Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, December 20, 2011
Politics Pot Campaign Says It Has Enough Signatures to Make 2012 Ballot
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, Dec 20, 2011 at 3:39 PM
It looks like we'll be voting to legalize marijuana next year.
New Approach Washington, the campaign circulating a petition that would legalize, tax, and regulate marijuana for adults, has scheduled a meeting next Thursday to submit its signatures to state election workers. While the the state requires 241,153 signatures from registered voters to qualify for next fall's ballot, Secretary of State's Office spokesman Dave Ammons says the elections division recommends at least 320,000 to cover invalid signatures. Alison Holcomb, campaign director for Initiative 502, says she intends to submit more than that—between 355,000 and 365,000 signatures.
New Approach Washington has reported $1.1 million in contributions, which have helped pay for signature gatherers, according to records filed with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission. The largest contribution came from Peter Lewis, former CEO of Progressive Insurance, who kicked $250,000 toward the campaign.
2
i totally support legalizing pot. that is a horrendous piece of legislation that will make it illegal to be a smoker & ever drive. if you smoke regularly, you will always be in violation of the blood test, which has nothing to do w/ impairment, and is simply a test of whether you did at some point smoke pot.
3
@2 and before we go down yet another 150+ post rabbit hole about this:
A) that bit of the legislation can be tweaked by the legislature or follow up balloting
B) this is the first orchestrated major state-level attack on Federal prohibition likely to work
C) see B this is how you start to break the whole thing down--one state becomes two, becomes three...
D) anyone who thinks legalization won't come with heavy regulatory prohibitions, like we see with alcohol, is stupid
E) perfect is the enemy of good
F) etc., etc., etc....
A) that bit of the legislation can be tweaked by the legislature or follow up balloting
B) this is the first orchestrated major state-level attack on Federal prohibition likely to work
C) see B this is how you start to break the whole thing down--one state becomes two, becomes three...
D) anyone who thinks legalization won't come with heavy regulatory prohibitions, like we see with alcohol, is stupid
E) perfect is the enemy of good
F) etc., etc., etc....
6
@2) That popular assertion among certain medical marijuana patients seems false. I-502 distinguishes inactive THC from active THC. Here's a fact sheet.
7
State troopers are totally going to start pulling over drivers without cause and inject them with needles and send their blood off to a lab and administer expensive blood tests en masse to convict innocent people of DUI who smoked weed weeks ago.
That's totally how they get their kicks! SHEEPLE
That's totally how they get their kicks! SHEEPLE
8
This would totally take care of our nation's debt problem! I support this and I am not a pot smoker but I work in the medical field and have seen this work on patients for pain too.
9
@6 everything i've seen says that is a complete bullshit claim. why are medical marijuana patients groups coming out en masse against the law if that is the case? there have been several guest posts right here on slog from advocacy groups & lawyers debunking the claim that this will not make all regular pot smokers guilty of dui. and as for @3, if you want to support a terrible piece of legislation w/ a horrendous poison pill in it, go ahead. but don't pretend that it a) has to be the case, and b) can/will be amended. you make that law & you put another tool in the cops' toolbox to fuck w/ the citizenry whenever they feel like it and it will not be going away until many, many lives are ruined (and that is a best case scenario, most likely it will be there forever).
10
@9) I invited those folks to run the guest pieces on Slog, but not because I think they're necessarily right. I gave them the chance because I'd been disagreeing with them--saying that I think I-502 is still worth it--and wanted to give 'em a chance to say their piece. I believe these folks who are making an overblown case are largely the same people (Douglas Hiatt, Jeffrey Steinborn, and Vivian McPeak) who ran previous campaigns to legalize marijuana, failed to make the ballot, and feel butthurt that someone else is doing a better job.
I-502 is the best shot we've ever had at legalization. If I-502 passes, the threshold for establishing probable cause remains high: We're not seeing people pulled over much for pot DUIs now; that wouldn't change. And it's a matter of picking our preference. Would we rather have 10,000+ arrests every year for pot in this state (which we have now) or the totally speculative possibility that a few people will be busted for pot DUIs? The 10,000+ busts we have now are far worse--and I don't want to see the perfect become the enemy of the good. Because we're never going to get perfect. Just look at liquor laws.
I-502 is the best shot we've ever had at legalization. If I-502 passes, the threshold for establishing probable cause remains high: We're not seeing people pulled over much for pot DUIs now; that wouldn't change. And it's a matter of picking our preference. Would we rather have 10,000+ arrests every year for pot in this state (which we have now) or the totally speculative possibility that a few people will be busted for pot DUIs? The 10,000+ busts we have now are far worse--and I don't want to see the perfect become the enemy of the good. Because we're never going to get perfect. Just look at liquor laws.
