Washington Initiative 502 (I-502) "on marijuana reform" was an initiative to the Washington State Legislature, which appeared on the November 2012 general ballot, passing by a margin of approximately 56 to 44 percent. It was submitted to the Washington Secretary of State during the summer of 2011, enough signatures were collected and submitted by December to meet the required 241,153 signatures, sending it to the legislature. When the legislature adjourned without action in April, Initiative 502 automatically advanced to the November 2012 general ballot. It was approved by popular vote on November 6, and took effect over the course of a year, beginning with certification no later than December 6, 2012. Along with a similar Colorado measure, Initiative 502 was credited for encouraging voter turnout of 81%, the highest in the nation.
Initiative 502 defined and legalized small amounts of marijuana-related products for adults 21 and over, taxes them and designates the revenue for healthcare and substance-abuse prevention and education. As noted at RCW 69.50.101, cannabis is still classified as a schedule I controlled substance under federal law and subject to federal prosecution under the doctrine of dual sovereignty. Possession by anyone younger than 21, possession of larger amounts, and the growing of unlicensed or unregulated marijuana remains illegal under state law.
Ballot measure summary
As it is described by the Secretary of State's office, the measure shall "license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession for persons over twenty-one; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and earmark marijuana-related revenues."
This measure removes state-law prohibitions against producing, processing, and selling marijuana, subject to licensing and regulation by the liquor control board; allow limited possession of marijuana by persons aged twenty-one and over; and impose 25% excise taxes on wholesale and retail sales of marijuana, earmarking revenue for purposes that include substance-abuse prevention, research, education, and healthcare. Laws prohibiting driving under the influence would be amended to include maximum thresholds for THC blood concentration.
Provisions After approval, Initiative 502 implements over a period of a year or more. Legal possession and DUI limits went into effect on December 9, 2012, and the state had until December 1, 2013, to establish other key rules. Until rules were established and licenses issued, retail sales to the general public were not allowed. Such businesses must be located 1,000 feet or further from public schools, and public use of marijuana became a civil infraction.
The initiative legalized use of marijuana products for adults 21 and over and focus law enforcement resources on DUI prosecution as well as violent and property crimes. Personal "grows" in one's own home, except for medical cannabis as regulated under RCW 69.51A, will remain a Class C felony.
Part I identifies the goal of the initiative and authorizes the Washington State Liquor Control Board (now named the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board) "to regulate and tax marijuana for persons twenty-one years of age and older, and add a new threshold for driving under the influence of marijuana."
Part II establishes various definitions, including one which distinguishes "marijuana" from hemp and other parts of the cannabis plant based on its THC content.
Part III establishes a license system for marijuana producers, processors, and retailers. Initial licenses shall be $250 with an annual renewal fee of $1000. Rules prohibit producers and processors from having any financial interest in retailers, much like the three-tier system for hard liquor in control states. This section also makes it clear that selling or distributing unlicensed marijuana remains illegal, setting limits on the maximum amount one may possess. Adults 21 years or older may possess up to "one ounce of useable marijuana", 16 ounces of marijuana-infused product in solid form, 72 ounces of marijuana-infused product in liquid form or "any combination" of all three. The part also authorizes Liquor Enforcement Officers of the Washington State Liquor Control Board to enforce RCW 69.50, the Uniform Controlled Substances Act. Previous to this Liquor Enforcement Officers could only enforce alcohol and tobacco laws.
Part IV establishes a "dedicated marijuana fund" for all revenue received by the liquor control board, and explicitly earmarks any surplus from this new revenue for health care (55%), drug abuse treatment and education (25%), with 1% for marijuana-related research at University of Washington and Washington State University, most of the remainder going to the state general fund. A March 2012 analysis by the state Office of Financial Management estimated annual revenues above $560 million for the first full year, rising thereafter. February 2011 analysis of the similar Washington House Bill 1550 estimated annual state and county law-enforcement savings of approximately $22 million. OFM's final, official analysis did not include law-enforcement savings, but estimated five-year revenues at approximately $1.9 billion from an assumed retail price of $12 per gram. Proponents of I-502 have posted a pie chart showing annual dollar-per-purpose earmarks, based on these projections.
Part V on "driving under the influence of marijuana" sets a per se DUI limit of "delta-9" THC levels at greater than or equal to 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood (5 ng/mL). Some medical cannabis advocates are concerned that this will lead to DUI convictions for medicinal cannabis users, who are driving with blood THC levels greater than or equal to 5 nanograms per milliliter. "The metabolite THC-COOH, also known as carboxy-THC" is explicitly excluded from consideration.
