12 ms·

Washington voters approve legalized marijuana

404 points by llambda 14y ago

blackhole 14y ago
Provided we also legalize same-sex marriage, this voting cycle will make me proud to be a Washington native.
- askimto 14y ago
  Y'all also fell for another initiative from Tim Eyman.
  - irollboozers 14y ago
    This was the only vote that didn't go my way, unfortunately.
  - aaronbrethorst 14y ago
    Not sure why you're being downvoted. We always fall for Eyman initiatives, sadly. Eyman, for those who aren't from here, is the guy who keeps getting initiatives on the ballot that make our government as ineffective as California's.
  - genwin 14y ago
    Why is a roadblock to higher taxes bad? As long as the current tax % is sufficient, I don't see why that % shouldn't be sustained indefinitely.
    - xxpor 14y ago
      The exact same thing keeps being struck down by the state Supreme Court nearly every year.
- haberman 14y ago
  I could not agree more!
- EricDeb 14y ago
  Yessir. Very proud to be from Olympia, WA at this moment
- marssaxman 14y ago
  Yep. Feeling really good about this election.
- sharkweek 14y ago
  Proud Seattleite here too -- both gay marriage and marijuana legalization; steps in the right direction in my opinion. Will be interesting to see how much authority the Feds take on 502 (marijuana). I know the WA state lawyers have been buffing up for a big Supreme Court fight; fascinating case incoming.
- shrikant 14y ago
  ...and done. Referendum Measure No. 74 has passed! http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Measures-All.html http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Measures-All.html
  - ozten 14y ago
    Easy tiger... I'm excited to pass r-74, but only 51% of the votes are in. We might not know until Friday. http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/states/washington http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/states/washington
- beatgammit 14y ago
  Meh, not too happy about the same-sex marriage decision, but I do appreciate that this decision is being made at the state level instead of the national level. I too am proud to be a Washington native in this election, but mostly because of the public charter school system. Being a fiscal conservative, the national election, however, did not go as I had hoped. Seeing stocks drop like that was not the best news to wake up to.
  - illuminate 14y ago
    "not too happy about the same-sex marriage decision ... Being a fiscal conservative" Not to argue with your beliefs, but why call yourself a "fiscal conservative" if you're also a social conservative? Generally people make the distinction only in the case that they do not apply religious mores to politics.
    - ht_th 14y ago
      Because there are other reasons to be against same-sex marriage laws. I am an advocate of a general marriage law, allowing two consenting adults to marry whatever their gender, race, age, and so on. However, I don't think it is a good idea to have two different laws for the same thing, marriage, as it makes the law-system more messy, difficult to maintain, opening up all possibilities of treatment differences, and so on. I prefer to have the law system as simple and clear as possible and amending laws or adding laws to cover all kinds of exceptions is detrimental to that.
      - illuminate 14y ago
        How are they "two different laws"? The amended law IS the law. "I don't think it is a good idea to have two different laws for the same thing, marriage, as it makes the law-system more messy, difficult to maintain, opening up all possibilities of treatment differences, and so on. I prefer to have the law system as simple and clear as possible and amending laws or adding laws to cover all kinds of exceptions is detrimental to that." The "law system" is meant to be adaptable. Simplicity is not to be prized over human rights. This seems to be an internalized moral argument masquerading as some sort of strange appeal. Which, again, is your personal opinion, but it is unnecessary to suggest that it is in the interest of society to avoid all "legal complications". The law can adapt to any complexities of reality.
hayksaakian 14y ago
We also got another district this cycle. Hurrah. Northwest peoples!
Metrop0218 14y ago
Moving up next year, makes me happy to see.
ComputerGuru 14y ago
I'm not someone who would take advantage of the legalization of marijuana, but I am in favor of legalization because I don't think it's the government's job to tell you what you can or can't do. If drinking is legal, smoking weed should be too. I understand the concept behind a tax on marijuana, but I don't understand a 25% tax on every stage of the process... If you're saying that it's legal to use marijuana responsibly and you're limiting how much you can buy, I don't see the point of a whole 25% tax on top of that. Is marijuana bad and the government needs to bribed to let it? Are we selling out purely for the economic benefits? Or is neutral and the government are running what boils down to a protection racket?
- koudelka 14y ago
  How do you feel about legalization of other substances?
  - TruthElixirX 14y ago
    Has banning people from shooting meth into the webbing of their fingers stopped them? No. It has only made things worse. 100% legalization for all substances.
