'New Approach Washington' Launches Pro-Marijuana Legalization Ad In Evergreen State

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A Washington group supporting a state ballot effort to legalize and regulate marijuana rolled out an ambitious new ad campaign this week, seeking to put a spotlight on the initiative ahead of the November election.

New Approach Washington unveiled the $1 million buy on Monday, and the 30-second spot had its first run promoting ballot initiative 502, or I-502, on Tuesday morning. The commercial appears to be catering to suburban soccer mom-types who may not support or use marijuana themselves, but are open to the idea of legalizing, taxing and regulating sales of the substance.

“I don’t like it personally, but it’s time for a conversation about legalizing marijuana," the woman in the ad says. "It’s a multimillion dollar industry in Washington State and we get no benefit. What if we regulate it?”

She then goes on to run down a number of I-502s provisions, such as its licensing system, penalties and taxation issues.

Here's how New Approach Washington runs down the specifics of the initiative:

This law legalizes the possession of marijuana for adults age 21 and older. The only marijuana that would be legal to sell in this state would be grown by specially-licensed Washington farmers and sold in standalone, marijuana-only stores operated by private Washington businesses licensed and regulated by the state. There would be a 25% sales tax, with 40% of the new revenues going to the state general fund and local budgets, and the remainder dedicated to substance-abuse prevention, research, education and health care. Advertising would be restricted. A new marijuana DUI standard that operates like the alcohol DUI standard would be established.

A recent survey found broad levels of support for I-502, with 55 percent approving, 32 percent opposing, and 13 percent saying they were still undecided. A similar poll in January found lower levels of support, leading some to believe that the initiative is still gaining momentum heading toward November.

Medical marijuana is already legal in Washington, but advocates claim the measure could provide a $560 million annual windfall with new taxes on marijuana-related commerce.

Also on HuffPost:

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• Alaska

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanasise/6847095796/" target="_hplink">Flickr: alana sise</a>

• Arizona

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/billward/110338154/" target="_hplink">Flickr: Bill Ward's Brickpile</a>

• California

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gerbache/2260207829/" target="_hplink">Flickr: gerbache</a>

• Colorado

  Also legalized possession by non-medical users. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dok1/520845832/" target="_hplink">Flickr: dok1</a>

• Connecticut

  Legalized for medical use.

• District Of Columbia

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigberto/2770838680/" target="_hplink">Flickr: ~MVI~ (off to coron)</a>

• Delaware

  Legalized for medical use. Flickr: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougtone/7749689644/">Doug Kerr</a>

• Hawaii

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ricardo_mangual/6006230817/" target="_hplink">Flickr: Ricymar Fine Art Photography</a>

• Maine

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="www.flickr.com/photos/indywriter/2683524563/" target="_hplink">Flickr: indywriter</a>

• Massachusetts

  Passed ballot initiative for legalized medical marijuana in 2012.

• Michigan

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayoticblue/213316452/" target="_hplink">Flickr: ckay</a>

• Montana

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/csbarnhill/2633187564/" target="_hplink">Flickr: csbarnhill</a>

• Nevada

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/http2007/4699361533/" target="_hplink">Flickr: http2007</a>

• New Jersey

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulflannery/4021996652/" target="_hplink">Flickr: psflannery</a>

• New Mexico

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/everyskyline/3134662783/" target="_hplink">Flickr: michaelwhitney</a>

• Oregon

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/d-powell/2099638403/" target="_hplink">Flickr: digging90650</a>

• Rhode Island

  Legalized for medical use. Also decriminalized possession of less than one ounce.

• Vermont

  Legalized for medical use. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bryanalexander/6129117/" target="_hplink">Flickr: BryanAlexander</a>

• Washington

  Legalized for medical use. Also legalized possession by non-medical users. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rose_braverman/6924724331/sizes/l/in/photostream/" target="_hplink">Flickr: Rose Braverman</a>

Comments

[Zynart]

05:12 PM on 09/06/2012

How is pot even an issue to people? It's a plant, deal with it, tax i,t make money. Blah, blah, blah anybody with a half life would respect the wishes of a ton people saying that is effective way to treat their ailments. Go drink some lager, have a joint, whatever floats your damn boat. Have a wonderful day good day SIRS!

[Susie Bernsten]

01:35 AM on 08/24/2012

John Thomas and Super Ben Franklin.....loved the comments! Made my day!

