Kitsap Sun, 09 Oct 2012 – As the previous U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, part of my job was to enforce our nation’s prohibition on marijuana. I carried out my sworn duty without hesitation. But I saw then, and can say now, that marijuana prohibition has been a miserable failure. Despite the fact that we arrest more marijuana users now than ever before, usage has not gone down. Nor have we had any impact on marijuana’s availability. In fact, marijuana is cheaper and more available now than it was 20 years ago. And all the profits are funneled to criminal organizations.

The Herald, 09 Oct 2012 – The Edmonds travel expert, a co-sponsor of I-502, has scheduled two stops in Snohomish County to promote the measure. International travel expert Rick Steves will speak at two events in Snohomish County this month, part of an 11-city statewide tour to promote passage of Initiative 502.

The Columbian, 10 Oct 2012 – I would like to briefly describe the three studies Ann Donnelly mentions in her Oct. 3 letter "Recognize high risk of marijuana." First, the research linking tetrahydrocannabinol to schizophrenia is based on findings from administering volunteers with large doses of pure THC intravenously. Indeed, symptoms mirroring schizophrenia occur under such circumstances, but nobody is going to be injecting themselves with incredibly large doses of pure THC.

Issaquah Press, 10 Oct 2012 – People Should Know Risks, Full Story Many have seen TV ads supporting marijuana legalization and I-502. However, some risks of legalization are largely unknown and local residents deserve the full story.

Yakima Herald-Republic, 09 Oct 2012 – YAKIMA, Wash. – Depending on who you ask, Initiative 502 will either sap drug cartels of their lifeblood, do away with draconian drug policies and create a new revenue source for the state. Or it will open floodgates in schools and communities to a harmful drug. The initiative, which is on the ballot for the Nov. 6 general election, would legalize recreational use of marijuana in Washington. It would not affect federal laws, which would still consider marijuana to be illegal.

The Herald, 07 Oct 2012 – MARIJUANA AT A TIPPING POINT In an election season when political statements seem laundered and starched and issues carefully calibrated with the "finger in the wind" test, one ballot measure has attracted one of the most unlikely collections of political bedfellows in state history.

DrugSense

Seattle Times, 08 Oct 2012 – No Inspections Labs Provide the Only Outside Quality Control The kitchen in the weather-beaten beachfront cabin near Olympia is cramped and freckled with mysterious brown stains. A shaggy dog named Butter is poking around, and a quarter-sized spider dangles at the window.

Seattle Times, 06 Oct 2012 – Medical Marijuana Started As a Grass-Roots Movement Among AIDS Patients and Still Caters to Medical Patients, but Increasingly It’s Also Turned into a Party. Three weeks ago, an event space in Fremont hosted an unusual trade show.

Seattle Times, 05 Oct 2012 – Election 2012 Even law-enforcement groups largely silent about initiative to legalize, tax marijuana As one of the few public faces opposing marijuana legalization this year, Pat Slack has gotten hostile calls at home and work, calling him "Hitler," old and an idiot.