4/8/94
Information on the Washington State Marijuana Initiative,
from Washington's "Cannabis Movement".
THE WASHINGTON STATE MARIJUANA INITIATIVE IS OFF AND RUNNING!
Initiative 622 is a comprehensive initiative that will legalize cannabis in all its forms in Washington State. The initiative was conceived and submitted by a grass-roots network of volunteers from all over the state of Washington, and was presented to the public in kickoff rallys held on St. Patrick's Day.
This initiative will make legal the possession of personal use quantities of cannabis by adults. It will also legalize the medicinal and industrial applications of this plant. The initiative calls for formation of a cannabis control board, which will regulate licensing for commercial cultivation and sale of cannabis and set penalties for unlicensed sale. A ten percent tax will be placed on the retail sale of cannabis, and prisoners convicted only of marijuna-related crimes will be released with all civil rights reinstated.
In order for the initiative to make the ballot and be presented to the voters in November, we must collect 181,667 valid signatures from citizens who are registered to vote in the State of Washington by the end of June. It is expected that 1/3 of the signatures may be counted as invalid due to lack of registration or duplicates, so our goal is to collect at least 300,000 signatures to ensure success.
If the initiative makes the ballot, the chances of passage are excellent. Recent national polls on legalization, including a highly publicized day-long NBC call-in poll, clearly show that over 50% of the population would support regulated legalization of cannabis.
The network of signature-gathering volunteers has been growing fast. The core group of volunteers has been working hard to distribute initiatives to as many citizens as possible, and the results are being heard. Reports of encounters with signature gatherers for this initiative are coming in from all over the state, and coverage seems to be spreading rapidly.
Although the initial enthusiasm is encouraging, collecting the required amount of signatures in such a small window of opportunity will be a monumental task, and we are soliciting all the help we can get. If you want to know what you can do or just want to keep track of initiative status and events, please call the Initiative 622 Hotline at (206)-548-8043. You will receive a recording of the latest information about the initiative and phone numbers of contact point volunteers across the state, and you may also leave a message which will be answered.
Funds to cover operating costs are also needed; donations and correspondence may be sent to The Cannabis Movement, P.O. Box 1217, Olympia, WA 98507.
Thank you all in advance for your support;
PLEASE HELP US STOP THIS MADNESS!
If you like what you see here and want to get these bulletins by e-mail, please fill out our quick signup form at http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html.