[Susie Bernsten]

01:38 AM on 08/24/2012

Woops..sorry tired..John Novak!

[Abe1337]

12:35 AM on 08/21/2012

I really, really wish they would reference it as Cannabis. Good ad though.

[ozziebirons]

10:11 PM on 08/18/2012

History - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hand_%28extortion%29
"The Black Hand practice in the United States disappeared in the mid 1920s after a wave of negative public opinion led organized crime figures to seek more subtle methods of extortion."

Now think, what happened in 1920 in the US that provided something for the Black Hand to get involved in and make huge profits?

PROHIBITION

Name one thing that has come from any prohibition? By good, I do not mean good for bankers that launder drug money, arms manufacturers that profit by the sale of weapons to both sides in any war, private prisons that profit from keeping the US with the highest incarceration rate in the world.

By good, I mean for society - what good has prohibition ever done for society?

[mntnman69]

10:07 PM on 08/13/2012

Free The Weed!

[msnape]

01:12 AM on 08/11/2012

As a Seattleite, I could not be happier to see this on the ballot in November. It is a terrible waste of taxpayers' money and police effort to arrest and prosecute low-level marijuana use. This would not only stop that, but would bring in revenue for the state.

Tax and regulate. Vote yes on I-502. :)

[JohnThomas]

01:47 AM on 08/11/2012

Right, plus it corrects a monstrous injustice. More than 800,000 innocent Americans are arrested for simple marijuana possession each year and made PERMANENT second-class citizens. They will forever face huge obstacles to decent employment, education, housing, government benefits, and will always go into court with one strike against them. They can even have their CHILDREN taken away. 20 million Americans are now locked away in this very un-American sub-class. That has a horrible effect on the whole country, being an incredible waste of human potential.

Further, the fraudulent prohibition causes vast amounts of crime, corruption, violence, death and the severe diminishment of EVERYONE'S freedom. There is NO domestic issue more important than ending what is essentially the American Inquisition.

[Mimi110]

10:49 AM on 08/11/2012

This won't go over at all. It doesn't remove cannabis from the CSA, thereby leaving it an illegal Schedule I narcotic at the state level. All I-502 does is create a conflict in the law. Oh, and that DUI thing.

Please read it.

[JohnThomas]

10:22 PM on 08/11/2012

Of course a STATE initiative can't directly alter the FEDERAL scheduling. That's a wierd straw-man argument. However, it IS the fastest way to effect that change. The fraudulent marijuana prohibition is beginning to crumble. I-502, or any state re-legalization initiative, will push it over the edge.

Interesting denial you're committed to.

[Mimi110]

08:18 PM on 08/10/2012

I am a disabled nurse, with a background in home health case management. I don't own a business and I don't sell anything, but I am still a patient advocate. I have a terminal illness and likely won't live out the year, but I will fight this intiative until I die, because it will take away the legal driving privileges of people who are unimpaired. It will leave thousands of disabled people homebound, will cost the state millions in increased healthcare for those disabled, and some will die. That is what happens to newly homebound patients. Don't believe me? Ask a social worker. The state is not set up to handle this and the sponsors didn't plan for it. It's a social disaster. Vote NO.

[JohnThomas]

10:49 PM on 08/10/2012

Sorry, but you have let provocateurs scare you into a hysteria. There will be no increase in arrests of marijuana consumers that drive. In fact, this RE-LEGALIZATION of marijuana will remove the basis for ALL punishment of consumers - the bogus "illegality" and stigma. So there will be LESS such arrests.

Believe me, you would be VERY foolish to vote against I-502. It's passing will increase your security and legal status tremendously. It is the ONLY thing that will ever really free medical marijuana patients.

[John Novak]

01:07 AM on 08/13/2012

Oh yeah...and it's NOT legalization - it's decriminalization... and the OFM report agrees with this point;

"Portions of the initiative pertaining to driving under the influence of marijuana and the decriminalization of marijuana possession take effect Dec. 6, 2012. There is no date certain for implementation of the licensing and taxation portions of the initiative."

http://www.ofm.wa.gov/initiatives/2012/502_fiscal_impact.pdf

[JohnThomas]

12:41 AM on 08/11/2012

Voting no is very much the WRONG thing to do for any marijuana consumer and any American concerned with freedom. This will not increase marijuana driving arrests. It will DECREASE them, since they - and ALL fraudulent punishments of marijuana consumers - are all based on the fraudulent "illegality" and stigma of prohibition.