11
These measures won't pass on the "legalize, tax, and regulate" band wagon. We just have more work to do. Like others have noted, who would pay taxes on pot, when those tax records can just be seized by the DEA and used to arrest people? The fed will win, as long as we keep making pot ordinances that require the creation of records. States absolutely should legalize pot, but the Fed has to break before we are ever going to get any significant tax code. Here in California, and I assume in Washington too, most people can avoid ever worry about being busted by flying under the radar. These proposed tax structures would make that impossible.
12
We have to start treating marijuana sales and distribution like any other industry, and that means taxing them like other businesses. And we need to defend those businesses when/if the Feds come in. This is the argument we are making. And there will be plenty of people willing to be the test case for it, look around you, they're already there. Ads in The Stranger are records that these business owners are creating willingly.
14
@2 & 9: Sure we've got a little bit of grumbling from a few folks locally (who, as Dom notes, seem to be butt-hurt because their efforts have gone nowhere). More interesting, however, is that pretty much anybody who is anybody in the national movement is fully on board w/502 and many (like Peter Lewis) are willing to throw money into the fight.
Also, go back and look at the fight against prop 19: the anti squad went on and on about how there was no DUI provision. That became a focal point (if not the centerpiece) of their attack. With a DUI provision, prop 19 probably passes.
And yes, I will take a flawed law that can be changed later over no law any fucking day of the week. And anyone who doesn't is just being silly.
Also, go back and look at the fight against prop 19: the anti squad went on and on about how there was no DUI provision. That became a focal point (if not the centerpiece) of their attack. With a DUI provision, prop 19 probably passes.
And yes, I will take a flawed law that can be changed later over no law any fucking day of the week. And anyone who doesn't is just being silly.
15
Passing an imperfect pot legalization measure by a popular vote would be a HUGE step in the direction of having a saner drug policy even if the feds somehow make sure the law never gets enforced. Heck, as mentioned above, it's a huge step in the right direction even if it's totally wrong on the DUI issue.
This is the best chance this country has ever seen to put a giant crack in the war on drugs.
I don't think I will ever understand the motivation of the pro-pot and yet anti-502 people. If not something like this, how do they ever expect to move things forward? I'd like to hear their plan to do something, rather than their carping from the sidelines.
This is the best chance this country has ever seen to put a giant crack in the war on drugs.
I don't think I will ever understand the motivation of the pro-pot and yet anti-502 people. If not something like this, how do they ever expect to move things forward? I'd like to hear their plan to do something, rather than their carping from the sidelines.
16
As long as it goes to the Nov ballot. If the popular vote gets it passed I will be surprised. The legislature would be idiots to pass it "as is".
18
I can't believe that those want to reform marijuana laws are whining about I-502. This is the first time that two states will have marijuana legalization/decriminalization on the ballot for a presidential election. You are nuts if you vote no.
19
Many opponents of I-502 zero in on the DUI provisions while completely ignoring the positive ripple effect it will have across the country if it passes. I am seriously starting to believe that this fear mongering is rooted in something else other than honest disagreement with the initiative. The impact I-502 will have on patients has been grossly exaggerated on so many levels. If you have serious questions about I-502 and what it will do, please contact New Approach Washington and I’m sure they will direct you to someone who can answer everything for you. You will not get answers by watching the personal attacks and parroted responses you will likely see unfold here.
I-502 is about permitting simple possession for adults, opening doors for industrial hemp, and creating major disincentives for children to use marijuana. It’s about doing the best possible job though an initiative process to create a regulatory system. It’s about bringing people from all parts of the political spectrum together to legalize cannabis in a thoughtful and careful way during a time of popular unrest. There are certain realities that New Approach Washington decided to work with instead of against to get a legalization initiative on the ballot here in Washington State, and this is why I-502 has been a success so far.
You can either take part in creating history, or sit on the sidelines trying to sabotage the first real chance we have to spark reform across this country. It’s your choice.
I-502 is about permitting simple possession for adults, opening doors for industrial hemp, and creating major disincentives for children to use marijuana. It’s about doing the best possible job though an initiative process to create a regulatory system. It’s about bringing people from all parts of the political spectrum together to legalize cannabis in a thoughtful and careful way during a time of popular unrest. There are certain realities that New Approach Washington decided to work with instead of against to get a legalization initiative on the ballot here in Washington State, and this is why I-502 has been a success so far.
You can either take part in creating history, or sit on the sidelines trying to sabotage the first real chance we have to spark reform across this country. It’s your choice.
