A woman with a good head on her shoulders. Now if we can just get a majority of politicians to think so clearly on this subject, we'd actually make some positive changes in this world.

Vote for politicians who support ending prohibition!

Good for you, Ms. Dickerson!

I haven't consumed any illegal substances in the last 30 years, and I *strongly* support legalization, regulation and taxation!

Yes! I've thought for a long time that making criminals of people who smoke pot was wrong and a waste of our taxpayer dollars.

The prohibition of alcohol resulted in increased crime and violence just as it has with marijuana. It is time to repeal this prohibition as well and to redirect our tax dollars to more productive things such as Rep. Dickerson suggests.

Yeah, what they're doing now isn't working.
Plus the fact legalization would keep those using it medically from being persecuted, as well. Hooray, Rep Dickerson!!!!!!

*facepalm* "de-criminalize" is the better term. Not even alcohol is fully legal. Anyway, yes.

Sounds good. Does it take a recession to knock sense into people?

Well as long as the D.O.J. stands true to their order then this looks good on paper. But as long as it remains on the federal books as illegal then it doesn't matter if Washington, Oregon or any other state legalizes marijuana. It is a states rights vs. federal rule.

As far as I understand it, Obama has said that the Fed will no longer prosecute or intervene, effectively leaving it open to the states to decide. The Fed laws will soon change to, I reckon.

not to nitpick, but wasn't that just for medical marijuana usage?

Yeah, but their prosecuting for medical usage. They shouldn't be. Whatever happens from his will be a step forward.

The first steps to getting the federal laws marijuana laws changed will be local communities changing their laws to reflect the desires of their citizens. So Rep. Dickerson's well reasoned argument is a useful part of the process to get a new marijuana policy locally and eventually nationwide. And Obama's relaxation of the prosecution of medical marijuana is also a helpful, realistic step.

Prohibition of something many citizens want doesn't work, period. This should've been a lesson we took away from the failure of the Volstead Act, wishfully called "The Noble Experiment." A misguided prohibition weakens the legitimacy of a democratically elected government and squanders resources that are needed elsewhere in society.

Yea for common sense!!!!

I'm called the crab for a reason! Do you want more impaired people driving on the streets you travel? Aren't we paying a price with alcohol impairment? Also what about the safety of your person and property? A 'user' has to be able to afford to purchase the stuff! Maybe you will be 'high' and won't even notice! Good luck.........

please go crawl back under your rock where you hide your head in the sand!

The impaired driving is a legitimate concern, but somewhat overblown in regards to marijuana. I would assume that if the use and possession of small amounts was decriminalized that the DUI laws would still apply as impaired driving is impaired driving whether it's alcohol, pot, meth, or prescription pills.
Pot smokers are hardly the ones who steal to pay for marijuana. The more addictive drugs like meth and heroin do take over people's lives and bring them to that position of stealing to support the addiction, but marijuana is at most habit forming and hardly the addictive substance that the other drugs mentioned are.

Exactly. If they regulate it like they do alcohol that wont be any more of a problem than it is now. It'll just be a 'lesser crime.'

In society today adults have to make millions of important decisions, a lot of which can have a drastic effect on their lives, even death. We are responsible for our choices, and we suffer and prosper from our choices, it’s what makes each individual who they ultimately become. This is called freedom of choice, ownership of ones self. We are legally allowed to make these choices everyday, including many that can be instantly fatal such as riding recreational dirt bikes for the thrill of it, even though it could cost us our lives, its our choice to make.

By trying to force people into not consuming a natural plant we are effectively causing more harm than if we were to let each adult make their own choices and except the consequences for those choices. The harm prohibition has brought to not just our own country, but the vast majority of the world is on a remarkably large scale, and threatens our national security. By choosing to prohibit this substance, we have chosen to ignore it and to let it be controlled by the black market. This in turn has enriched criminal enterprises to the point they have the financial power to compete with their own governments on a military bases as seen in Mexico. This is a national security threat. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol, and the majority of citizens know this, this in turn creates disrespect for law enforcement thereby furthering the deterioration of our community as a whole. It is inhumane to lock a person in a cage and take away their belongings they worked for when they did nothing to harm any other individual or society. Current marijuana laws are a civil rights nightmare waiting to happen, and only makes marijuana readily available to anyone of any age. The laws are obviously bad, expensive and unyielding in accomplishments. We spend billions each year to try and stop marijuana consumption, and yet the DEA admits they would be surprised if they are even getting 1% of the drugs being transported. That’s a bad investment, and the majorities do not agree with it, and there is no justification for making marijuana illegal in the first place.

