I-502 OFFERS SMART PATH TO MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

Since the federal government and Congress are unwilling to heed the
wishes of the electorate when it comes to regulating the sale and
distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes, it's up to the
states to engage in pressure politics.

States are known as the laboratories of democracy, so it's
appropriate that they would also be the places to plant the seeds of
sensible change.

Sixteen states have adopted medical marijuana laws, despite the fact
that federal law considers pot to be more dangerous than prescription
pain pills, and on par with heroin. Nearly 15,000 people died from
pain pill overdoses in 2008, but nobody is calling for OxyContin and
the like to be pulled from pharmacy shelves. Lethal overdoses of
marijuana are unheard of, but pharmacies aren't allowed to stock pot
under federal law.

Facts and science have not been able to sway the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Agency or Congress, which passed a law in 1970 that
remains the controlling authority over marijuana. So it's up to
public opinion and strategic agitating by the states to shake the
federal government from its long slumber.

A November KING-5/SurveyUSA poll found that 57 percent of
Washingtonians think the possession of 1 ounce of marijuana by an
adult ought to be legalized. The public had already demonstrated that
it is receptive to legalizing small quantities in a public health
context when it passed a medical marijuana initiative in 1998. So
backers of Initiative 502 have tailored a measure that addresses
those wishes. It would compel the Legislature to either pass it or
put it on the ballot. In seeking public approval, I-502 supporters
also added a strict DUI provision.

This incremental approach to providing a state-controlled framework
for the sale and distribution of marijuana has irked proponents of a
much broader-based effort to decriminalize marijuana. They pushed
Initiative 1149, but failed to gather enough signatures. That measure
would have broadly repealed civil and criminal penalties for
marijuana use. Proponents make good points about I-502's DUI
provision, because the science on the effects of pot on driving is not solid.

Nonetheless, I-502 ought to be viewed through the lens of what can be
realistically passed and adopted without federal interference. A
state law that broadly decriminalizes marijuana would come in direct
conflict with federal law. Any attempt to implement it would be dead
on arrival.

I-502 is the better approach, because it reflects popular sentiment,
which is the key to grabbing the attention of federal politicians. We
believe the goal ought to be a rewrite of the federal law that
classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug the most dangerous kind.
Gov. Chris Gregoire recently co-authored a letter with the Rhode
Island governor seeking a federal reclassification.

Smart pressure politics from the states can help achieve that goal.
Unrealistic attempts to remove marijuana from governmental oversight
only serve to scare people.

Marijuana has medicinal value. It should be available to patients
with a doctor's prescription. I-502 would help make that a reality.