20
Alex, I-502 does none of what you're saying. If it was about doing the best possible job setting up a regulatory system, why would they have not removed it from the state's CSL as well, meaning that if the distribution system was preempted there would still be some lasting change on the state level? It's also almost laughable to say this is being done in a thoughtful way, when many thoughtful minds have scoffed at, and are putting resources towards stopping the insane DUID infrastructure (and to say it's just SW is quite silly).
Also, the reason I-502 has been a "success" so far is because of MONEY, having lots and lots of money (of course a huge chunk of it coming from the founder of Progressive Insurance, which just happens to be one of a few insurance companies that keeps individuals who have DUIs and DUIDs). Now that it's on the ballot the scrutiny will continue, and anyone who's willing to listen to the legal realities of our state's RCW, our federal law and how I-502 effects them both will clearly understand just how dangerous it truly is.
I think we all knew it was inevitable that I-502 would make the ballot with the hundreds of thousands of dollars at NAW's disposal, but I think over the next 10 months it will continue to be torn down for what it truly is - an incomplete, unacceptable and jeopardizing initiative.
Also, the reason I-502 has been a "success" so far is because of MONEY, having lots and lots of money (of course a huge chunk of it coming from the founder of Progressive Insurance, which just happens to be one of a few insurance companies that keeps individuals who have DUIs and DUIDs). Now that it's on the ballot the scrutiny will continue, and anyone who's willing to listen to the legal realities of our state's RCW, our federal law and how I-502 effects them both will clearly understand just how dangerous it truly is.
I think we all knew it was inevitable that I-502 would make the ballot with the hundreds of thousands of dollars at NAW's disposal, but I think over the next 10 months it will continue to be torn down for what it truly is - an incomplete, unacceptable and jeopardizing initiative.
21
Anthony, my above comment basically explains why NAW has been successful where previous legalization attempts have failed. It also explains why I-502 has a good chance at becoming law, and why I-1068 and other like-minded initiatives don't. It's a tough reality to take for some, but it is reality.
22
Exactly now the Feds have an ENEMIES list. Thanks for signing. Think some nut like NEWT wouldn't love throw some good old boy teeth kicking in by some IRS agent to WA.
23
1. S.W. had 72 K total signatures on their last try
2. Big money came for I-502, why?
3. How long must we wait for "Free The Weed"
4. In less than 1 month after the ban on alcohol was lifted the WSLCB was created.
2. Big money came for I-502, why?
3. How long must we wait for "Free The Weed"
4. In less than 1 month after the ban on alcohol was lifted the WSLCB was created.
24
Alex, with all due respect it's laughable to think that you believe I-502 ever has a chance of becoming law. The federally government will NOT let that happen, and how utterly faulty the initiative is designed will make it easy for them to take it down legally in the courts almost instantaneously.
26
@16: Because I-502 contains a 25% excise tax it will likely require a 2/3 vote because of Eyman's (likely unconstitutional) supermajority initiative. When the house doesn't hit 2/3 it will go to the people in the Fall of 2012.
27
Now the next step is to take the Feds to court and challenge the constitutionality of federal marijuana laws
28
Expect the Drug Enforcement Agency - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Big Pharma,Big Booze,Big Lumber,Big Tobacco,Big Caffeine,Big Filthy Fuels,Big Wool,and Big Cotton - to ignore the implementation of Initiative-502 (if it both makes it on the ballot AND receives most votes cast). . . . .Feudalism,anybody?Pfft!!!
29
Why would you even want this law to pass!!!???? It states you cannot posses more than 1 ounce of marijuana and you would not be able to grow your own medicine either. Furthermore, If you smoke/consume marijuana, it is likely that you would not be capable of driving a vehicle under Washington State Law for approximately 2 days.
Currently, we are able to have 15 rooted plants and up to 24 ounces on hand at any given time. Why would we want to jeopardize that and loose our rights as medical patients??????
Come on people. Don't get sucked in by the lies. PLEASE DO NOT VOTE ON THIS INITIATIVE!!!!
Currently, we are able to have 15 rooted plants and up to 24 ounces on hand at any given time. Why would we want to jeopardize that and loose our rights as medical patients??????
Come on people. Don't get sucked in by the lies. PLEASE DO NOT VOTE ON THIS INITIATIVE!!!!
30
I just wanted to add a correction to the comment I posted above;
PLEASE DO NOT VOTE "YES" ON THIS INITIATIVE!
Do your research before blindly voting.
PLEASE DO NOT VOTE "YES" ON THIS INITIATIVE!
Do your research before blindly voting.
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