Passing I-502 is the QUICKEST way to end these persecutions.

Only provocateurs like you deceive it is otherwise.

[Mimi110]

01:11 AM on 08/11/2012

I-502 will fail because cannabis will still be illegal under the Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I drug.

With the feds shutting down dispensaries left and right, they will never allow this, especially since it doesn't legalize, it just creates a conflict in the law.

Once the feds are done with it (and there is a clause that supports "federal cooperation") all that will be left is the DUI portion.

Peter Lewis, who is the major funder of this, is also the owner of Progressive Insurance, which is the exclusive provider of high-risk insurance for drivers in the state.

Guess who stands to make a bundle off this?

[Mimi110]

08:07 PM on 08/10/2012

(continued)
Cities and counties will see a better boon to their coffers than red light cameras ever were, as DUI's not only rack up fines and court fees, but probation fees for two years or more.

Science has shown that 5ng thc does NOT equal impairment, and every study New Approach Washington cites to justify that number, clearly states that it is not a valid measurement of impairment from cannabis. While we demand the feds to reschedule, we must also realize that any new laws also need to be based on real science.

502 would convict innocent patients of crimes they did not commit, will take away their legal driving privileges, leaving many of them homebound. All too often, the health of the newly homebound fails quickly, and some die. We have no resources in the state to take care of all these "newly homebound".

Many activists contacted New Approach Washington before the petition was made public, and begged them to reconsider, citing the severe hardship this would cause to many very disabled cannabis patients. We were told "You are the sacrifice to get this on the ballot and get it passed," and it was explained that it would increase polling by 11%.

Add to that the conflict it creates in the state law, which will cancel out the "legalization" portion, and all you have left is a fake DUI law that convicts innocent patients and make some insurance guy rich.

Do the right thing. Vote NO on I-502.

[JohnThomas]

10:51 PM on 08/10/2012

Very wrong. See above.

[Mimi110]

01:12 AM on 08/11/2012

It's all truth. I am a disabled nurse who worked in home health for years. I do not own a business and I sell nothing. I have no reason to lie. I am terminal and a cannabis patient, and I care about what happens to other patients.

[JohnThomas]

12:39 AM on 08/11/2012

Marijuana OTC

[Mimi110]

07:59 PM on 08/10/2012

I-502 is NOT legalization. It leaves cannabis on the state Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I narcotic. This, along with a "federal cooperation" clause, means that cannabis will remain illegal in the state. The feds would shut it down before it ever happened and there would not even be a court case.

What will be left is a 5ng thc DUI limit that is based on arbitrary and unscientific information, with a "per se" indefensible rule guaranteed to prosecute every cannabis patient who is pulled over by police.

Follow the money. I-502 is primarily funded by Peter Lewis, of Progressive Insurance, who is the SOLE provider of high-risk auto insurance for the state. Guess who stands to make a bundle if 502 passes?

I-502 is a corporate scam, set up to put in place DUI's that would convict innocent people of crimes they did not commit, and Peter Lewis's company will then be able to charge them lots of money if they want to drive again.

[JohnThomas]

10:57 PM on 08/10/2012

You are clearly another provocateur. I-502 is a STATE initiative. How in the world would you expect it to alter the FEDERAL Controlled Substances Act?

Actually, I-502, and any re-legalization initiative, is the ONLY thing that will abolish the fraudulent CSA. This moves us 90 percent down the road to the ideal marijuana policy.

The first initiative of this kind sounds the death knoll of the monstrously destructive, fraudulent marijuana prohibition.

Shame on you for working to keep 20 million Americans in PERMANENT second-class citizenship.

[Mimi110]

01:13 AM on 08/11/2012

Cannabis remains illegal under the state Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I narcotic. I-502 does not change that, so cannabis will remain illegal. Truth. Look it up. Need the link? I know you have it John.

[Phil DeBowl]

11:48 AM on 08/11/2012

Gov. Gregoire has petitioned the feds to reschedule cannabis,if the voters in this state pass 502 she could very easily ask our state officials to reschedule it at the state level. I believe that the 5 ng limit can be defeated in court and by voting yes on 502 we can have that day in court.

