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Tag: marijuana legalization

WA 2012 election is underway!

WA 2012 election is underway!

Washington’s long-awaited General Election is underway. Over 3.85 million registered voters are being mailed their ballots by their county elections office, starting Wednesday, and the official Voters’ Pamphlet already has arrived in most Washington homes. Voters are free to mark and return the ballots just as soon as they wish, Secretary of State Sam Reed noted today.  Postmark deadline is Nov. 6, although Reed strongly recommended that voters get their ballots in the mail several days ahead of that so…

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Marijuana Initiative 502 certified to Legislature/ballot

Marijuana Initiative 502 certified to Legislature/ballot

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed’s office has certified Initiative to the Legislature 502, decriminalizing marijuana and regulating it and taxing it much like liquor.  Sponsors submitted enough signatures to assure consideration by the Legislature and, failing success there, a statewide vote on the General Election ballot. A signature-check by the State Elections Division, using a random sample, determined that sponsors had nearly 278,000 valid signatures, easily enough to cover the minimum 241,153 required. The measure was provisionally certified to…

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Lawmakers kick off election-year session

Lawmakers kick off election-year session

Washington lawmakers are back at work, confronting a $1.5 billion budget gap, the possibility of a tax referendum, and a number of touchy social issues, including gay marriage, marijuana, and abortion — all within the context of 2012 being the first election since redistricting. The session got off to a very quiet start at noon Monday, with few speeches and few protesters outside.  That was in marked contrast to the noisy reception lawmakers got when Occupy Olympia and thousands of…

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Marijuana Initiative 502 backers schedule signature turn-in

Marijuana Initiative 502 backers schedule signature turn-in

Sponsors of a marijuana initiative have made plans to bring in petitions on Dec. 29 at 10 a.m. at the state Elections Division office at 520 Union St. near the state Capitol in Olympia. UPDATE: The initiative sponsors are delivering the petitions at 2 p.m., not 10 a.m. Initiative to the Legislature 502 would authorize the state liquor control Board to regulate and tax marijuana for those 21 and older. Production, possession, delivery, distribution and sale of marijuana in accordance…

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