Posted on 11/06/2012 9:36:26 PM PST by djf
I-502, a voter initiative designed to legalize the possession and personal use of Marijuana, appears to have passed.
With 50% of the statewide votes counted, the initiative leads with a 55% to 45% approval rating.
Up to one ounce of marijuana, grown at state-licensed facilities, and sold (and TAXED!) at state retail locations, will now be allowed.
There will be standards set for driving while impaired, as well as a zero-tolerance policy for persons under 21.
It is estimated it will take about a year for all the machinery to get set up before people can buy retail hooch!
Negotiations are expected between the state law and the federal level.
I smoke weed with 1% ers all the time, including the retired CEO of a Fortune 300 company.
Does that include using the mind-altering drug alcohol?
No.
How do we know this is so?
Does this happen now with the legal mind-altering drug alcohol? If not, what reason is there to think it will happen with any other legal mind-altering drug?
From the WA Secretary of State's site (https://weiapplets.sos.wa.gov/MyVote/OnlineVotersGuide/Measures?countyCode=xx&electionId=46#ososTop):
"The Effect of the Proposed Measure, if Approved
"For persons over age 21, this measure would remove state law criminal and civil prohibitions with respect to growing, manufacturing, distributing, and possessing marijuana consistent with a state marijuana licensing and regulatory system.
"Without violating state law, people over age 21 could grow, distribute, or possess marijuana, as authorized under various types of licenses. [...]
"A license to produce marijuana would make it legal under state law to grow marijuana. A license to process marijuana would make it legal under state law to process and package marijuana. It would also make it legal under state law to make products that contain marijuana. Licensed producers and processors could sell marijuana at wholesale, but could not sell marijuana at retail directly to consumers. Licensed retailers could sell marijuana, and products containing marijuana, to consumers at retail. Licensed retailers could also sell paraphernalia items used to store or use marijuana."
I am sure that it does, but alcohol can be smelled on the breath of the doctors and nurses. It also happens with prescription drugs that doctors and nurses have access to and they are often caught. Legalized marijuana just adds one more problem to the list. You can be sure that hospitals will start doing random drug testing, if they don’t already.
Yes, there are industries that don’t drug test and don’t care if their employees are impaired, but these are industries that will not be held publicly accountable if something goes wrong, like IT companies.
Hussein and Holder might get heavy just like they did in CA. But I doubt it. WA, will keep a tighter reign on it than CA did. Things got out of hand down there pretty quickly. Still I was very surprised they shut so many dispensaries down in CA.
Thanks for your posts. I voted for this and have been posting about it the last few days. I am late to this thread.
Does this happen now with the legal mind-altering drug alcohol? If not, what reason is there to think it will happen with any other legal mind-altering drug?
I am sure that it does
And I am highly skeptical that it does. Can you supply a single real-world example? Or are we supposed to make public policy based on what you're sure of?
Vaporizing it is much healthier and has about 1% of the stink of burning it. (Not that I do either, I just know).
That study has been de-bunked and just fyi, I voted for this initiative.
Just wanted to add this here to rebutt your IQ comment - these are supporters of the initiative, many in very conservative eastern Wa or just obviously conservatives.
Eastern Washington's The Spokesman-Review endorsed I-502 from December of 2011 as part of a broader call for legalization and federal reclassification of cannabis under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act.[21] Other supporters include a variety of current legislators, organizations, former judges, law enforcement personnel, prosecutors and elected officials such as Jolene Unsoeld.[22][23] The mayor and entire city council of Seattle support I-502,[24] as does the King County sheriff.[25] Former narcotics deputy and candidate for King County sheriff John Urquhart, saying "the war on drugs has been an abject failure."[26] Noting the disproportionate impact of marijuana arrests and incarceration on families and racial minorities, the Children's Alliance,[27] NAACP and various African-American pastors have also endorsed I-502.[28][29] [30] Early national support for the measure comes from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)[31] and television evangelist Pat Robertson.[32] Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) has also endorsed the measure, including prominent LEAP spokesman and former Seattle police chief Norm Stamper[33] and other law enforcement officials
I have been really sad to see, speaking of IQ and intelligence, the responses here on FR about this. If you go back through my posts over the last few days I have posted many links about why this is an excellent idea, and not just for our state.
And just FYI I have no interest in marjuana nor do I use it.
"Portugal's drug usage rates are now among the lowest of EU member states, according to the same report.... One more outcome: a lot less sick people. Drug related diseases including STDs and overdoses have been reduced even more than usage rates"
The study was done over a very long period of time by respected universities. It has not been debunked. I really don’t care who supports the legislation. It will result in more problems than solutions. The law suits against second smoke will be just the beginning. The stepped up on the job drug testing will be inevitable.
You cannot ban smoking tobacco and not expect the same treatment of marijuana. Heck, the state of WA even tried to declare that smoking tobacco in your own car with children was child abuse.
Wait, just wait. This will be a whole lot of fun to watch.
The use of street drugs is down, not the drug use, and the Portuguese economy is terrible, maybe because so many drug users are content to sit home and smoke dope, or happy pills.
On the job drug testing in private industry will continue and even be stepped up as marijuana is legalized. Only government workers, who aren’t known for working that hard, will get a pass. Oh, and maybe members of the SEIU.
The study was done on teens so either way it doesn’t matter to our initiative, which is for those over 21.
The war on drugs is a complete failure, very expensive and most importantly, ineffective. That's why so many LE professionals, from judges to former federal DEA enforcers support decriminalizing.
It won’t stop with marijuana. This is just the beginning. Washington state is a Libertarian’s utopia. They’ve legalized just about everything.
Unlike tobacco marijuana can be used in food and beverages.
Those teens grow up to be pot smoking adults, who are poorly equipped to take care of themselves. Too many teenagers get their pot from the jar that the parents keep on their dresser.
Yes and that creates new problems. I attended a meeting, where food was served after the meeting and when I saw one of the hosts pick up a cookie, I thought it looked good and picked up one too. By the time that I got home I realized that the cookie was no ordinary cookie. I’m sure that the people who put on the meeting thought that it was a riot, but if that cookie ad worked faster, I would have been driving impaired.
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