    - pixie_ 14y ago
      Really? How do you know, 'it hasn't stopped them.' How do you count the number of people who never got addicted to meth because it wasn't on sale at 7-11, or was never made the secret ingredient in McDonald's new meth burger. Do you know that without rules, there really are no rules, and the examples I just gave are the tip of a scary iceberg. Do you know what worse is? You have no idea.
      - TruthElixirX 14y ago
        Look at my rock. It is a magic rock. It keeps tigers away. I have never been attacked by a tiger while holding this rock. Who knows how many tiger attacks it has defeated. EDIT:: Also I don't give a shit if 7-11 sells meth. I'll just shop somewhere that doesn't.
adamnemecek 14y ago
I just moved here but this seems like a big deal too http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Initiative-Measure-No-1240-Concerns-creation-of-a-public-charter-school-system_ByCounty.html http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Initiative-Measure-No-124...
jayfuerstenberg 14y ago
Congratulations Washington! Today is a day of forward thinking across the United States. Also, Colorado voted to legalize Marijuana as well.
veidr 14y ago
Ah, the smell of progress...
numbsafari 14y ago
This'll take a lot of pressure off of people in Redmond...
- alpb 14y ago
  So when are we starting this?...
- timfrietas 14y ago
  How so? You can still fail a drug test for weed, same as you can for alcohol, and employers like MS can still fire you.
  - curiousDog 14y ago
    MS doesn't do drug tests. Atleast I don't remember taking one when I was there.
  - illuminate 14y ago
    Tech companies in the PNW do not drug test, generally.
Tiktaalik 14y ago
It'll be interesting to see what, if any, effect this has north of the border in British Columbia. Marijuana decriminalization and legalization has often been discussed in Canada, but one of the main arguments against a change in the law is that the United States would not approve. Seems like that may be changing.
- MartinCron 14y ago
  That, and Vanouver BC didn't want to be a destination for drug tourism. Vancouver, WA will now have that honor.
  - rdl 14y ago
    Felons can't go into Canada (and, there's customs search too), so BC as drug tourist/reup spot doesn't make as much sense as Vancouver WA drug tourist/reup spot. (although I can't imagine anyone buying retail ounces and then selling them, legal supply chains tend to cover up illicit ones running in parallel, or allow diversion, so I could see the underground taking advantage of this.)
    - MartinCron 14y ago
      When I was 19 year old non-felon, I took a trip from my home in Seattle to Vancouver BC just to take advantage of the difference in the legal drinking age. If booze tourism exists, even to a small degree, we'll have pot tourism, even to a small degree.
- flyinRyan 14y ago
  >but one of the main arguments against a change in the law is that the United States would not approve. How embarrassing for your country. The US doesn't approve of prostitution either, though?
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    To my knowledge there is no equivalent of the Controlled Substances Act. Prostitution laws are all state laws.
colmvp 14y ago
California... shake my head
weedwall 14y ago
This is an amazing milestone in the medical marijuana community. I am currently building a social network at www.WeedWall.com to help build an activism platform and community for Marijuana to help move our laws and opinions forward on the industry as a whole!! Excitement here at the office!!
davidw 14y ago
It'd be nice if we could leave politics to other sites, please. Pretty please? There are a zillion sub-reddits where you can discuss this stuff as much as you want, but just one Hacker News, which does not need to go political. (I'm pretty happy with the results too, but that's neither here nor there)
deleted 14y ago
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LiveFanChat 14y ago
This has to be the biggest side story of the night. - http://www.facebook.com/LiveCourtChat/posts/123286574495584 http://www.facebook.com/LiveCourtChat/posts/123286574495584 Recreational use is VERY different to medical use. No need to fly to amsterdam anymore just go skiing in colorado. The question i have for you is this how do you feel about work place testing? If someone isnt coming baked to work but tested within 7-14 days positive how would you feel abotu them losing their job? What if you are a medical marijuana user? This already came up in a court case in Michigan - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/joseph-casias-fired-by-walmart-for-medical-marijuana-loses-appeal-aclu_n_1900891.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/joseph-casias-fired...
exolxe 14y ago
It's interesting to consider how much of the legislative and voting process actually impacts the act. A lot of voters probably view marijuana as positive/neutral, though how many were actually swayed by the 25% tax? In the end there's a larger systemic problem, where you compromise and are either hurting consumers of a neutral/positive product or benefiting as a governmental system by feeding off of a negative product. Either way, regardless of your views it's a forward step for society, though with somewhat perverse implications.

