As of late, most of the marijuana reform headlines in Washington have focused on the committee defeat of both HB 2401 (a bill that would have taxed and regulated marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol) and HB 1177 (a bill that would replace criminal penalties for adult possession of up to 40 grams of marijuana). Although clearly not the committee outcome we are pulling for, marijuana reform is still alive in Washington! 

The Senate companion to HB 1177, is still alive in the Senate and poised to get an up-or-down Senate vote if leadership takes it up. SB 5615 is sponsored by Sens. Kohl-Welles, Kline, McDermott, and Murray. Please email your state senator requesting that he or she support SB 5615 and lobby leadership to give it a vote! We’ve even made it easy by providing pre-drafted e-mails that you can edit as you choose. Once you have contacted your individual state senator, please go the extra mile by taking one minute to call Sen. Rosa Franklin, president pro tempore of the Senate, urging her to give the bill the vote it deserves!

SB 5615 would decriminalize possession of up to 40 grams of marijuana, ending over 11,000 arrests of adults for marijuana possession and the long-term consequences of criminal records for the thousands that result in conviction. This sensible legislation would save state, county, and local budgets $16 million annually in court, prosecution, defense, and jail costs; generate $1 million each year in new revenue, over half of which would go directly to Washington’s underfunded prevention and treatment services for folks who get in trouble with harder drugs; end the 3-to-1 disparity in marijuana law enforcement against African American Washingtonians; and demonstrate that elected officials in Olympia can reform Washington’s marijuana laws without getting un-elected. The Washington State Bar Association  and the Seattle City Council support decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana; why shouldn’t your legislators?

Please email your legislators. Ask them to support the decriminalization of small quantities of marijuana by voting "yes" on SB 5615 and lobbying Senate leadership to bring the bill to a vote. Then, please call Sen. Franklin to request that leadership give this bill a vote. Point out the cost savings and the new revenue to be generated. Discuss the importance of funding Washington’s vital prevention and treatment services. Make clear that a 3-1 racial disparity in marijuana law enforcement is not something that Washingtonians stand for. Let them know they will be supported at the polls!

P.S. Please pass this alert on to friends and family, so that they, too, can speak out for more sensible and fairer marijuana laws.