayman
  • Ambill94
  • artemis6
  • KB723
  • EmperorThan
  • KB723
    • 0
      KB723  
    • EmperorThan:

      It would help... I gave up on the $4.50 Cafe Mocas some time ago... I have read some really Bad news about their Jo and the things I can look forward to, or should I say how much shorter my life can be if I continued drinking their Jo... =(

    • 4 months ago
  • cabinettags
    • +1
      cabinettags  
    • EmperorThan:

      Doubt that would ever happen. If it's legal, regulated and taxed, then it will probably end up being handled similar to how alcohol is now. The equivalent of liquor stores and bars. But one can always hope.

    • 4 months ago
  • kbshana
  • KB723
  • EmperorThan
  • KB723
  • artemis6
  • cabinettags
    • +1
      cabinettags  
    • kbshana:

      The only thing that needs to happen - and what SHOULD happen; is for the Federal Govt to simply butt out. Remove that ridiculous Schedule 1 listing, then leave it up to each individual state how they want to handle it. Let the citizens decide - it's their business anyway - NOT the feds.

    • 4 months ago
  • ThirdSection
  • KB723
  • Frosty46
  • KB723
  • ThirdSection
  • BRAVATRAVELS
  • KB723
  • Georgia_Jim
  • KB723
  • ThirdSection
  • GavinTheMother
    • +2
      GavinTheMother  

    • The only reason it didn't pass in California is because there are too many people profiting off the black market. With the economy as bad as it is and industry in Northern CA almost dead, if weed were legalized prices would drop dramatically (or "even more dramatically"). Entire communities in NorCal would all but disappear. For the sake of doing the right thing, I wish the initiative would have passed. If many Californians voted with their heart instead of their pocketbook (stash), the initiative would have easily passed.

      Btw does anyone understand why "conservatives" vote against legalization when they are the ones complaining about big government telling them what to do?

    • 4 months ago
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
  • KB723
  • Leen61
    • +6
      Leen61  

    • Now here's the correct approach. Go Washington! The people will speak loudly in favor of legalizing it! Free the weed!

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • cmc101
  • KB723
  • cabinettags
    • +9
      cabinettags  

    • This is EXACTLY what's needed. Those of us that disagree with the prohibition and advocate legalization for recreational use by adults, need to just keep putting it On the Ballot and IN their face. Every time it's voted down, we need to keep right on putting it back on the ballot, and we need to keep on, keeping on until the opponents get so sick of it they vote for it in just to shut us up. I'll take it anyway I can get it. Right on Washington!! I'll bet you do better than California did.

      That marijuana is prohibited while alcohol is legal is a travesty. A drunk behind the wheel will blow through a stop sign and possibly kill somebody, if not themselves. A stoned person will stop at the sign and then sit there waiting for it to turn green.

      What's your preference?

    • 4 months ago
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
    • +3
      The_Wanderer_Kansas  
    • cabinettags:

      My preference is that people who support the legalization of marijuana stops placing comments like "sit there til it turns green" placing a stigma in it's own way the use of the substance. Those who smoke enough to loose cohesive trains of thought especially in such a limited scope as driving are abusers, not users. Just a thought to chew on.

    • 4 months ago
  • cabinettags
    • +7
      cabinettags  
    • The_Wanderer_Kansas:

      wanderer, I'm 63 and first tried the weed when I was 18. I've been an advocate for a lot of years. Just because there's no comparison with alcohol use doesn't mean pot is perfect. Lots of folks that use alcohol do so in moderation with no harm, just as there are some heads that overdo the thing and end up sitting at that stop sign. I think to say otherwise is what downplays the movement. Recreational use of marijuana can stand on it's own merits - we needn't downplay the drawbacks - few as they are. If we seek to change the opinion of those that oppose legalization, then honesty is the best policy; and a little humor doesn't hurt.

    • 4 months ago
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
    • +4
      The_Wanderer_Kansas  
    • cabinettags:

      I am among the most vocal advocates for legalization. Age has so little to do with this to me. I appreaciate your candor and even your humor, but my personal experience points to the fact that even the small drawbacks such as loss of concentration doesn't occur unless exhorbinate amounts are consumed. I support free and legal use, I do not support abuse that will lead to a purpetual demonization. In much the same way that someone who enjoyed a champagne toast would not cruise thru a stop sign, nor would someone who enjoyed a bowl with a friend will not sit at a stop sign waiting for it to change. If we hope for legalization of use we must make it clear what the differences between use and abuse are. I assert your statement that despite clear lines of comparison between weed and booze don't really exist doesn't' mean that pot isn't perfect is indeed a fact. I also support the wide held belief that weed is far less physically harmful then the vast majority of readily available drugs and even "energy drinks" found at any corner store.

