ON MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION, A PROMISING YEAR

The Seattle Times Editorial Board Expresses Its Support for Medical
Marijuana and for the Legalization, Regulation and Taxation Of
Marijuana Generally, and Hopes for Change in 2012.

LAST February this page argued that prohibiting marijuana was causing
far more harm than good, and that Washington should legalize it for
adult use. We hold this view still, and have strong hopes for progress
in 2012.

A year ago, dispensaries were open across the state providing edible
and smokable cannabis to bona fide patients. For the most part these
shops were orderly and peaceful, though whether they were legal was
doubtful.

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, sponsored a bill for the state to
legalize them, licensing growers and distributors. It was a good bill,
and the Legislature passed it. But after U.S. attorneys in Seattle and
Spokane warned that state employees who licensed marijuana would not
be immune from federal prosecution, Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed most of
the bill.

Her action, which we thought overkill, left things in chaos. Police
shut down dispensaries in Spokane, arresting recalcitrant owners as
drug dealers and forcing sick people onto the black market.

In Seattle, Tacoma and a few other cities, prosecutors have bravely
allowed dispensaries to stay open. Seattle has more than 100 of them.
The difference here is not the law, but the discretion of those who
hold power.

Kohl-Welles is readying another medical-cannabis bill, and is
negotiating with the governor's office. Gregoire should take some risk
on this. The science behind medical cannabis is clear, and public
opinion is clear, too. In no state have federal authorities arrested
state employees for doing their jobs.

To her credit, Gregoire does support medical use of marijuana, and has
petitioned the federal government to allow it by reclassifying
marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. This is a petition the
Obama administration should grant.

Then, there is the matter of full legalization.

On Dec. 29, a group called New Approach Washington plans to turn in
signatures on Initiative 502, a measure to legalize, regulate and tax
the growing, processing and sale of marijuana in Washington, allowing
it for adults in small amounts. I-502 gives legislators three options:
pass it into law, let it go to the November ballot, or pass an
alternative that would accompany it on the ballot.

Legislators should let it go to the ballot. The people are ready: On
Nov. 28, a KING-5/Survey U.S.A. poll found that 57 percent of
registered voters support legalizing the adult possession of 1 ounce.

Above everything here is federal law. Kohl-Welles' bill, Gregoire's
petition and I-502 all ultimately amount to lobbying the federal
government, either for forbearance or change. And on issues such as
this, the most powerful lobby is the entire population.

Legalization: Bring it to a vote in 2012.