DrugSense

The Spectator, 12 Oct 2012 – If passed, I-502 will make possession of marijuana a legal right. Three freshmen sit in their dorm room, bored with nothing to do. No party invites for these boys on this Friday night. So they decide to start their own little party.

The Columbian, 13 Oct 2012 – Travel guru cites European drug policies Travel guru Rick Steves spoke to full house at the Vancouver Community Library Friday night in favor of I-502, an initiative to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana.

Seattle Times, 12 Oct 2012 – Election 2012 Group’s Analysis Mirrors Arguments Made for Legalization Effort A new analysis of crime data has found more than 241,000 people in Washington were arrested for marijuana possession over the past 25 years, most of them in the past 10 years.

DrugSense

The Daily News, 10 Oct 2012 – While the Editorial Board of The Daily News has yet to take a position on Initiative 502, the Washington ballot measure that would legalize recreational – or at least "non-medical" – use of marijuana, we met Tuesday with two men who have: * State Attorney General Rob McKenna, this year’s Republican candidate for governor.

Edmonds Beacon, 11 Oct 2012 – I-502 is not pro-pot Back in the late 1980s, I agreed to be the anonymous "responsible businessman who supports drug law reform" guest on Jim French’s KIRO radio show. My pseudonym: Jerry. My stance: Our society would be better off by taking the crime out of the marijuana equation. Back then, it felt risky to use my own name when talking drug policy. The next day, I was walking through Edmonds, out for my morning cup of coffee. Someone I didn’t know drove by, rolled down their window, and hollered, "Hey, Jerry…right on!"

Seattle Weekly, 10 Oct 2012 – The lawmaker has spent a decade trying to legalize pot. He says this initiative won’t change that. Rep. Roger Goodman, currently running for re-election in Washington’s 45th legislative district, has been ready to end marijuana prohibition for a decade. He arrived at the conclusion back in the ’90s after witnessing the drug war’s consequences firsthand as the executive director of the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission. "We were incarcerating people, particularly people of color, who were trying to cope with a difficult life with substances, for longer periods than people who’ve committed assault or molested children," he recalls.

The Herald, 09 Oct 2012 – Regarding the Wednesday article, "GOP U.S. Senate candidate supports legalizing pot": Writing as a retired police detective, I know my profession in Washington earns about $1 billion (including civil asset forfeiture) chasing a green plant. My colleagues have a conflict of interest when giving advice to Sen. Cantwell or any politician. Did the police of Washington advise the senator to oppose I-502 because they would lose good overtime, federal grants and job security, or do they truly believe marijuana prohibition is a more effective policy?

Seattle Times, 10 Oct 2012 – The arguments for Initiative 502, the ballot measure to legalize and tax marijuana for general adult use, are remarkably impersonal. People make health arguments, economic arguments and legal arguments. Who will say, "I just want to smoke it"?