LEGALIZE IT

A Smart New Initiative Makes Washington State Ground Zero in the
National Fight to End Marijuana Prohibition

You've been waiting for this since the first time you got high in your
basement. Or since you first talked about pot laws with a smart friend.

You know pot prohibition is just as much of a sham today as alcohol
prohibition was in its day. You've been hoping someone--someone with a
real strategy and money to win--would end this nonsense.

Now that's finally happening. On June 22, Washington State, in a way
no state has ever attempted, will begin a serious effort to legalize,
tax, and regulate marijuana. The method: an initiative, filed by a new
coalition of health care professionals, lawyers, and drug law reform
advocates.

"This is the best effort that has ever been made at the grassroots
level in the entire country," says Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes,
one of several cosponsors of the campaign, called New Approach
Washington. "This is the states assuming leadership where Congress has
abdicated responsibility."

If passed by voters next year, the initiative will establish a
complete farm-to-joint regulatory framework: state-licensed growers,
distributors, and retail outlets, and rules for adults 21 and over to
buy and consume marijuana. Meanwhile, it would establish penalties for
driving under the influence of marijuana, maintain rules for minors,
and set buffers around schools where marijuana stores would be banned.

"This is the first reform initiative that is truly comprehensive,"
says Holmes.

The backers aren't a bunch of stoners. In addition to Holmes (an
elected prosecutor), cosponsors include University of Washington
School of Social Work professor emeritus Roger Roffman, former Spokane
Regional Health District director Dr. Kim Thorburn, former director of
the HIV/AIDS Program of Public Health-Seattle & King County Bob Wood,
former Washington State Bar Association president Salvador Mungia, and
PBS travel host Rick Steves.

They have the backing and financial support of the local and national
ACLU, powerful labor unions, and Democratic Party supporters that
want--maybe even need--the draw of a marijuana measure to increase young
voter turnout in a presidential election year.

But it won't be a cakewalk. Polling shows the measure up by only about
11 points before an inevitable onslaught of scrutiny and resistance
(including many legitimate concerns about the health impacts of
increased marijuana availability). If it wins, a legal challenge is
likely. While in the courts, marijuana possession of up to an ounce
would be decriminalized (no penalty but not legal), and the legality
of the new state-run regulatory system would butt heads with
long-standing federal prohibition.

Still, some state needs to go first. Some state with the political
will, the voter enthusiasm, the resources, and the strategy--a state
where everything is set in place to buck 75 years of pot prohibition.
It may sound crazy, it may seem like a long shot, but people around
the country (politicos and academics who watch these sorts of big
changes) say Washington State is that state. They say now is the time.
They say this coalition is strong enough to break decades of
entrenched policy.

Alison Holcomb, campaign director of New Approach Washington, is
certain the initiative will get on the ballot next year. "A majority
of Washington voters support marijuana legalization," she says. "The
question is not whether legalization will happen, but when. The answer
is 2012."

WHAT IT ALLOWS Adults 21 years of age and older could buy pot at
licensed outlets in the quantities mentioned above. The Washington
State Liquor Control Board would set the number of stores per county,
based on each county's population. What wouldn't be allowed: For
drivers, the initiative establishes a THC cutoff in the bloodstream
analogous to the 0.08 cutoff for driving under the influence of
alcohol. If you're over the THC limit, you're automatically guilty of
DUI. Selling and home growing would be prohibited--to address concerns
about unregulated marijuana farms--except by authorized medical
marijuana patients. Use by minors would remain a misdemeanor.

WHEN IT HAPPENS This is a so-called initiative to the legislature,
which goes before lawmakers in Olympia before reaching voters. By
choosing this strategy, organizers draw out the debate for over a
year. Sponsors circulate petitions through the summer and fall, and
when the legislature convenes next January, lawmakers can either pass
it outright (not gonna happen) or place it on the November ballot. The
legislature could also send voters an alternative measure along with
the initiative if they have enough votes to do that (probably not
gonna happen).

WHERE THE MONEY GOES Marijuana is the state's number-two cash crop,
after apples, and legalizing it would provide the state a net benefit,
from both new revenue and law-enforcement savings, of at least $240
million per year. Of that, $175 million would be largely earmarked for
drug abuse prevention and science-based education programs, developed
in consultation with the UW Social Development Research Group. "One of
the major costs of marijuana being illegal is the misinformation,
half-truths, and outright lies that occur both from the government and
from some people who argue for legalizing marijuana," says Dr. Roger
Roffman, a cosponsor of the initiative and a UW professor who ran a
marijuana treatment project. "I think the public is better served by
acknowledging all the truths of marijuana."

FROM THE FARM TO JOINT The state would collect a 25 percent excise tax
at each stage of production, similar to the existing model for
producing, distributing, and selling liquor. For the retail consumer,
who must also pay sales tax, this means that at least half of the cost
would be taxes (more about how that money would be spent under the
revenue graph, which is to the left). The Washington State Liquor
Control Board would be required to regularly review the tax levels to
discourage use while undercutting illegal market prices.

THE PROBLEM WITH PROHIBITION The rate of marijuana arrests in the US
has far outpaced population growth. While the population grew only 24
percent from 1990 to 2010 (248 million to 308 million), in roughly
that same time frame, pot arrests increased by more than 200 percent.
In Washington State, where arrests are slightly lower than the
national rate, law-enforcement agencies report around 9,000 marijuana
arrests per year. People arrested for even a joint are often jailed,
prosecuted, required to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees, and
left with a criminal record for the rest of their lives.

PUBLIC OPINION Support for legalizing marijuana has grown for decades,
reaching majority support only recently in certain national polls.
Even so, in California last year, a poorly worded, underfunded measure
to decriminalize pot failed with only 46 percent of the vote. In
Washington State, polls show that a slim majority of voters support
legalization and taxation, while the number opposed to legalization
and taxation is more than 10 points lower. New Approach Washington
hopes to convince undecided voters to support the initiative and
capitalize on the young, robust voter turnout in a presidential
year--and, potentially, draw more progressive voters to the polls.
After meeting with statewide labor groups, campaign director Alison
Holcomb says, "There is a recognition that this initiative provides a
great opportunity for progressive organizations leading into the 2012
elections."