January 21, 2010 in City

Committee put early stop to marijuana proposals

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OLYMPIA – Efforts to legalize or decriminalize marijuana use in Washington may have been snuffed out Wednesday as a House committee refused to send either proposal to the floor.

A bill to legalize marijuana and have the state tax, regulate and sell it was rejected on a 5-2 vote by the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee. An estimate by the Office of Financial Management projected the bill, HB 2401, would have netted the state nearly $1.7 billion in taxes and proceeds over the next 10 years, but that didn’t sway committee members.

Minutes later they also turned down, on a 5-3 vote, a proposal to make possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana a civil infraction. A person arrested with a small amount of marijuana would pay a fine and not have it show up on their criminal record, but possession of larger amounts or sale of the drug would still be a crime.

Rep. Al O’Brien, D-Mountlake Terrace and a former Seattle policeman, argued HB 1177 would ease the costs of arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating people for small amounts of marijuana: “A lot of prosecutors don’t prosecute these cases anyway.”

The committee’s actions mean voters might change the law themselves with an initiative that’s been filed for the November ballot, Rep. Steve Kirby, D-Tacoma, said.

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Four comments on this story so far. Add yours!

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  Marksman on January 21 at 9:07 a.m.

  On top of the 1.7 Billion the State would have received in new tax revenue; there were other revenue enhancements that would have come with this needed reform. More law enforcement resources to focus on enforcement, more prison space for violent criminals, more prosecutors working on real crimes, etc. All because pot smokers weren't being dragged through the system. How about a Mulligan on this one?

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  greyhound2 on January 21 at 10:51 a.m.

  About 60% of inmates incarcerated in America's jails are there on drug charges, according to a Pew Report. It costs taxpayers about $30,000 per year to warehouse someone in jail. Were these common sense approaches to reducing prison populations shot down by the prison-industrial complex to save their own jobs?

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  TheWeedBlog on January 21 at 10:54 a.m.

  Want to know all about Washington marijuana laws? Or how to get a medical marijuana card? Go to www.theweedblog.com and find out!

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  LLLou on January 22 at 10:08 a.m.

  Don't expect your politicians to do what is right , especially when it comes to RE-legalizing Cannabis for adults. They are like that ground hog that sticks it's nose out and if it doesn't like what it sees goes back into it's hole.
  The best thing that can be done in WA.state is to pass the initiative that will soon be out , to remove all laws against Cannabis,for adults. IF this initiative passes they will be forced to do the will of the people………………well maybe.

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