Decriminalize Marijuana Possession in Washington State

Dear Representatives and Senators,

I am a law abiding voter who resides in Washington State.

I would like you to support legislation, such as Senate Bill 5615 and House Bill 1177, which decriminalizes the possession of Marijuana.

Possessing reasonable amounts of Marijuana should be a civil infraction, accompanied by a modest monetary fine. It is simply time for a paradigm shift in regards to the legality of Marijuana, for such reasons as:

The severe "war on drugs" tactics are misapplied to the relatively harmless drug Marijuana. They should be reserved for such hard drugs as crack, heroin, ecstasy, and meth. Drug interdiction funds and resources should likewise be focused on those hard drugs, rather than on Marijuana which has little negative impact upon individuals or society

The Washington Institute for Public Policy estimates that our state spends $7.5 million dollars per year to arrest, prosecute and jail those arrested for minor Marijuana offenses. That is too costly in light of our $6 billion dollar budget shortfall.

The money generated from civil infractions can fund the Criminal Justice Treatment Account. That will make it possible to provide genuine assistance to those with drug problems through treatment, drug court, and harm reduction programs. Those approaches will more effectively help those with a substance abuse problem, as opposed to just sentencing sending people to jail.

It has been over six years since Seattle made enforcement of Marijuana possession its "lowest priority." There have been no negative consequences from that act; in fact Mayor Nickels recently declared that "crime in Seattle is at an all time low."

The bottom line is that it's time to start treating personal use of Marijuana as a community health issue, rather than a criminal justice issue. It's also time to cut the wasteful spending of funds on arresting and incarcerating citizens for simple possession Marijuana.

I encourage you to examine this decriminalization issue and support bills such as HB 1177 and SB 5615.

I thank you for your consideration as a current and future constituent.