[David Hoschouer]

09:30 AM on 08/10/2012

IT'S ALL A LITTLE CONFUSING... WE WILL BE FOLLOWING THIS MORE ON THE ARIZONA MEDICAL MARIJUANA GUIDE. www.arizonamedicalmarijuanaguide.com

[John Novak]

07:39 AM on 08/09/2012

The age group that has the highest rate of arrests for possession in Washington State: Age 15-19

Not only will the biggest age group still be arrested for possession under 502 if passed, but they will also get a higher rate of DUIDs since there is automatic guilt for even trace amounts for minors!

I-502 clearly prioritizes the arrest and incarceration of our children.

http://www.drugscience.org/States/WA/WA.pdf

[Phil DeBowl]

09:58 AM on 08/09/2012

Supporting underage drug use now are you John?

[Yossarian22]

03:13 PM on 08/09/2012

There's a difference between supporting teen drug use and not wanting to have kids burdened with a life-long criminal record(which can also lead to an eviction from public housing and disqualify the teen from college financial aid) for a stupid, youthful error.

[John Novak]

04:57 PM on 08/09/2012

That's the best argument you could come up with? Lame!

[JohnThomas]

03:42 PM on 08/09/2012

You are dedicated to making wholly unsupported claims against I-502. Youth will not be arrested more. Ending marijuana prohibition means ALL law enforcement will be de-emphasizing marijuana arrests - over the whole spectrum.

Again, there will also be less "impairment" cases of arrest and prosecution. You simply don't want to acknowledge the new paradigm that will exist with the end of marijuana prohibition.

The only thing that can be motivating such desperation is your wallet. Shame on you. Millions of marijuana consumers must continue to be persecuted to satisfy your greed. Disgusting.

[John Novak]

04:53 PM on 08/09/2012

Hahaha! You are living in a fantasy world, JohnThomas!

Here's what John McKay said about it, and he's a key spokesperson for it...

"...we should give serious consideration to heavy regulation and taxation of the marijuana industry (an industry that is very real and dangerously underground). We should limit pot's content of the active ingredient THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), regulate its sale to adults who are dumb enough to want it and maintain criminal penalties for sales, possession or use by minors, drivers and boaters."

As my law-enforcement colleagues know well from chasing bootleggers and mobsters, this new regulatory and criminal approach will still require many years of intensive investigation and enforcement before organized criminal elements are driven from the vast marijuana market. DEA and its law-enforcement partners must therefore remain well equipped and staffed to accomplish this task: to protect our families from truly dangerous drugs and to drive drug cartels, gangs and dope dealers from our society."

Hmm...doesn't sound like the cops got YOUR interpretation of 502.

[John Novak]

06:59 PM on 08/09/2012

"The only thing that can be motivating such desperation is your wallet. Shame on you. Millions of marijuana consumers must continue to be persecuted to satisfy your greed. Disgusting."

That just shows you how closed minded you currently are. I want you to be able to
GROW YOUR OWN plants for whatever reason YOU choose.

I-502 is a new regulatory and criminal approach to cannabis. Stop feeding the beast! Cannabis use is not criminal! Growing a seed and consuming the plant is not a crime!

[polemikos]

11:33 PM on 08/08/2012

Protect the status quo, because that's all drug law apologists have going for their oppressive government tyranny.

[SuperBenFranklin]

03:53 PM on 08/08/2012

A soccer mom who wants pot stores in her town? Hillarious.

This ad is so silly it is almost a parody of itself.

What's next? A banker telling us he wants more regulation? An oil company executive touting solar energy? A casino executive telling people not to gamble?

If there is one thing "soccer moms" do not want, is more companies selling more drugs in their town legally marketing to find new customers, their kids.

Pathetic what the the pro-pot drug lobby is stooping to for votes.

[JohnThomas]

04:17 PM on 08/08/2012

Wow. Desperation makes people say crazy things. Even soccer moms can see marijuana cannot be regulated until it is legal. It is the fraudulent prohibition that PUTS marijuana into childrens' hands - in their schools, parks and playgrounds. Legal, licensed vendors won't sell to minors.

Gaia save us from greedy growers!

[Mimi110]

01:18 AM on 08/11/2012

A few facts about I-502:

It does NOT remove cannabis from the state's Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I narcotic, thereby creating a conflict in the law and leaving cannabis illegal by state law.

It contains a "federal cooperation" clause that says we have to do whatever the feds say. With all the dispensaries being shut down, what's your guess?

