BILL PROPOSES TO SELL POT THROUGH STATE LIQUOR STORES

State Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle, is again proposing that the
state legalize marijuana and regulate it much like alcohol.

House Bill 1550, filed Tuesday, proposes that pot be sold through
state liquor stores to adults aged 21 and over, and that the state
Liquor Control Board issue licenses to commercial growers.

Dickerson sponsored similar legislation in the previous legislative
session, but the bill was voted down in the House Public Safety and
Emergency Preparedness Committee.

"We listened to the concerns of law enforcement, medical marijuana
patients and others and made several important improvements" to the
bill, Dickerson said in a statement. "Our new bill includes provisions
for industrial hemp and allows the cultivation of cannabis for
personal use, similar to home brewing and wine making."

Dickerson estimates that the measure could raise about $400 million
each biennium through sales and licensing fees. The bill proposes to
allocate 77 percent of revenue raised to health care and 20 percent to
substance abuse and treatment.

Co-sponsors of the bill are: Reps. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland; Dave
Upthegrove, D-Des Moines; Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle; Sherry Appleton,
D-Poulsbo; Mary Helen Roberts, D-Lynnwood; Eileen Cody, D-West
Seattle; Luis Moscoso, D-Mountlake Terrace; Deb Eddy, D-Kirkland; Tami
Green, D-Lakewood; Jeannie Darneille, D-Tacoma, and Joe Fitzgibbon,
D-Burien.