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Friday, July 10th, 2015

Marijuana Legalization: The Sky Hasn’t Fallen in Washington State

Author:     Phillip Smith
Source:     Alternet (U.S.)
Publication Date:     July 8, 2015
 Link: Marijuana Legalization: The Sky Hasn’t Fallen in Washington State
Stephan:   It is absolutely fascinating to watch the predictions of marijuana prohibitionists blow away like a toxic fog when confronted with what really happens. Their views have proven so wrong, so wildly out of touch with American culture that you would think it would be a big story. Particularly since the marijuana prohibition story is paralleled by the marriage equality story, the teen pregnancy story, and many others. The Theocratic Rightist view that dominates the Republican Party, on the basis of observed data, is simply nonsense. Have you read that story on the front page of your newspaper? Neither have I. With the exception of VICE, POV, or Frontline this disconnect and its failures are hardly acknowledged on television.  
Cannibis Cityj, Seattle's first legal cannibis store Credit: time.com

Cannibis Cityj, Seattle’s first legal cannibis store
Credit: time.com

Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of retail marijuana sales in Washington, and, amazingly enough, the state seems to not only have survived legalization, but to have actually benefited from it.

Voters in both Washington and Colorado gave the green light to legalization on election day 2012, and marijuana became legal in Washington on December 6, 2012, 30 days after the election. But Washington trailed Colorado in getting retail sales up and running—its first legal pot shop opened July 8, 2014.

To mark the date, the Drug Policy Alliance has issued a report on what has happened since legalization arrived, and it likes what it sees: “Since adult possession of marijuana became legal eighteen months ago, the state has benefitted from a dramatic decrease in marijuana arrests and convictions, as well as increased tax revenues. During the same period, the state has experienced a decrease in violent crime rates. In addition, rates of youth marijuana use and traffic fatalities […]

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