What will be left is the DUI clause, which will convict innocent people of driving impaired. The studies clearly state that the levels I-502 sets are NOT valid for measuring impairment.

And Peter Lewis, I-502's biggest contributor? Well he owns Progressive Insurance, which is the exclusive provider of high-risk auto insurance in the state. Follow the money and guess who stands to make a boon?

[MalcolmKyle]

04:26 PM on 08/08/2012

Some simple facts for you to continue to ignore:

* Prohibition has been a slow but relentless degradation (death by a zillion cuts) of all our cherished national institutions, that will leave us crippled for numerous generations.

* The US federal government is now the most dangerous and corrupt corporation on the planet.

* In 1989, 'The Kerry Committee' found that the United States Department of State had made payments to drug traffickers. Concluding, that even members of the U.S. State Department, themselves, were involved in drug trafficking. Some of the payments were made even after the traffickers had been indicted by federal law enforcement agencies - or even while these traffickers were under active investigation by these same agencies.

* Colombia, Peru, Mexico or Afghanistan with their coca leaves, marijuana buds or poppy sap are not igniting temptation in the minds of our weak, innocent citizens. These countries are duly responding to the enormous demand that comes from within our own borders. Invading or destroying these countries, thus creating more hate, violence, instability, injustice and corruption, will not fix our problem.

* A rather large majority of people will always feel the need to use drugs such as heroin, opium, nicotine, amphetamines, alcohol, sugar, or caffeine.

* The massive majority of adults who use drugs do so recreationally—getting high at the weekend then up for work on a Monday morning.

[Neither Party]

04:29 PM on 08/09/2012

Drug legalization plan:

1. Legalize all drugs and tax them.
2. Gather billions in tax revenue.
3. Use some of the tax revenue to educate children against drugs.
4. Free the millions of people in US prisons for non violent drug crimes.
5. Create infrastructure jobs for these ex cons, and pay for it by not paying their incarceration costs plus the tax revenue.

[fumes]

02:54 PM on 08/08/2012

the problem is it's free..

the for-profit types just hate that LOL

[Customex]

07:58 AM on 08/08/2012

I haven't heard of a way to accurately measure marijuana DUI. The residual presence in the bloodstream lasts much longer(weeks) than the high and doesn't have a direct correlation to impairment that can be standardized to all people. Any and every semi-regular smoker will fail the test whether they are high or not.

[Phil DeBowl]

11:37 AM on 08/08/2012

Depends on what they are testing for and how you ingest the herb. I anticipate there will be a challenge to the duid per se laws,as there is NO science that will support them.

[JohnThomas]

02:28 PM on 08/08/2012

This is simply not true. Unless a consumer is smoking all day, every day, they will only be over the 5ng/mL limit for a couple of hours after consuming. 99 percent of consumers will have no problem doing their errands and visits FIRST before consuming.

Further, ALL "punishments" of marijuana-related activities are almost wholly based on the "illegality" and stigma fraudulently placed on marijuana use. This includes the driving restrictions. After re-legalization, there will be fewer arrests and even fewer prosecuctions of people who are only "statutorily" impaired. They will be thrown out of court, and the baseless law will wither away.

[Phil DeBowl]

04:39 PM on 08/08/2012

John thomas, I believe if you eat MJ edibles or canna butter there is a delayed reaction time ,the effects take longer to be noticed and lasts longer than smoking. I don't see how the 5ng/ml per se can stand up to a court challenge.

[Customex]

05:55 PM on 08/08/2012

John, I'm sorry to disagree with you but I have seen enough personal data  across enough of a range of individuals over enough of a period of time to stand by my assertion as representative of the real world. The only test that is truly indicative is one that measures a THC/Creatinine ratio and it can not discern the difference between recent and use that may have occurred days or weeks earlier. Blood tests will show recent use but will not indicate use that has occurred more than two weeks prior but even so neither test truly correlates a standardized quantity to degrees of impairment that will be truly representative of the population it's supposed to regulate. Regular smokers can test high while not impaired and infrequent users can be impaired and provide a low test. Furthermore, attempts to quantify impairment as it relates to THC totally ignores real effects associated with prescription use of opiates, barbiturates, stimulants and other psychoactive drugs. There is not a BAC equivalent to THC. I don't advocate impaired driving. I correspondingly don't support a law that is introduced and passed for appearances but that does not meet the intent of it's stated objective.