      To me the better comparison would be the drinker falling off the couch while the smoker wonders if there was even a reason for the guy to try standing up so soon.

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • cabinettags
    • +5
      cabinettags  
    • The_Wanderer_Kansas:

      I take your point. If we're to succeed at this then we're all needed with our own viewpoints. Tokers vary in expression, and that's fine. We're not carbon copies of anything - we're all different, just like everybody else. We ARE everybody else. The one thing that binds us together is the shared opinion that our nations marijuana laws do absolutely no good, much harm, and need to be repealed. That's enough for me. BTW, I like your falling off the couch comparison. It's got a nice touch to it. Probably going to borrow it. :-)

    • 4 months ago
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
  • cmc101
  • OlBlue
  • KB723
  • artemis6
    • +3
      artemis6  
    • cabinettags:

      I helped get this on the ballot , and i have never nor will i ever smoke anything . What i object to , is throwing decent people , mothers , fathers , in JAIL for so long they LOOSE custody of their children to the foster care system . Keeping it illegal is a war on the people , not on a "drug" . A huge waste of resources . A ruin of lives . No good has come of it . I wish we could re classify it too . That would help . There needs to be a process for that .

    • 4 months ago
  • Conniepae
  • rhythmstick
  • rhythmstick
  • rhythmstick
  • OlBlue
  • Henry_Massingale
    • +1
      Henry_Massingale  

    • Not so long ago we brought enough people forward to shut this down, we had over 12 Million people that said no to Government Controlled dope. And this is by far not enough to people to go against the 100 Million who will say no if this is made known to them, and not by a back door policy.

    • 4 months ago
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
    • +9
      The_Wanderer_Kansas  

    • I still harken back to an episode of "Judge Joe Brown" when the topic of marijuana use was raised by a litigant and the Judge responded "Is that stuff still really illegal?"

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
  • KB723
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
    • +4
      The_Wanderer_Kansas  
    • KB723:

      Well having once sat on the hood of my own car enjoying an extravagantly oversized bowl with an on duty officer while sitting outside of a "closing time" greasy spoon restaraunt (ok it was a Denny's) I will not be surprised one iota over who smokes. He sat there getting stoned with me while watching and waiting for someone obviously too drunk to drive to come stumbling out of the land of grease and pork.

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
    • +5
      The_Wanderer_Kansas  
    • KB723:

      Yes KB, tis I, The_Wanderer_KS under a new account and adjusted name because of the sillyness of linking an account here thru Facebook initially... To hell with Facebook and thier piss poor ability to support the tech they are using.

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
    • +3
      KB723  
    • The_Wanderer_Kansas:

      Man you are like the third person that has had issues with FB, I know of two other posters that vacated their account because they left FB and could not get back to their original persona... The last time I talked to you, you were doing something with a new car engine??? How did that ever work out??? =)

    • 4 months ago
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
    • +4
      The_Wanderer_Kansas  
    • KB723:

      I am rebuilding/engineering a classic 1987 Jeep GrandWagoneer. I have just about finished the basic body work and am elbow deep in her engine. Early signs point towards a near tripling of my fuel economy just thru basic adjustments to the existing engine. I anticipate a stronger performance once I put it back together and start running ethanol.

      A choking and pressurization of the fuel supply has increased horsepower from a little over 400 to nearly 600. I did not manage to get a fuel consumption ratio at that point in the process. However after streamlining and application of a vortex device in the air intake afterwards not onlyl pushed my horsepower well over 620 it brought gas consumption way down. Between those TWO and only two adjustments MPG went from 7-8 up to almost 30! I have concluded that I will run two seperate fuel lines when complete, one for ethanol and one for petrol. This will allow for running a customization of mixed fuels with only minor adjustments and allow for further experimentation with such things as fuel vaporizers and other theoretical techniques for increased economy.

      At this point I am at a standstill, due to financial constraints... everything is expensive these days, but it is a project I have poured myself into and am not going to give up on it!

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • circlesquared
    • +3
      circlesquared  
    • The_Wanderer_Kansas:

      way cool...used to have a 85 tank...looked beautiful, completely rusted out underneath. Cars and I don't get along, think I need to go back to a horse. By the way had the same problem with FB and my original acct here...used to be squarethecircle. Sucks to continue getting updates and comments on that acct filling my inbox when I can't get back.

    • 4 months ago
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
  • rhythmstick
    • +2
      rhythmstick  
    • The_Wanderer_Kansas:

      I was in a traffic jam in New York City once when a cop reached in my window a confiscated a joint I was smoking. As he walked he turned to me and said "don't you know this stuff is illegal" as he took a hit and walked off with it.

