Marijuana initiative lists Spokane boosters
The campaign for Initiative 502, which would legalize some marijuana use, announced three "name" supporters Tuesday.
State Sen. Lisa Brown. Spokane Council President Ben Stuckart. The Rev. Happy Watkins.
Brown and Stuckart aren't big surprises, considering they've supported medical marijuana measures in the past. I-502 is a step beyond that, to decriminalizing small amounts of mairjuana for personal use, but it's not a big step. Brown said the taxes from legalized marijuana would help health care and drug prevention programs, and Stuckart said the city's policing resources could be better spent on more serious problems.
Watkins, however, is the campaign's "get." In the announcement, he said he was looking at it from a community perspective. "When young adults are arrested and charged for marijuana possession, they are shamed, turned into second-class citizens and face long-term economic hardship," he said in the press release announcing the endorsement.
A spokeswoman for the campaign said I-502 is lining up support in what she called "the faith community", particularly among African-American ministers because the minority community may feel a bigger impact of the war on drugs. They announced support from three Seattle-area ministers last month.