Sponsors
Registered sponsors for the measure included John McKay, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington; Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes; Kim Marie Thorburn, M.D. and M.P.H., former director of the Spokane Regional Health District; and travel writer Rick Steves.
Other sponsors included state representative for the 36th district Mary Lou Dickerson; immediate past president of the Washington State Bar Association Salvador A. Mungia; past president of the Washington State Bar Association Mark Johnson; Robert W. Wood, M.D., former director of the HIV/AIDS Program at the Seattle-King County public health department; University of Washington School of Social Work professor emeritus Roger Roffman, D.S.W., and Alison Holcomb, campaign director for New Approach Washington, "on loan from" the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.
Support and opposition
As per RCW 42.17A on "campaign disclosure and contribution", the Washington state Public Disclosure Commission posts campaign information online, including information for referendums and initiatives. Statements for and against each ballot measure are also available online as part of the official online voter's guide. Many groups which might traditionally be expected to take a stance on the issue have been silent, including business, education, law-enforcement, and drug treatment organizations.
Support Early supporters of the measure included Dominic Holden of The Stranger. In September, the Washington State Democratic Central Committee endorsed I-502 by a vote of 75 in favor and 43 opposed. Eastern Washington's The Spokesman-Review endorsed I-502 from December 2011 as part of a broader call for legalization and federal reclassification of cannabis under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. Other supporters include a variety of current legislators, organizations, former judges, law enforcement personnel, prosecutors and elected officials such as Jolene Unsoeld. The mayor and entire city council of Seattle support I-502, as does the King County sheriff. Former narcotics deputy and candidate for King County sheriff John Urquhart, saying "the war on drugs has been an abject failure". Noting the disproportionate impact of marijuana arrests and incarceration on families and racial minorities, the Children's Alliance, NAACP and various African-American pastors have also endorsed I-502.
Early national support for the measure comes from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and television evangelist Pat Robertson. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) has also endorsed the measure, including prominent LEAP spokesman and former Seattle police chief Norm Stamper and other law enforcement officials. The initiative has also been endorsed by former governor of New Mexico, Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson, and cannabis-reform advocate Marc Emery.
The primary group supporting I-502 is New Approach Washington, which maintains an updated list of official endorsements on its website. In July 2012, major donations of financial support were given by the Drug Policy Alliance, Peter Lewis of Progressive Insurance and the American Civil Liberties Union. Although the Drug Policy Alliance opposed the measure's ban on home grow and drug testing requirement, the non-profit nonetheless financially backed the effort. Ethan Nadelmann, founder and Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance at the time, said in a 2015 speech:"It was a chance to pop a hole in prohibition nationally. And the situation presented itself: if I put up about a third of the money or so for Washington state, not withstanding my reservations, that would leverage Peter Lewis and the in-state donors and enable a campaign of five or six million dollars to win that thing. And what I said is 'Yes.' I'm going to put that money in there because...we could pop a hole in prohibition because that was going to resonate across the country, lay the ground work for California and other states and have an even international impact.". 25:30 - 25:55.Newspapers endorsing I-502 in the weeks immediately prior to the election include The Seattle Times, The Spokesman-Review, The Columbian, The Olympian, and The Wenatchee World.
Opposition
Public and formal opposition was not well organized and mostly came from advocates of medical cannabis, who objected to "Part V: Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana". A key spokesperson was Steve Sarich, whom an Esquire blog has called one of the "great marijuana prohibitionists of 2012." A Facebook group, Patients Against New Approach Washington (PANAW) began vocal opposition. A letter was sent to I-502 sponsors by Richard Bayer, MD; lawyers David Arganian and Jeffrey Steinborn; Gil Mobley, MD; Vivian McPeak, Executive Director of Seattle Hempfest; and Ric Smith, who has been a prominent patient advocate since 1996, arguing that I-502's DUIC language was unnecessary, unscientific, and unfair.Bayer, Richard MD.; Arganian, David; Steinborn Esq., Jeffrey; Mobley MD, Gil; Letter to I-502 Sponsors. September 23, 2011. Retrieved October 8, 2011 at: Dominic Holden, of The Stranger, disagreed with this criticism, citing the same 2009 study from the National Institutes of Health opponents to 502 had referenced. The board of directors for NORML acknowledged this criticism but opined that the law is a step in the right direction, even with the provision. At least one NORML blogger labelled them "patients against pragmatism". Some suppliers of medical marijuana are also worried that if the initiative becomes law their thriving businesses could be disrupted.