Washington State’s Initiative 502, which would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana, is currently leading in the polls. According to polling by PPP 47 percent of Washington voters say they plan to vote for it compared to just 39 percent who say they plan to vote against it. From PPP:

Washington Initiative 502 would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possessions for persons over 21; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and earmark marijuana-related revenues. If the election was today, would you vote yes or no on Initiative 502?
Yes …………………………………………….. 47%
No………………………………………………. 39%
Not sure………………………………………. 15%

The signatures for I-502 have previously been certified by the Secretary of the State’s office, and the measure was sent to the state legislature for farther action. Since the state legislature is not expected to approve the initiative, it will then be placed on the November 2012 ballot for the voters of the state to decide.

Just as we see in national polling, there is a large demographic and ideological divide in the Washington poll. The poll found a majority of voters under the age of 46 would vote for I-502. On the other hand a plurality of voters over the age of 65 oppose the initiative, 35% yes to 45% no. Democrats strongly favor the legalization initiative, 62% yes to 19% no, while Republicans mostly oppose it, 26% yes to 63% no.

With the measure polling at 47 percent yes at the moment, most likely only a few percentage points will ultimately determine if it is narrowly approved or narrowly rejected by voters.  Just like the defeat of Proposition 19 in California in 2010, I-502′s fate will likely depend heavily on who actually turns out to vote. Given the big age divide on the issue, the relative size of the young voter turnout could be decisive.

Mike McGinn, the Mayor of Seattle, Washington, used his city address yesterday to repeat his call for the legalization of marijuana in his state. From his speech:

It is time we were honest about the problems we face with the drug trade. Drugs are a source of criminal profit, and that has led to shootings and even murders. Just like we learned in the 1920s with the prohibition of alcohol, prohibition of marijuana is fueling violent activity. We also know today that the drug war fuels a biased incarceration policy. The drug war’s victims are predominantly young men of color.

Seattle is the kind of place that isn’t afraid to try a different approach. We support safe access to medical marijuana and made enforcement of possession of marijuana for personal purposes our lowest enforcement priority. But we’ve learned in the past year that with the federal war on drugs still intact, and with our kids still getting gunned down on the streets, we need to do more.

I know every one of the city council members sitting to my left and right believe as I do: it’s time for this state to legalize marijuana, and stop the violence, stop the incarceration, stop the erosion of civil liberties, and urge the federal government to stop the failed war on drugs.

And maybe if we can get sensible about marijuana, we can get sensible about gun laws next.

(emphasis mine)

This is the sitting mayor of one of America’s largest cities speaking in his official capacity, calling for an end to marijuana prohibition. Having powerful elected officials clearly and repeatedly state that the drug war has failed is critical for moving the policy decision about marijuana legalization from a fringe idea to part of the legitimate mainstream political discourse. The more politicians that take this position, the less scary it becomes for other politicians to join them.

McGinn’s very public call for marijuana legalization is especially important now, because this November the voters of Washington state will get to decide on I-502.  If approved, this ballot initiative would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in Washington for adults over the age of 21.

It should be noted Mayor McGinn specifically said it is time for “this state to legalize marijuana.” Not only does he think marijuana legalization in general is the right policy solution, but he indicates that it is an important reform Washington should move forward with even if the federal government isn’t ready to embrace it.

An overwhelming 63 percent of voters in the state of Vermont support reducing the penalty for simple marijuana possession to a small fine, according to new polling of registered voters by PPP for the Marijuana Policy Project. From MPP:

Current Vermont law provides for a jail term of up to six months and a fine of up to $500 for simple possession of marijuana. Would you support or oppose a change in the law to provide for a fine of up to $150 without jail time for those who possess an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use?

Support …………63%
Oppose ………… 29%
Not Sure ………..8%

In addition, the poll found that the people of the state strongly back its medical marijuana laws. A full 75 percent of voters in the state support the medical marijuana laws while only 18 percent oppose it.

Perhaps the most interesting result of the poll is that Vermonters view marijuana as much safer than alcohol. A plurality of 42 percent of voters, when asked, said they believe marijuana is safer than alcohol. On the other hand, only 32 percent of voters feel the two substance are about equally as safe, and just 15 percent believe alcohol is actually safer than cannabis.

As one of the more liberal states in the country, it is not surprising that the people of Vermont are so open to marijuana policy reform.

(photo: pashabo/Shutterstock.com)

The City of Detroit plans to continue its effort to keep a local marijuana decriminalization initiative off the city ballot despite recently losing the case in the Michigan Court of Appeals. The city plans to appeal the ruling to the State Supreme Court. From Mlive.com:

Krystal Crittendon, corporation counsel for the Detroit law department, says the city plans to file an appeal with the Michigan Supreme Court, likely delaying attempts to place the measure on the August primary ballot.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 last week that Detroit illegally kept the proposal off the ballot despite the fact that organizers had collected far more signatures than needed to put it before voters.

The group, Coalition for a Safer Detroit, originally collected sufficient signatures to get the initiative on the November 2010 ballot, but thanks to a lengthy legal fight with the city, the initiative was kept off the 2010 ballot. The recent Court of Appeals ruling would have allowed the measure to go on the ballot in August, but a further appeal by the city could again delay the initiative for months, even if the city ends up losing the appeal.

The initiative would remove city-imposed penalties for adults for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana.  An individual could still be arrested under state law.

The irony of is that this “symbolic” initiative was intended to be a way for the people of Detroit to send a message to their city officials that they don’t want their limited government and police resources wasted on arresting people for minor marijuana possession. By continuing this legal fight the city government is spending even more resources on the issue primarily to stop the voters of Detroit from being able to send the message that they don’t want government resources wasted on the issue of minor marijuana possession.

The residents of Detroit may get to vote this summer on a city ballot initiative that would remove all city-based criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for people over 21.  Voters had been denied the chance to vote on this in 2010, but last Friday in a 2-1 decision the Michigan Court of Appeals concluded the city acted inappropriately in keeping the measure off the ballot.

Back in 2010 the group, Coalition for a Safer Detroit, collected sufficient signatures to put their decriminalization measure on the city ballot. The measure was prevented from going before the voters by the Detroit Election Commission, which voted to keep it off the ballot.  That decision was originally upheld by the Wayne County Circuit Court. This kept the measure from appearing on the ballot in 2010, because the Coalition ran out of time for further appeals.

Recently, though, the Coalition won its appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision. The Court of Appeals concluded the city had a clear legal duty to place the measure on the ballot regardless of whether the city law would be arguably inconsistent with state law.

The decision paves the way for the measure to appear on the ballot in Detroit this August, unless city officials decide to take the legal fight further.

If voters approve the measure it will amend the city code to remove city penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for adults over 21. Possession would still be illegal under state law, so individuals in the city could still be arrested under state law. The passage of this local ordinance would, however, be a powerful statement by the people of Detroit about how they want their limited police resources used.