404 points by llambda 14y ago

blackhole 14y ago

Provided we also legalize same-sex marriage, this voting cycle will make me proud to be a Washington native.

askimto 14y ago
Y'all also fell for another initiative from Tim Eyman.
- irollboozers 14y ago
  This was the only vote that didn't go my way, unfortunately.
- aaronbrethorst 14y ago
  Not sure why you're being downvoted. We always fall for Eyman initiatives, sadly. Eyman, for those who aren't from here, is the guy who keeps getting initiatives on the ballot that make our government as ineffective as California's.
- genwin 14y ago
  Why is a roadblock to higher taxes bad? As long as the current tax % is sufficient, I don't see why that % shouldn't be sustained indefinitely.
  - xxpor 14y ago
    The exact same thing keeps being struck down by the state Supreme Court nearly every year.
haberman 14y ago
I could not agree more!
EricDeb 14y ago
Yessir. Very proud to be from Olympia, WA at this moment
marssaxman 14y ago
Yep. Feeling really good about this election.
sharkweek 14y ago
Proud Seattleite here too -- both gay marriage and marijuana legalization; steps in the right direction in my opinion. Will be interesting to see how much authority the Feds take on 502 (marijuana). I know the WA state lawyers have been buffing up for a big Supreme Court fight; fascinating case incoming.
shrikant 14y ago
...and done. Referendum Measure No. 74 has passed! http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Measures-All.html http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Measures-All.html
- ozten 14y ago
  Easy tiger... I'm excited to pass r-74, but only 51% of the votes are in. We might not know until Friday. http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/states/washington http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/results/states/washington
beatgammit 14y ago
Meh, not too happy about the same-sex marriage decision, but I do appreciate that this decision is being made at the state level instead of the national level. I too am proud to be a Washington native in this election, but mostly because of the public charter school system. Being a fiscal conservative, the national election, however, did not go as I had hoped. Seeing stocks drop like that was not the best news to wake up to.
- illuminate 14y ago
  "not too happy about the same-sex marriage decision ... Being a fiscal conservative" Not to argue with your beliefs, but why call yourself a "fiscal conservative" if you're also a social conservative? Generally people make the distinction only in the case that they do not apply religious mores to politics.
  - ht_th 14y ago
    Because there are other reasons to be against same-sex marriage laws. I am an advocate of a general marriage law, allowing two consenting adults to marry whatever their gender, race, age, and so on. However, I don't think it is a good idea to have two different laws for the same thing, marriage, as it makes the law-system more messy, difficult to maintain, opening up all possibilities of treatment differences, and so on. I prefer to have the law system as simple and clear as possible and amending laws or adding laws to cover all kinds of exceptions is detrimental to that.
    - illuminate 14y ago
      How are they "two different laws"? The amended law IS the law. "I don't think it is a good idea to have two different laws for the same thing, marriage, as it makes the law-system more messy, difficult to maintain, opening up all possibilities of treatment differences, and so on. I prefer to have the law system as simple and clear as possible and amending laws or adding laws to cover all kinds of exceptions is detrimental to that." The "law system" is meant to be adaptable. Simplicity is not to be prized over human rights. This seems to be an internalized moral argument masquerading as some sort of strange appeal. Which, again, is your personal opinion, but it is unnecessary to suggest that it is in the interest of society to avoid all "legal complications". The law can adapt to any complexities of reality.

hayksaakian 14y ago

We also got another district this cycle. Hurrah. Northwest peoples!

Metrop0218 14y ago

Moving up next year, makes me happy to see.

ComputerGuru 14y ago

I'm not someone who would take advantage of the legalization of marijuana, but I am in favor of legalization because I don't think it's the government's job to tell you what you can or can't do. If drinking is legal, smoking weed should be too. I understand the concept behind a tax on marijuana, but I don't understand a 25% tax on every stage of the process... If you're saying that it's legal to use marijuana responsibly and you're limiting how much you can buy, I don't see the point of a whole 25% tax on top of that. Is marijuana bad and the government needs to bribed to let it? Are we selling out purely for the economic benefits? Or is neutral and the government are running what boils down to a protection racket?

