Pubdate: Thu, 04 Oct 2012
Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA)
Copyright: 2012 Associated Press
Contact:  http://www.heraldnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190
Author: Gene Johnson

GOP SENATE CANDIDATE FOR LEGALIZING POT

Michael Baumgartner Endorses I-502, While Sen. Maria Cantwell Opposes 
the Measure Over 'Concerns Expressed by Law Enforcement.'

SEATTLE (AP) - The campaign to legalize and tax marijuana for adults 
in Washington state is rolling as next month's vote approaches, with 
more than $1 million in new contributions reported since last week 
and a surprising endorsement Wednesday from Republican U.S. Senate 
hopeful Michael Baumgartner.

The money, most of it from retired Progressive Insurance founder 
Peter Lewis, means Initiative 502's backers have raised nearly $4.1 
million over the course of the campaign, with $1.2 million left to 
spend. Alison Holcomb, campaign manager for New Approach Washington, 
says her group is planning a broader television campaign than the 
three-week advertising blitz it ran in Western Washington in August.

Meanwhile, Baumgartner's decision to endorse the initiative in an 
interview with The Associated Press gave the campaign one of its 
highest-profile Republican supporters yet. Baumgartner, a state 
senator from Spokane, is running a longshot bid to unseat Democratic 
U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, who came out against I-502 Wednesday afternoon.

Baumgartner said drug law reform isn't typically supported by his 
party, but he believes I-502 is a good step toward changing what he 
described as a wasteful policy of marijuana prohibition.

"It's taking a different approach to a very expensive drug war, and 
potentially a better approach," Baumgartner said. "They've checked 
all the boxes as far as what you would want to see happen in terms of 
provisions to keep it away from children and limiting access in the 
public space. I've just been impressed with the initiative and the 
people running it."

Asked for her position, Cantwell issued a written statement.

"While I remain a strong supporter of our state's medicinal marijuana 
laws, I don't believe it should be legalized for recreational 
purposes based on concerns expressed by law enforcement and the 
current drafting of the initiative," she said. "Whatever the result, 
I will honor the will of the voters' decision in November."

I-502 would legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana under 
state law for those over 21. The state would license growers, 
processors and retail stores, and impose 25 percent taxes at each 
stage. State analysts have suggested it could bring in hundreds of 
millions of dollars a year.

The measure, which polls show leading, would also set a blood-test 
limit for driving under the influence and prohibit public use of the drug.

Marijuana would remain illegal under federal law, and the burning 
question remains whether the Justice Department would sue to try to 
block I-502 from taking effect if it passes, on the grounds that it 
conflicts with federal law. The DOJ could also simply seize any tax 
revenue as proceeds of illicit drug transactions.

Washington is one of three states, along with Oregon and Colorado, 
considering legalization measures this year.

I-502 has received high profile endorsements from former Seattle FBI 
head Charles Mandigo, former U.S. Attorneys John McKay and Kate 
Pflaumer, both candidates for sheriff in King County, and the 
nonprofit Children's Alliance, which argues that drug laws 
disproportionately hurt minority children.

The initiative's only formal opposition comes from a group 
representing medical marijuana patients who say the DUI limit is so 
strict it could prevent them from driving at all, but some other 
organizations, including the Washington Association of Sheriffs and 
Police Chiefs, are also opposed.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom