REVscene Automotive Forum - Washington State tries to Legalize Pot Again

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Quote:

Legalized marijuana in Washington? Proponents try again

By CHRIS GRYGIEL
SEATTLEPI.COM STAFF

For the second year in a row, people who want to make pot legal in Washington will try to get a statewide initiative before voters.

The secretary of state's office on Wednesday said sponsors of a measure that would legalize marijuana use by people 18 and older filed with elections officials. A similar effort last year sputtered when organizers failed to get enough signatures. This year's attempt includes a new provision that would require the state Legislature to adopt civil regulations on marijuana use, sales and possibly taxation.

To qualify for the November ballot, initiative sponsors need to get the signatures of more than 241,000 registered voters by July 8. Last year they fell short by about 50,000 signatures.

Douglas Hiatt, one of the sponsors of the Sensible Washington coalition, says legalization proponents learned from last year's failed effort.

"A lot of people spent the summer in meetings to get reorganized. The organization is five times bigger than it was," he said. "We're a lot more organized and have a much better idea about what we're doing."

The group will rely on volunteers to collect signatures, but Hiatt said they haven't ruled out using paid workers sometime in the future. Hiatt said the new section directing the Legislature to come up with regulations is also something he hopes will appeal to voters.

Last year California voters rejected Proposition 19, which would've legalized marijuana in the Golden State, by a 54 percent to 46 percent vote.

Hiatt met with Prop 19 supporters to try to learn from their experience. Hiatt said the Californians urged Sensible Washington to leave the details of regulating legalized marijuana to lawmakers, should Evergreen State voters OK the initiative.

"One the things the California folks told us the minute you said it has to be 250 feet from a school, somebody would want 500, somebody would want 1,000," he said. "The more specific you got, the more resistance you got."

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http://www.seattlepi.com/local/43421...ml?source=mypi

I think between Cali and Washington State's attempts to pull this off it's a really heartening move in the right direction. The politicians are starting to get the idea as to how to sell this to their more conservative voters too, I saw an ad the other day on a US channel where the chick heading this points out that Cigarettes and Alcohol require ID to purchase (theoretically keeping them out of the hands of kids) but drug dealers don't (theoretically making it more accessible to children). Further more the senator that's supporting the motion's hitting the 'taking money from the drug trade and putting it in state coffers' button which is desperately needed in WA at this time.

Curious to see how it pans out.