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Smoke'Em If You Got Em.

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Smoke'Em If You Got Em.
David Davidson. Washington looks like it could be the first state to legalize marijuana. A general consensus among state and local polls appears to show momentum on the affirmative side of proposition I-502. Public Policy Polling , Komo 4 and the Seattle Times latest polls all show the initiative leading with 53 to 55 percent of those most likely to vote supporting the measures adoption (Martin). This is a very significant Initiative with numerous Local, State and National legal and political ramifications. An examination of I-502 would seem to be in order. Marijuana, or Hemp was legal and it’s production was actively encouraged very early on in the colonies of what would become America. Following the American civil war marijuana was used in numerous medical products that were sold over the counter- with no restrictions whatsoever. The Marijuana tax act of 1937 was the first real law that made marijuana a restricted substance (NPR). The laws have fluctuated somewhat, but for the most part have continued towards less tolerance or zero tolerance models. Democrats removed minimum sentencing laws in 1970. Meanwhile, President Nixon was beginning his all out “War on Drugs” going so far as to call them “public enemy number one”(NPR). Reagan reinitiated mandatory sentencing making them the toughest to date in the mid 1980’s- 100 marijuana plants was now the illegal equivalent of 100 grams of Heroin (NIDA). Nearly one in eight persons in prison in America today are there because of marijuana laws- Thanks in no small measure to the war on drugs. America would go on to be the worlds leading incarcerator of its own citizens- 760 per 100,000 caught up within the American prison industrial complex. how do other countries fare- Britain is the next highest with 142 per 100,000 and everyone else is below 100 per 100,000 (PBS 1). That’s right, the war on drugs has brought us ten times the incarceration rate of the rest of the industrialized


References: Campbell, Kyle (2012, Nov. 4) From abortion to pot, the ten most important ballot issues of 2012 election Connelly, Joel (2012, June 11) A gusher of Big Oil, Booze bucks to Eyman. Seattlepi Economist, The. n.a. (2009, May 14) The Ungovernable State- As California ceases to function like a sensible state, a new constitution looks both necessary and likely. Retrieved from: http://www.economist.com/node/13649050 Freedman, Dan (2012, Sept Retrieved from: http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Medical-pot-advocates- Gaznier, Louis (1936) Reefer Madness Holcomb, Alison (2012) New Approach Washington- Initiative I-502 Retrieved from: http://www.newapproachwa.or Johnson, Gene (Oct 10, 2012) Ex-DOJ officials laud pot measure in new ad By Associated Press http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Ex-DOJ-officials-laud- Wash-pot-measure-in-new-ad-173577211.html?m=y&smobile=y&c=n&clmob=y Martin, Jonathan (2012 Oct National Institutes of Health (2012) NIDA National Institute On Drug Abuse Retrieved from: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana Norml (2012)- Marijuana Decriminalization and its Impact on Use. British Journal of Psychology (2001, Feb.) No on I502 Washington (2012, Oct. 30) The New approach to Prohibition. Retrieved from: http://www.nooni502.com/wordpress/ NPR (2012) Timeline: Americas War on Drugs. National Public Radio Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9252490 PBS 1 (2012) Busted: America’s war on Marijuana. Frontline. Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope PBS 2 (2003, Sept. 18) Think Tank- Direct Democracy or Mob Rule- Transcript Retrieved from: http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript1124.html Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (2012) Retrieved from: http://www.pdc.wa.gov/MvcViewReports/Committee/initiative
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