ECONOMY MAY PUT POT BACK IN PLAY

OLYMPIA -- As state legislators brace for a bleak revenue forecast
Thursday, one Seattle lawmaker is hoping bad news could put the idea
of legalizing marijuana back in play.

Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle, is the lead sponsor of HB 1550, a
bill that would legalize the sale, possession and delivery of
marijuana for adults over 21 years old. The substance could be sold in
liquor stores and would be regulated in a way that is similar to alcohol.

Lawmakers will learn Thursday whether the state's multibillion-dollar
budget shortfall is worse than previously projected, and Dickerson
said that a drop in anticipated tax revenue of more than $500 million
over the next two years could be the momentum the bill needs to stay
alive.

"The chances of the bill moving forward depend on what's happening in
the revenue forecast tomorrow," she said Wednesday.

Legalizing marijuana would generate about $440 million in new revenue
every two years through cannabis sales, taxes and licensing fees,
Dickerson said during a news conference. Most of the money could go
toward funding such programs as substance-abuse prevention for youth
and the Basic Health plan, which subsidizes coverage for lower-income
residents, she said.

Although under Dickerson's bill marijuana wouldn't be legal until
2013, she argued that the state has a structural revenue problem that
should be addressed beyond the next couple of years. The House Ways
and Means Committee also held a work session Wednesday about the issue.

On hand to support Dickerson's proposal were former U.S. Attorney John
McKay, Seattle City Councilman Tim Burgess and Seattle City Attorney
Pete Holmes.

After the bill received a public hearing in a House committee earlier
this session, support for it didn't appear to gain steam. It was not
voted on before the cutoff deadline, and the chair of the House
Committee on Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness said it probably
wouldn't have passed out of the committee if there had been a vote.

"Maybe there would have been three yes votes; I doubt it," said Rep.
Christopher Hurst, D- Enumclaw, the committee's chair.

Hurst argued that the bill wouldn't generate any revenue because
marijuana is still classified as a controlled substance under federal
law. The money could be seized by the federal government and anybody
who sold pot in a liquor store for recreational purposes could be
arrested, he said.

Dickerson said that she expects the bill, if passed, to be challenged
in court but she hopes it could pave the way for a change in federal
law.

"I believe that it will take a few states to come forward and enact
legalization legislation before [the United States Congress] will
change its mind," she said. "Some state has to take the lead; it might
as well be Washington."