Prohibition is bad for our kids as they have complete access to it as long as its being controlled by the black market, what we need is control and regulation to minimize the exposure of drugs to young children. As long as it is illegal or decriminalized there will be a black market selling it at a marked up value because of risk, and all the harm will continue.

By legalizing marijuana we are effectively controlling its distribution, and can much better regulate its use by age limits.

Simply put, it’s a real no brainer and it will eventually happen, so if it’s not working now, and has the potential to be better why would we stay put?

Let’s not continue to turn regular tax paying citizens into tax burdens for the rest of us,
there comes a time when you have to realize a bad investment is a bad investment.

Please help us do the right thing, listen to the people of California who have bravely stood up for a positive change in our society, drugs may not bee good for us, but prohibition has proven far worse.

Hooray for Rep. Dickerson!

Great job. I'm 100% behind you.

Great post, Cathy!

It seems obvious to me that marijuana will eventually be decriminalized, I just hope it's sooner rather than later. Every day we wait is more money and lives down the drain, and more money in criminal's pockets.

It seems to me from the comments here and from friends and family in Seattle that I've discussed this with that there would be overwhelming support for decriminalization if it were on the ballot.

We need more politicians with this much common sense.

Legal pot shops and bike lanes, now there's another thing to add to be more Dutch-like..
..no, I'm not talking about the canals..

yes! and windmills, too! let's not forget those cute wooden shoes either.

What a smart woman! Finally someone who uses rationale thinking to make decisions! I which she was my representative here in Virginia!

I am apalled...legalizing marijuana is not he answer to saving money...Mary Lou also wants homeless camps all over Ballard, but won't take any in her own home...I think shge wamts to legalize it so she can continue pickling her own brain.

As they say in Holland, you can either tolerate things that you don't like (assuming no one gets hurt), or you can build more prisons. In the US we've chosen to build more prisons. This choice costs us billions of dollars a year in enforcement, judiciary, not to mention private legal expenses. It is insane how much of our resources we devote to criminalization of marijuana.

The fact is that people will use marijuana whether it's legal or not. Our current policies have been nothing short of a failure. We pay through the nose for these policies in terms of monetary costs, not to mention the cost to our freedom as informed adults not being able to make informed decisions.

Even if the federal law would trump state law in this case, I applaud Rep. Dickerson for approaching what is a rather controversial issue. Getting the conversation going is the first step, and if states begin to decriminalize marijuana en masse, the federal government will eventually have to relent.

Valid medicinal value, it’s a victimless crime, the War on Drugs WAY too costly, too many arrests for simple possession, tax it and use the money to pay for health insurance and to reduce the deficit…Need I say more?

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Whooo hoooo, when ever I’m sitting around having a toke, all I think is "if they just taxed me, they could put people on Mars with the money".

Mars? I bet you could get people on Uranus if you smoked the right stuff.

It's good to see Rep. Dickerson endorsing what health professionals and criminal justice experts have recommended. However, there is a well financed opposition to decriminalization of marijuana, and it's not the criminal distribution networks. It is the industrialized prison system. People incarcerated for cannibis violations make docile workers in the slave system in many prisons, and the for profit system uses its Puritanical work validation to justify scooping them up. As taxpayers and family members, we subsidize this system. Time to stop building prisons, an expensive non-solution to social and health problems.

"People incarcerated for cannibis violations make docile workers in the slave system in many prisons, and the for profit system uses its Puritanical work validation to justify scooping them up"

Dude, you are a walking case study for how smoking pot can fry your ability to think straight. I'm all for decriminalization, but dude, it ain't a conspiracy.

No, it's not a conspiracy. It's a Political Action Committee.

Mary Lou, it is your wonderful pragmatism that makes me so glad you represent me. Keep up the good fight for sanity in the nation's drug policies.

It's far past time to stop demonizing Americans who seek to expand their consciousness and grow and imbibe their own medicines.

Fight the good fight Rep Dickerson!

How on Earth does Rep. Dickerson hope to sustain a career in politics when she insists on using good common sense, a practical approach to our inane drug policy and listening to her constituents?

She got my vote.

It is the stigma that scares many people who use smoking pipes to keep it a secret. One of the problems inhibiting legalization is that people who smoke a glass pipe are not considered serious or mature. It is the public to make our choices known and to make sure our voices are heard. With the economy the way it is today this is the best chance to change the law. Send a letter make, send an email make a phone call, every hand written Letter that makes it to a representative is considered to be the voice of thousands of people who did not take the time to write and that is a power we all have.
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