Washington State Initiative Measure No. 502 (I-502) would 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 would remove 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.

Key Features of Initiative Measure No. 502

Initiative Measure No. 502 will replace Washington’s ineffective and unjust marijuana laws with a regulated public health approach that will redirect law enforcement resources to more pressing priorities, generate new tax revenues for critical social services, and take marijuana out of the hands of violent drug cartels.

• Distribution to adults 21 and over through marijuana-only stores that are licensed and regulated through the state Liquor Control Board
• Production and processing of marijuana also licensed and regulated by the LCB, and restricted to Washington businesses
• Tight advertising restrictions
• Estimated $215 million in new excise, B&O, and retail sales tax each year¹, with roughly $80 million going to state general fund and $135 million earmarked:
  • Evidence-based prevention strategies targeting youth, chosen in consultation with UW Social Development Research Group²
  • Dedicated funding stream for Healthy Youth Survey³
  • Washington's Building Bridges program for at-risk youth⁴
  • Science-based public education materials regarding health risks of marijuana use hosted by UW Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute⁵
  • Research by UW and WSU into the short- and long-term effects of marijuana use, including driving impairment
  • Dedicated marijuana Quitline analogous to tobacco Quitline operated by state Department of Health⁶
  • Additional marijuana-related public health educational programs administered by Department of Health at the state and local level
  • Biennial evaluation of impacts of law by Washington State Institute for Public Policy⁷
  • Washington's Basic Health Plan
  • Community health centers
• New marijuana DUI threshold of 5 ng/mL THC blood concentration⁸

¹ See Fiscal Note for HB 1550 (2011) 
² http://www.sdrg.org/
³ http://www.hys.wa.gov/
⁴ Chapter 28A.175 RCW
⁵ http://depts.Washington.edu/adai/
⁶ http://www.quitline.com/
⁷ http://www.wsipp.wa.gov/
⁸ See http://newapproachwa.ngphost.com/content/faq for more information.