Sensible Washington will be holding a press conference today at 1:30pm at 3161 Elliott Avenue Ste 340 (near the PI building) to announce the start of signature gathering for their ballot initiative to legalize adult marijuana use. They’ve already received an endorsement from former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper and the folks at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
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Who will be policing the signature gatherers? Who will validate their methods?
Ooops… Never mind… This isn’t a Tim Eyman initiative. Only his initiatives need signature checks and validation methods. Progressive activities get a pass on this blog.
I’ve already signed the petition to get the initiative on the ballot and urge everyone who reads these words to do the same at his or her earliest convenience. Just Google “Sensible Washington,” and it’ll lead you right to the organization’s website.
@1 I’m sure this one will get more scrutiny than Timmeh’s do. Sam Reed is a Republican, and he’ll probably personally check every signature.
If rightwing kool-aid is legal, then pot should be legal too.
“The 400 wealthiest Americans have seen their annual incomes skyrocket over the last two decades while their tax rates have decreased dramatically, according to newly released data from the Internal Revenue Service. …
“Between 1992 to 2007, the last year included in the data, the income of the 400 richest Americans rose 637% to the average $345 million mark. During that same period, their effective tax rate declined … from a peak tax rate of nearly 30% to 16.6%.
“Since 1992, ‘the bottom 90% of Americans have seen their incomes rise by 13% in 2009 dollars, compared with an increase of 399% for the top 400.'”
http://www.dailyfinance.com/st...../19362705/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: I wonder how much prices went up since 1992? Betcha more than 13%.
@1,
Since Eyman deletes my comments about I-1068 over at Sound Politics, I have no use for the guy. He would serve the state by working on I-1068 since he has the most experience in the initiative process. Yet he’s wasting his time with diddly-squat over at SP.
I suppose the opponents of I-1068 will begin to rally shortly. I wonder if they’ll be showing “Reefer Madness” as a campaing tool to be used against I-1068. I certainly hope they do, because that old movie will make them look very, very stupid and out-of-date!
@5,
Over at SP, Tim Eyman would delete your comment as “off topic” because it wasn’t directly related to I-1068. A real censorship kind-of-guy, the Eyman character.
I certainly wou,d sign it.
As written, however, it raises a disturbing question … by removing all restrictions it places MJ in a category more like soda pop than like beer or cigarettes.
It seems to me that MJ should be reguilated much like beer and cigarettes .. eg limits for smoking in public places and the ability to limit use in places of employment.
Does the initiative mean that that such laws would be written by the legislature? Does it ban such laws?
PI @6:
Eyman can delete comments on (u)SP? Has that site really become so completely devoid of (wingnut) substance and (wingnut) credibility as to permit Timmeh to do admin stuff there?
Imagine being nostalgic for the days of Stefan and Reporter Ward…
@7 Eyman moderates Sucky Politics now? Did Stefan get a real job?
@7 This blog doesn’t have enough open threads. The last open thread is 11 threads down. Nobody reads that.
@8 I was at the Seattle volunteer kickoff meeting, and the way Douglas Hiatt, lawyer and co-author of the initiative explained it, an initiative can only change one thing, and the one thing this initiative changes is the removal of criminal and civil penalties for marijuana (possession, cultivation, and use). It was a conscious decision to leave out the regulation part, on the assumption that if this passes, the legislature will have to put in place regulations.
I wonder how many of these stoners will get lost on the way there? Including Norm “bad acid trip” Stamper….Perhaps the kickoff should be held at a Taco Bell?
@1: My thoughts exactly….hypocrisy at it’s finest. Shoe on other foot and all that shit….
Rodent: Talk to the hand again old-timer.
@13…
Wow, comedy GOLD! Pot gives you muchies. Guffaw…It’s so funny….CAUSE IT’S TRUE!!!
@1 et al…
If you’d like to form the citizen watchdog group to make sure the signatures get scrutinized, fell free. If you’re not willing to do the legwork, STFU. Of course, if names of intiative signatures is redacted from public records, that’s going to be kind of tough.
And the stoners couldn’t find their way to the meeting! Even funnier.
@15,
I’m not a stoner, yet I found my way to the place where the meeting was held and signed the petition to get I-1068 on the ballot in November.
The decriminalization of marijuana is inevitable because decade of its use by otherwise law-abiding citizens have proven the substance is not the doom of society that evangelical, the hard right, and the drug enforcement people have claimed it to be. Marijuana is a substance that should be legal for adults to enjoy should they choose to do so. Yes, it should not be used in public places, nor should drunks be allowed to have chug-a-lug bashes in the street, either. With marijuana, do the same thing as alcohol sales – legalize, regulate and tax.
@12 and @16
It si good to see a sensible approach.
I think, as with I-70 campaign, this will win if a good education job is done. The antis will conjure up images of sweet smoke filled clouds and bystander smoke. Sanity just might pervail.
Things just keep getting worse for stoners like Lee and his minions….wwaaahhh! hack!! whoa! Dude!
http://www.bellinghamherald.co.....99796.html
checksez fecklessly farts
Say what fool? LMBBAO.
Did you ask Goldy to do the same when he posted his commentary? Nope You DOPE! So Stuff The Fat Unicorn Horn UP Yours fool!
See ya!
Boy, I wish that I would have known all this was happening. My grandfather when through this same type of thing when he and friends opened the first coffee shop in Amsterdam. I have many stories of his time creating the infrastructure for the coffee shops that could help. He has since passed, but he would be very proud of this American Movement.
There is a definite need for politicking and voting if you ever want anything to get done. If you would like to know more about my grandfather OLD ED Visit http://www.olded.nl
My grandfather was a decorated solider during WWII and helped bring down Hitler, but He was just as proud of his achievements that helped returned the property of this earth to its people. If you would like to remove a little more of the Governmental stench of thievery from our Government’s structures, do the government the favor of going out and petitioning, sign the petition, vote, and allow them to give back what the have stolen.
I went out today to get signatures for proposition I-1068. I did well I got nearly two pages filled with signatures. My eyes locked on to this really cute woman named Michelle. I walked over and talked to her for a while, she was visiting, and has to leave tomorrow. I told her that she needed to get a hold of me tonight. I hope she does.
After spending a lot of time out in the cold getting signatures, I went into the barista to grab a cup of hot chocolate. While there I talked to a couple of people who were interested in the petition, so I had them sign too. I finished my cup of hot chocolate and went back outside. The point of the Proposition is to decriminalize Marijuana, and the flood gates of relief that will open are going to be immense when the stresses of otherwise law abiding citizens goes away and our society get healthier. I have even read that use will go down, because the thrill of breaking the law in a minor will no longer be there. The excitement of the people getting signatures wasn’t without rational leadership recognized that there is a long battle ahead.
Where can i sign this? i cant seem to find any information online