koudelka 14y ago
How do you feel about legalization of other substances?
- TruthElixirX 14y ago
  Has banning people from shooting meth into the webbing of their fingers stopped them? No. It has only made things worse. 100% legalization for all substances.
  - pixie_ 14y ago
    Really? How do you know, 'it hasn't stopped them.' How do you count the number of people who never got addicted to meth because it wasn't on sale at 7-11, or was never made the secret ingredient in McDonald's new meth burger. Do you know that without rules, there really are no rules, and the examples I just gave are the tip of a scary iceberg. Do you know what worse is? You have no idea.
    - TruthElixirX 14y ago
      Look at my rock. It is a magic rock. It keeps tigers away. I have never been attacked by a tiger while holding this rock. Who knows how many tiger attacks it has defeated. EDIT:: Also I don't give a shit if 7-11 sells meth. I'll just shop somewhere that doesn't.

adamnemecek 14y ago

I just moved here but this seems like a big deal too http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Initiative-Measure-No-1240-Concerns-creation-of-a-public-charter-school-system_ByCounty.html http://vote.wa.gov/results/current/Initiative-Measure-No-124...

jayfuerstenberg 14y ago

Congratulations Washington! Today is a day of forward thinking across the United States. Also, Colorado voted to legalize Marijuana as well.

veidr 14y ago

Ah, the smell of progress...

numbsafari 14y ago

This'll take a lot of pressure off of people in Redmond...

alpb 14y ago
So when are we starting this?...
timfrietas 14y ago
How so? You can still fail a drug test for weed, same as you can for alcohol, and employers like MS can still fire you.
- curiousDog 14y ago
  MS doesn't do drug tests. Atleast I don't remember taking one when I was there.
- illuminate 14y ago
  Tech companies in the PNW do not drug test, generally.

Tiktaalik 14y ago

It'll be interesting to see what, if any, effect this has north of the border in British Columbia. Marijuana decriminalization and legalization has often been discussed in Canada, but one of the main arguments against a change in the law is that the United States would not approve. Seems like that may be changing.

MartinCron 14y ago
That, and Vanouver BC didn't want to be a destination for drug tourism. Vancouver, WA will now have that honor.
- rdl 14y ago
  Felons can't go into Canada (and, there's customs search too), so BC as drug tourist/reup spot doesn't make as much sense as Vancouver WA drug tourist/reup spot. (although I can't imagine anyone buying retail ounces and then selling them, legal supply chains tend to cover up illicit ones running in parallel, or allow diversion, so I could see the underground taking advantage of this.)
  - MartinCron 14y ago
    When I was 19 year old non-felon, I took a trip from my home in Seattle to Vancouver BC just to take advantage of the difference in the legal drinking age. If booze tourism exists, even to a small degree, we'll have pot tourism, even to a small degree.
flyinRyan 14y ago
>but one of the main arguments against a change in the law is that the United States would not approve. How embarrassing for your country. The US doesn't approve of prostitution either, though?
- jlgreco 14y ago
  To my knowledge there is no equivalent of the Controlled Substances Act. Prostitution laws are all state laws.

colmvp 14y ago

California... shake my head

weedwall 14y ago

This is an amazing milestone in the medical marijuana community. I am currently building a social network at www.WeedWall.com to help build an activism platform and community for Marijuana to help move our laws and opinions forward on the industry as a whole!! Excitement here at the office!!

davidw 14y ago

It'd be nice if we could leave politics to other sites, please. Pretty please? There are a zillion sub-reddits where you can discuss this stuff as much as you want, but just one Hacker News, which does not need to go political. (I'm pretty happy with the results too, but that's neither here nor there)

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

deleted 14y ago

[deleted]

LiveFanChat 14y ago

This has to be the biggest side story of the night. - http://www.facebook.com/LiveCourtChat/posts/123286574495584 http://www.facebook.com/LiveCourtChat/posts/123286574495584 Recreational use is VERY different to medical use. No need to fly to amsterdam anymore just go skiing in colorado. The question i have for you is this how do you feel about work place testing? If someone isnt coming baked to work but tested within 7-14 days positive how would you feel abotu them losing their job? What if you are a medical marijuana user? This already came up in a court case in Michigan - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/joseph-casias-fired-by-walmart-for-medical-marijuana-loses-appeal-aclu_n_1900891.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/joseph-casias-fired...

exolxe 14y ago

It's interesting to consider how much of the legislative and voting process actually impacts the act. A lot of voters probably view marijuana as positive/neutral, though how many were actually swayed by the 25% tax? In the end there's a larger systemic problem, where you compromise and are either hurting consumers of a neutral/positive product or benefiting as a governmental system by feeding off of a negative product. Either way, regardless of your views it's a forward step for society, though with somewhat perverse implications.