    • 4 months ago
  • The_Wanderer_Kansas
  • Truthitswhatsfordinner
  • KB723
  • FoosMaster
    • +1
      FoosMaster  
    • Truthitswhatsfordinner:

      There is No Federal law against 'possession' of amounts too small to be considered 'trafficking' which I believe is 10 pounds or more and the States ALL have differing laws on possession of smaller amounts. It IS however a Federal offense to manufacture it or transport it across state lines. So, your contention that the Feds will be arresting people for small amounts is False, though it will still pose a problem for the growers.
      Regardless of what the Feds may or may not do we should ALL support Any legalization efforts anywhere in this country. Support is building and I feel that if just one state can pass it we will then see Many more states quickly following after they see the amount of tax revenue it will generate. ;-)

      LEGALIZE!!!

    • 4 months ago
  • Truthitswhatsfordinner
    • 0
      Truthitswhatsfordinner  
    • FoosMaster:

      I never said the Feds would bust people for small amounts.

      The Feds just closed the last of 60 pot shops in one section of LA. The Feds are harassing shop owners in CO by having the IRS go to banks where the shops bank and telling the bank that they are holding ill gotten gains and threatening to shut them down.

    • 4 months ago
  • circlesquared
    • +5
      circlesquared  

    • In a world where doctors routinely prescribe drugs, meant for terminal patients, to children for pain I think a naturally occurring cure all will not be made legal. Again we need to stop playing by their rules if we want to head down a better path for us all.

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • circlesquared
    • +3
      circlesquared  
    • KB723:

      anyone with seeds should sprinkle them everywhere they go like Johnny Appleseed...if we could get it naturally growing again there would be nothing they could do. Guess they'd probably bring Blackwater back home to wage the war on drugs here against us though.

    • 4 months ago
  • cmc101
  • circlesquared
  • scooter3282
    • +7
      scooter3282  

    • Hopefully the majority of the voters of Washington state are much more enlightened than the average politician or judicial hack. This needs to become the law of the land.

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • PressCore
    • +3
      PressCore  
    • KB723:

      It's way more than stupid, amigo. It's Julius Caesar's motto of Divide & Conquer
      in a nutchell. The Prohibition of 1937, then again in 1972, was'nt the first time
      in History that this parralel angle was implemented. Pizzaro, like Cortez, had
      only a minority of people to invade the Inca's in Peru. So, to divide & conquer
      them he had to use superior weapons to enforce a Prohibition on Amaranth.
      It's a high protein grain that was the central food supply of Indian warriors.
      Likewise, when the Brittish controled Jamaica before their own abolitionist
      movement ended slavery there, they were left with a minority white population
      seeking to control the descendants of all the African people they'd kidnapped
      and imported to work in the direct tropical Sun. So to divide & conquer the
      Jamaican Africans, the Brittish passed Draconian Prohibitionist statutes out
      lawing the African Jamaicans' central custom of using Ganja to cool their body
      temperatures. Here in the States, all the Presidents you see carved into Mt.
      Rushmore smoked Cannabis. Lincoln wrote letters to the German Hohner
      harmonica company telling them he liked nothing better than toquing up
      on a pipebowl of Cannabis on his back porch, and playing their mouth harp.
      Lincoln's public quotes revealed that he was a stauch enemy of Prohibition.

      He rebuked it as an UnAmerican activity. When the Vollstead act Prohibiting
      the sale,manufacture, and consumption of alchohol was enacted, it led to
      the rise of Organized Crime in the the USA, and corruption on all levels.
      When the Government was forced to repeal Prohibition of alchohol, they
      quickly replaced it within a few years with Prohibition of Cannabis. Hasn't
      anyone seriously wondered why on earth with all the crime and bloodshed
      so fresh in the minds of the people in Chicago with Al Capone, Bugs Moran
      Dutch Shultz machine gunning people on the streets, that they'd want to
      see that evil repeated ? For money. By 1937, Organized Crime took their
      bootlegging profits and invested it in legitimate business interests. They then
      unduely influenced Congress to enact the Federal Prohibition on Cannabis.
      If you research the sordid history of J.Edgar Hoover, W.R.Hearst, Harry
      Anslinger, DuPont combining in Conspiracy to reenact another Prohibition
      then you'll see why their UnConstitutional statute is built on a framework of lies.
      But then what is the FBI anyway but spies, lies, and betrayal ?

    • 4 months ago
  • KB723
  • circlesquared
  • KB723
    • +6
      KB723  

    • Washington state marijuana legalization headed for ballot

      "I have yet to see a case of Lung Cancer that was due to marijuana use!!!"

    • 4 months ago
  • circlesquared
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