Here is bit of wiki on the Seattle Times, for the rest of us who don't live in WA:
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. Since the 2009 demise of the printed version of rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, it is Seattle's only major daily print newspaper
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Time for the Washington state Legislature to legalize marijuana, writes The Seattle Times editorial board. The push to repeal the federal prohibition should come from the states, starting with Washington.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/...
Simply great. Well-written and simple. Best line? Maybe this one:
Marijuana is available now. If your child doesn't smoke it, maybe it is because your parenting works. But prohibition has not worked.
It might work in North Korea. But in America, prohibition is the pursuit of the impossible
One of the strongest emerging arguments in the past 24 months has been the argument that re-legalization will come about state-by-state, much like Alcohol Prohibition was ended. Many Americans are not aware of how Prohibition ended, and assume it was done in one fell swoop by the feds. That is not the case.
This is a great read in the Seattle Times, check it out:
One sign: On Feb. 8, a committee of the state House of Representatives in Olympia held a public hearing on House Bill 1550. The bill would legalize marijuana and sell it through the state liquor stores to customers over 21 who consume it in private.
The big issue at the hearing was the bill's conflict with federal law: the prospect of Washington legalizing marijuana in defiance of federal authority. What would that mean?
There would be a legal and political fight. In our view, such a fight is bound to happen. Some state is going to start it. It might have been California, but the Golden State turned down a marijuana-legalization initiative Nov. 2, voting only 46 percent for it.
Sometimes Washington is ahead of California. This state's voters were the first to approve gay civil unions, in 2009. California's voters didn't. Ours did.
Pass HB 1550. Legalize cannabis, regulate it, tax it. It is radical, yet commonsensical.
"It has taken me a long time to get to this position," said HB 1550's sponsor, Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, D-Seattle.
It took us a long time also. The people of Washington may already be there, and if not, they are close.
Here's more from the newspaper's blog about the hundreds of million$ that would be saved. (h/t to otto)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/...
It's Saturday. Have a laugh.
http://www.colbertnation.com/...