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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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In Our View: Legislature Fails Pot Test

Lawmakers must put marijuana revenue to uses voters mandated with I-502

The Columbian
Published:

Predictably, the journey to legalized marijuana in Washington has been accompanied by a few bumps in the road. Introducing an industry that produces more than $300 million in annual revenue is bound to create some unforeseen problems. But while the Vancouver City Council is wise to tap on the brakes of the local industry, the primary shortcomings with legalized recreational use for adults can be laid at the feet of the Legislature.

Among the concerns when voters approved Initiative 502 in 2012 was the need for efforts to limit illegal use of the drug by those under the age of 21. The measure, which passed with 56 percent of the statewide vote (it was narrowly opposed in Clark County), included safeguards to educate teenagers about the dangers the drug presents to still-developing minds.

Through I-502, voters approved money for the Department of Social and Health Services for programs “aimed at the prevention or reduction” of substance abuse among teenagers. They also earmarked funds for the Department of Health for a public-education campaign; money to help prevent students from dropping out of school; and revenue for marijuana research at the University of Washington and Washington State University.

Those funds have not materialized, as the budget passed by the Legislature in 2015 provided a small fraction of what was approved by the electorate. According to calculations by The Seattle Times, for example, Social and Health Services will be provided with only about half of what voters mandated because lawmakers, in a quest for a balanced budget, have raided the marijuana-tax coffers.

So, yes, there are some kinks still to be worked out as the state deals with legalized marijuana. But there also have been some clear benefits. Projections are that tax revenue from marijuana sales will top $1 billion by the end of 2018; the revenue demonstrates how legalization has diminished the marijuana black market; the legal system does not have to spend time and money catching and prosecuting citizens for marijuana possession; and, as the Times wrote editorially, “recreational users’ wink-and-a-nod exploitation of the medical-marijuana system is gone.”

All of this played a role recently as the Vancouver City Council considered a recommendation from the city Planning Commission to increase the number of marijuana shops in the city from nine to 12. Of the five commissioners who attended a workshop, only one seemed in favor of expanding the industry. Ty Stober, noting current problems with the industry, said, “We’ve got to get caught up here.”

At this point, that is a prudent decision. Although the state Liquor and Cannabis Board has approved an increase from 334 statewide stores to 556, there is nothing to be lost from employing a little caution. As city Councilor Jack Burkman said, “If we go to the 12 (stores), there is no way we can say, ‘Wow, we made a mistake. We want three of those licenses back.’ ”

The primary issues remain the difficulty of determining whether somebody is under the influence of marijuana while driving, and the need to educate teenagers about the dangers of the drug. Each of those fall under the purview of the Legislature, which should view marijuana-tax revenue in the manner the public intended rather than as a newfound savings account.

I-502 explicitly intended funding for research into methods for testing drivers. It explicitly intended funding for education and public-relations campaigns. Lawmakers have failed the public on both counts.

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