[420 Girl]

Seattle, WA - The state Legislature took up the controversial issue of marijuana legalization and decriminalization on Wednesday, hearing testimony on two high-profile measures.

Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle, the sponsor of House Bill 2401, which would make it legal for people 21 and over to use the drug, said selling and taxing pot would bring in $300 million in tax dollars every two years, according to state estimates.

"We can save taxpayer dollars and we can bring in revenue that's badly needed for drug and alcohol treatment and prevention," Dickerson said.

Under HB2401, the state Liquor Control Board would regulate and tax marijuana like it does with alcohol now.

Dickerson said prohibition has been a failure and legalization would drive criminal gangs out of the pot business.

"We have not deterred the use of marijuana, nor have we seen a noticeable impact on the availability," she said in testimony before the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness committee. "Mexican cartels active in Washington state will fade away if marijuana is legalized. They'll have no reason for existence, at least in terms of selling marijuana."

In addition to 2401, the House panel is also considering House Bill 1177, which would decriminalize marijuana.

"It's not about fighting for our right to party," said one of the measure's sponsors, Rep. Dave Upthegrove, D-Des Moines. "My interest is to minimize drug addiction."

There seemed to be broader support in the packed hearing room for Upthegrove's decriminalization bill over the measure that would legalize the drug. Representatives from the state and King County bar associations testified in favor of decriminalizing the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana, pointing out that more than a dozen states have already enacted similar laws.

One person testifying, Bill Finkbeiner, a former Republican state Senator from Kirkland, said it was time to consider relaxing marijuana laws. He said people he has spoken to believe the regulations no longer make sense, and that the tax revenue could help the state's precarious budget situation. Lawmakers must deal with a $2.6 billion deficit this year and multi-billion dollar deficits stretching into the near future, a situation that has them considering cutting hundreds of millions of dollars of support to human services and education.

"There's a very real cost to having our police, our courts and our jails have to deal with a problem that's a victimless crime," Finkbeiner said. "Public opinion is evolving on this issue."

Representatives from state law enforcement spoke against the measures, saying passing them would send the wrong message, espsecially to young people. They also worried about the effects of having another legal intoxicant in the state.

"I for one would prefer not to have another substance that's going to allow an impaired individual, in a legal fashion, during the hunting season, for example, using a fire arm" or operating a boat or driving, said John Didion, president of the Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs.


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