SIGN INITIATIVE 502 TO PUT MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION BEFORE STATE LEGISLATURE

Washington State and Its Local Communities Expend Great Resources to
Enforce Ineffective Prohibitions on the Use of Marijuana. Three Guest
Columnists, Including a Former Federal Prosecutor and Two Former
Judges, Urge Voters to Sign Initiative 502, an Initiative To the
Legislature That Would Decriminalize Marijuana.

WE are, respectively, a former federal prosecutor and two former
judges who have not only observed but also enforced marijuana laws at
the federal, state and local levels. As we write this, our former
colleagues continue to enforce these laws, as is their duty as legal
professionals and public officials.

We ask that these laws be changed. It is time for a different, more
effective approach. That's why we endorse Initiative 502, which would
decriminalize marijuana in our state and make a long-overdue change
for the better in public policy.

I-502 would replace the existing marijuana-prohibition approach with a
public-health approach that allows adults 21 and over to purchase
limited quantities of marijuana from state-licensed and
state-regulated businesses. The sale of marijuana would be taxed and
the new revenue -- estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars
annually -- would go instead to help meet important public needs.

Signatures are being gathered now for I-502. If enough signatures are
collected, the measure will go before the Legislature in January for
their consideration and adoption or, if the Legislature doesn't
approve it, it will be placed on the November 2012 general election
ballot.

Decriminalizing marijuana would allow our state and local governments
to refocus limited police and court resources on more important
priorities than arresting, jailing and trying adult marijuana users.
It would redirect hundreds of millions of dollars that are currently
flowing to criminal organizations each year to legitimate businesses.
It would restore respect for our laws and law enforcement. And it
would decrease the disproportionate criminalization of people of color
who have historically been harmed most by the existing laws.

We each have served as public officials, and care deeply about
effective government that serves the public well. We don't see
treating adult marijuana users as criminals as an appropriate use of
government resources.

Fully half of Washington state drug arrests, and almost half of drug
arrests nationwide, are now for simple possession of marijuana. This
is happening at a time when our nation is grappling with a crisis of
over-incarceration. The U.S. represents just 5 percent of the world's
population, but we house 25 percent of its inmates. Drug offenders now
constitute 20 percent of our state prison population and 52 percent of
our federal prison population.

Imprisoning someone for one year in Washington state costs almost
$40,000. Meanwhile, we spend just under $10,000 annually on each
public-school student. Every dollar spent arresting, prosecuting and
jailing a person for marijuana use is a dollar that could have been
spent on education, housing, health care or other important, unmet
needs.

On top of the problem of wasted resources, there is the issue of
wasted lives. Drug laws are enforced disproportionately against people
of color. In Washington, an African American is three times as likely
to be arrested, three times as likely to be charged and three times as
likely to be convicted of a marijuana offense as a white person,
despite the fact that white Washingtonians use marijuana at a higher
rate.

As with alcohol, marijuana can be abused. So our purpose is not to
promote its use, but to recognize the reality that exists. The
criminalization and prohibition of marijuana use has not worked any
better than did the criminalization and prohibition of alcohol. It's
time to end the failed experiment with marijuana prohibition and
replace it with a well-considered public-health framework that
dedicates money to prevention and treatment rather than
incarceration.

For those of us who believe in effective, pragmatic government that
focuses resources on our highest needs and serves the greatest good,
reforming our marijuana laws is a change we can make, in an era when
so many other things seem intractable.

We encourage our fellow voters to take a step in a new direction, to
take a new approach.

Please sign and support I-502.