As a lifelong resident and taxpayer of Washington state, I was proud when marijuana was approved for recreational use. Then I thought about it; marijuana is legal in our state but not our country.
The March 8 Associated Press story, “Early learning bill plans on tapping marijuana revenue,” explained that our state is in the process of passing a law to take tax money collected from the sale of marijuana to expand early learning. I am completely on board with this except for the fact that marijuana is not legal in the United States of America. What happens when the federal government comes in and shuts everything down, like it has done to many medical marijuana operations across the country?
Officials with these operations believed they were doing everything possible to stay within the law. Certainly, Washingtonians will also do everything they can to remain within the laws, but what happens when the federal government does not agree? Until the federal government gets on board or Washington state decides to follow federal law, the only foreseeable future will inevitably end with Washington state vs. the United States of America.
Jason Hutt
VANCOUVER
