Lawmakers Considering Pot Initiative - KHQ Right Now - News and Weather for Spokane and North Idaho | Secretary of State News Release: OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed's office on Friday certified marijuana-decriminalization Initiative to the Legislature 502. Sponsors submitted enough signatures to assure consideration by the Legislature and, failing success there, a statewide vote on the General Election ballot. A signature-check by the State Elections Division, using a random sample, determined that sponsors had nearly 278,000 valid signatures, well in excess of the 241,153 required. The measure already had been provisionally certified to the Legislature while the signature-check was underway, as required by the state Constitution. That allowed the House and Senate to assign the measure to committee for hearings and any further action. The Legislature can pass the measure as submitted, reject it and let it go to the ballot this fall, ignore it and let it go the ballot, or let it go to the ballot along with a legislative alternative. It has been seven years since Initiatives to the Legislature were on the state ballot. I-330 and I-336, both dealing with medical malpractice, were rejected by voters. The last successful Initiative to the Legislature was I-297 in 2004. It dealt with nuclear waste. On occasion, the Legislature has simply enacted the initiative as submitted, as in the case of creating the presidential primary in 1989. (This year's presidential primary has been suspended because of the budget crisis.) Sponsors of the marijuana measure, including former U.S. Attorney John McKay, submitted 354,608 signatures, more than the Elections Division's recommended 320,000 to cover duplicate and invalid signatures. The 3 percent random sample of 10,845 showed that 8,774 were valid. The rest were rejected because the names were not found in the database of registered voters, a signature was missing or did not match the one on file, or was a duplicate. Projected to the full number of signatures submitted, the check showed that sponsors had 36,409 more signatures than the bare minimum, and that their error rate was 21.73 percent, somewhat higher than the average error rate of 18 percent.
Alas,,the mmj users and the users are at odds with the bills dui regulations and that will split the vote,causing this initiative to fail just as it did in CA last year. Although I agree that the limits set for dui are too low for heavy medical marijuana users there should be some way to put a hold on the limit until they can prove that even with the limit in their systems they are not impaired or the state can prove they are. Every simulator testing of subjects has shown little to no impairment from marijuana use..while using it,,it shouldn't be that difficult for the legislature to research those findings and if necessary to have a test for volunteers for them to watch test. I will try it.
I thought the reason the CA bill failed was because those who profit from the current legal setup (i.e. the dealers, the growers, and all that funky stuff) would suffer a great loss since legalization will bring the price of marijuana to the floor. Hope it passes. 2012 seems like an awesome year for cannabis. I just hope people realize that the word "legalization" carries more weight on the rest of the nation than the provisions. No one is going to remember the specific limitation this bills proposes. But everyone is going to keep in mind that somewhere in the US marijuana is legal.
Regardless of what the split was,,divide and conquer is the oldest trick known and the drug czar is required to do what ever is necessary to keep any schedule 1 drug from being legalized,,any doubt by anyone that the government may have propaganda specialists stirring up the ""pot"?
[quote name='"SlipperyPete"']I thought the reason the CA bill failed was because those who profit from the current legal setup (i.e. the dealers, the growers, and all that funky stuff) would suffer a great loss since legalization will bring the price of marijuana to the floor. Hope it passes. 2012 seems like an awesome year for cannabis. I just hope people realize that the word "legalization" carries more weight on the rest of the nation than the provisions. No one is going to remember the specific limitation this bills proposes. But everyone is going to keep in mind that somewhere in the US marijuana is legal.[/quote] That is y it did not pass in ca. I am confused though. Is this talking about decriminalize or legalizing it. Big difference. It says decriminalize not legalize. All the Mexican cartels put up big money or people to vote no on it. It is decriminalized out here though. If u get busted with a oz or less it a 100 ticket. Like a fix it ticket to. No court nothing just mAil in your cash. This is good enough I don't see y people are going crazey for full legalization
Because the next political crew in your legislature can reverse that decriminalization,,they voted it in,,they cannot reverse legalization through an initiative. Because the continued prohibition of marijuana underwrites the existence of the cartels and a csh cow for street gangs. Because the killing of people over this plant must stop. Because the kicking of peoples doors down with armed squads of men because people "smell" something has to be stopped.