WA I-1068: "The marijuana initiative and the ACLU"

Bruce Ramsey (Seattle Times op-ed):

My view is that on a big issue like this, if an individual voter likes the gist of an initiative, he should support it. Tim Eyman told me once that all initiatives are lobbying, and clearly that is true here. Don’t fuss the details. A public vote is about the idea. All the nuances about the text being “poorly written” will be forgotten after election day; if the measure fails the people who oppose the idea will claim victory, and their claim will be believed.

If you like the idea, vote yes. (And, more important right now, sign the initiative petition.)

Especially if all that is missing is regulation. People in government will fix that. Regulation is what they do. What they’re not good at is embracing new ideas. And that’s why we have initiatives. MORE...