Pubdate: Fri, 08 Feb 2013
Source: News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA)
Copyright: 2013 Tacoma News, Inc.
Contact: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/letters/submit/
Website: http://www.thenewstribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/442
Author: Christopher Hurst
Note: State Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw, is chairman of the 
Government Accountability and Oversight Committee with jurisdiction 
over the implementation of I-502. He has served in the Legislature 
for 10 years.

WE MUST GET IT RIGHT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF LEGAL MARIJUANA

In the 2012 election, voters took a historic step towards changing 
the war on drugs in Washington state in regards to marijuana. As the 
Liquor Control Board began to examine how to implement this new 
system, some advocates have said that Washington needs to do this 
right, and quickly.

The state must get it right, certainly. But a careful and deliberate 
approach should allow for the time necessary to create a regulated 
legal market which extinguishes the illegal one that exists today. 
That is what the voters were promised throughout the 2012 election.

The greatest misconception is that I-502 is a Prohibition-style end 
to the marijuana industry, that our state will fall effortlessly into 
a well-regulated market. That simply is not the case.

When America outlawed alcohol, the industry, rules and regulations 
did not disappear  they just went dormant. The liquor business was 
taken over by outlaws operating a criminal market. But when Americans 
reversed their decision on prohibition, the means of extinguishing 
the organized crime rackets were already in place. Rules were dusted 
off and factories turned back on.

Marijuana legalization is not the same as the end of Prohibition. 
There has never been a legal, organized and regulated market for 
marijuana in the United States. We are now tasked with building one 
from the ground up, and this requires careful and well-thought-out 
implementation.

Anyone working in the recreational marijuana industry before I-502 
fully goes into effect is operating a criminal enterprise. In the 
past, these individuals have spent years enjoying the benefits of a 
civilized society without ever paying taxes or contributing to 
society the way that you or I do. They never played by the rules; we 
should not expect them to do so now.

Criminal behavior is a lifestyle, and ending crime in the marijuana 
industry requires a rigorous assessment of how to enforce the rules 
that voters were promised in this brand new market. The Liquor 
Control Board should consider this carefully when handing out licenses.

Voters were promised a tightly regulated market with an emphasis on 
public safety. To deliver, we need to empower the Liquor Control 
Board to crack down on licensees who violate criminal 
codes  particularly distributing marijuana to minors. The initiative 
sets fines at $1,000, far lower than those for many liquor violations.

Voters were promised that this new industry would be taxed at levels 
similar to alcohol and tobacco. I-502 charges just $250 for an 
application and $1,000 a year for a license to manufacture, process 
or distribute marijuana. Processing an application will cost far more 
than the current cap, however, and in Colorado, licenses for medical 
marijuana sold for as much as $18,000.

As we saw last year when the state auctioned off liquor stores and 
alcohol distribution rights, legitimate business interests are 
willing to pay far more. We should maximize new revenue and establish 
license fees at actual market value.

Voters were promised that the product would be readily available to 
interested adults. Yet the current restrictions of I-502 prohibit 
marijuana from being sold in most of Seattle, except small portions 
of the Sodo District. To preempt a criminal market, we need to offer 
marijuana where legitimate demand exists. We must also find a way to 
end the all-cash market so customers can use bank credit cards. This 
will result in proper, auditable record-keeping and not tempt armed robberies.

Voters were promised in campaign ads that I-502 would generate "new 
revenue for education," but in truth more than eight out of every 10 
dollars in revenue are earmarked for other programs, and nothing was 
set aside specifically for education. The Washington Supreme Court's 
ruling in McCleary makes funding our K-12 system more of an 
imperative than ever before. Let's fulfill the campaign promises and 
fund education.

We should take a small step back and evaluate how to best establish 
and regulate this new market. Doing so will not unduly delay the 
establishment of outlets, nor access to the buying public. It will 
just help ensure that our system  literally the first in the world 
lives up to the voters' intentions: safe and legal marijuana for 
recreational use, a carefully regulated market that protects public 
safety, and new revenue for education and health care.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom