If you have questions about the new marijuana legalization law now that it is officially in effect in Washington State, the place to go is the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Initiative 502 put them in charge of both writing and enforcing the new regulations which will make the law function. To help the public, the LCB has just put out a new Frequently Asked Question document [PDF] that is worth a read if you want to know how the nuts and bolts of legalization are likely to work.

The FAQ addresses a whole range of questions, such as will Amsterdam style coffee shops be permitted, (no, since on-premise consumption is not allowed under the new law), to will the Liquor Control Board change its name to reflect the fact that it now also regulates marijuana. Currently the LCB doesn’t have any plans to change its name and considers that a relatively low priority.

You notice that the LCB doesn’t have real answers for some of important questions, such as how many licenses will be issued and whether or not non-Washington residents will be allowed to buy marijuana. This is because the LCB still hasn’t decided about those issues. In the coming year the LCB will be making perhaps hundreds of regulatory decisions both big and small that will powerfully shape how the newly legal marijuana industry develops in the state.

These decisions will not just impact Washington State, but could easily have broader national, and even international, implications. As one of the first places on earth to create a tightly regulated legal marijuana, Washington State will serve as an important model for other places that legalize marijuana in the future.

Strong majority in Washington still support marijuana initiative

With just two weeks until the election Washington State remains on track to make history this November. Initiative 502, which would legalize marijuana for adults and create a regulate system for its sale, continues to hold a solid lead in the latest polling. A new survey of likely voters from Strategies 360 finds the ballot measure leading 54 percent to 38 percent. Via Strategies 360:

Here is the last one. This initiative is called Measure 502 and concerns marijuana. Here is the text of what will be on the ballot.
This measure would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession for persons over twenty-one; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and earmark marijuana-related revenues.
If the election were held today and you were filling out your ballot right now, would you vote in support or against this proposal? (PROBE) Do you feel strongly about that or not so strongly?

Strongly support …………………………………………….. 34%
Somewhat support …………………………………………. 20
Somewhat oppose …………………………………………. 11
Strongly oppose …………………………………………….. 28
–
Would not vote (DNR) …………………………………….. 1
DK/NA/REFUSED ………………………………………….. 6

This new survey is right in line with earlier polling of the state. A King 5/SurveyUSA poll for last week found a near identical result, with 55 percent of voters planning to support I-502 and 36 percent planning to vote against it. If the initiative simply holds on to this consistent lead for a few more weeks it should be approved by the voters next month.

Besides the actual ballot measure question the Strategies 360 poll also asked voters if in general they think the use of marijuana should made legal or remain illegal. According to the poll 56 percent of voters in Washington think using marijuana should be legal while 36 percent think using marijuana should be illegal.

As if often the case there is slightly more support for a general concept than an actual ballot initiative. Any piece of actual legislation will often contain specific provisions which many turn off some potential supporters. In this case there is a gap, but it is very small. The New Approach Washington campaign appears to have done a fairly successful job of conceiving the vast majority of potentially persuadable voters to support their initiative. All the campaign now needs to do is hold onto that support for another 15 days.

Photo: ElTekolote via Flicker

I-502 logo in Washington

Michael Baumgartner, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Washington State, recently endorsed an initiative on the ballot this year that would legalize marijuana in the state. From the Seattle Times:

Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Michael Baumgartner on Wednesday endorsed Initiative 502 to legalize retail sales of pot, calling the war on the illicit drug a matter of national security.

The freshman state senator, who is challenging Democrat Maria Cantwell, worked several years ago for a State Department program in Afghanistan to help farmers grow wheat instead of opium poppies.

He said his experience in Helmand province — and watching the U.S.-funded efforts to eradicate Mexican drug cartels — convinced him criminalizing marijuana for adults only enriches traffickers and takes law-enforcement efforts from pursuing organized crime.

Baumgartner is unlikely to win his race against incumbent Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell however. The polling of the race has consistently shown Cantwell with a double digit lead over Buamgartner.

This endorsement, though, could still be significant in two important ways. According to the polls, Republicans tend to be the group least supportive of marijuana legalization. Having a prominent Republican candidate in the state endorse marijuana legalization could convince some in the Republicans base to rethink their position on Initiative 502.

Second, this is another powerful indicator have how radically the politics surrounding marijuana reform have changed in the past decade. As little as ten years ago publicly supporting marijuana legalization was seen as a real political liability. Now there politicians in contested elections, like Baumgartner and King Country Sheriff Steve Strachan, endorsing legalization right before the election, presumably in attempt to make themselves more popular with voters.

I-502 logo in Washington

Initiative 502, which would legalize marijuana in Washington State, has recently been endorsed by the Sheriff of King Country. From the Seattle Times:

[King County Sheriff Steve] Strachan, who is running for election, said Monday he would vote for I-502, which would “bring clarity” to the conflicting state and federal laws regarding marijuana. “I think the current situation is bad for the rule of law, bad for the criminal justice system and and it sends a bad message to our kids.”

Strachan said he used to be a school resource officer, and knows that marijuana is easier for kids to get than alcohol. [...]

Strachan’s opponent, longtime Sheriff’s spokesman John Urquhart, previously endorsed I-502.

Steve Strachan is one of the most important law enforcement officials in the entire state. King County is Washington’s most populous county and is home to roughly 30 percent of the state’s residents.

The initiative currently holds a decent lead in the polling. The campaign doesn’t really need to expand support, it simply needs to make sure those currently leaning towards supporting the I-502 feel comfortable about actually casting a yes vote for it. Endorsements like this should help do that.

It reinforces the message that marijuana legalization isn’t just about personal freedom, it is about not wasting limited criminal justice resources on a failed policy. Having a prominent law enforcement official say that marijuana legalization is the right policy and that it shouldn’t be a real problem for law enforcement to deal with could be reassuring to some voters.