The Washington State Democratic Party adopted a resolution at last week’s state convention calling for the complete legalization of marijuana.
“If you really want to get people fired up, it’s better to give them freedom to put in the things they care about,” said Paul Berendt, state Democratic Party Chairman.
The election platform calls for marijuana to be sold in cafes, bars and state liquor stores for adults over 21 years of age. The sales would be taxed and “spent in the fulfillment of health and human needs.” The party also supports an individual’s right to possess no more than two marijuana plants and one ounce of marijuana for personal use.
Another platform plank calls for the end of drug testing in the workplace unless the job is safety sensitive.
The marijuana related planks of the platform were introduced by Timothy Crowley of the Washington Hemp Education Network.
“Washington state has long been a progressive environment and we are happy to see the state Democratic Party adopt this into their platform,” said Dominic Holden, Director of Washington NORML. “This issue has been on the minds of the general population in our state and there has been a lot of grass roots activity. It’s appropriate that the Democratic Party would adopt a stance for decriminalizing marijuana after hearing the voices of the voters in 1998’s overwhelming medical marijuana victory.”
For more information, please contact Dominic Holden at (206) 522 0846; the Washington State Democratic Party at (206) 583-0664; or Timothy Crowley at (206) 442-9404.
