Politics are a funny business, and only on a local level does your vote make a difference, or so I believe. We live in a world of choices, Democrat and Republican, but what about the Independents and wigs? What about the alternate choice, if there should be one?
Smoker and non-smoker, I think something we can all agree on is that drugs are bad — for kids! Of course there are exceptions, since cannabis is medicine, there are kids with cancer, A.I.D.S., and a wealth of other ailments that cannabis can help with. In fact, one of the biggest misconceptions about medical marijuana is the lack to self regulate.
In Washington State there’s I-514, the Cannabis Child Protection Act. This initiative is trying to keep marijuana out of the hands of youth, and it needs your signature. If you are a Washington State resident, I believe it’s your duty to sign one.
There is an alternative to I-502, and its being backed by two of Washington’s hardest working activists, Don Skakie and Jared Allaway. This initiative is backed by non-profits and is designed to ease punishments for youth caught with cannabis and while also increasing punishments for those that sell to youths without a medical need.
Additionally, I-514 will help ease the punishments for adults without a medical need, and still keep the medical community intact. I-514 recently just got a boost from Bill Gates Sr. in conjunction with I-1240. With the last minute aid from Bill Gates Sr., one hopes this bill will go through, but it still needs your signature.
I hate to say “backdoor the system,” but essentially this does but making it tougher for youth who don’t need to smoke marijuana, and at the same time ensuring that the individual’s personal life isn’t altered forever. I-514 is more than an initiative, it’s a statement of a community regulating itself and saying “Medical marijuana patients are responsible citizens of the world!”
I apologize for this short post, but not enough words can be expressed that if you’re a Washington State registered voter, get off your ass and sign one of these bills. The deadline is July 6, 2012. As I write this, there are 15 days left. 15 days to pass an initiative that could work for smokers, legal and “non-legal” alike. 15 days to pass something that is fair, I urge you to seek out a petitioner.
