Seattle Times, 28 Apr 2013 – WASHINGTON – The time is at hand for the Obama administration to stop dithering, to take a clear position on the rights of Washington state and Colorado – and by precedent all others – to experiment with legalized marijuana. That’s what Govs. Jay Inslee of Washington and John Hickenlooper of Colorado are asking the Justice Department to do – even though they personally opposed the marijuana legalization measures their voters approved last November.

Seattle Times, 14 Apr 2013 – For the first time, national polling shows a majority of Americans – 52 percent of us – favor legalizing marijuana use in the United States. Opposition has dropped to 45 percent. The new figures, in a scientifically conducted survey by the Pew Research Center, indicate a dramatic reversal of American public opinion. Support for legalizing marijuana has jumped 11 points just since 2010.

Seattle Times, 06 Jan 2013 – In the midst of fierce winter storms, dire budget crises and a tragedy as deep and disturbing as Newtown, it’s possible to discern at least one glimmer of positive news. It’s a new openness to drug-law reform. No, the United States isn’t quite ready to abandon its concerted "war on drugs." It’s "as vicious as ever," notes Tony Newman of the Drug Policy Alliance. More than 750,000 people a year are arrested for marijuana possession. More than 500,000 are behind bars for some type of drug-law violation. No other nation even begins to equal these figures. The cumulative negative impact on human lives is nothing less than breathtaking.