Olympia, WA: State lawmakers heard testimony on Wednesday in support of taxing and regulating the commercial production and distribution of marijuana for adults.
Members of the House Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness heard arguments in favor of House Bill 2401, which seeks to “remove all existing civil and criminal penalties for adults 21 years of age or older who cultivate, possess, transport, sell, or use marijuana.” The hearing marked the first time that state lawmakers had ever debated the merits of regulating the use and sale of cannabis.
Lawmakers at the hearing also heard testimony in favor of HB 1177, which seeks to reduce the penalties on minor marijuana possession offenses from a criminal misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $500 fine to a monetary penalty of no more than $100.
The Committee is scheduled to vote on both measures on Wednesday, January 20, 2010.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. To read NORML’s testimony in support of HB 2401 and HB 1177, please visit: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=8079. For additional information on these proposed measures, please see: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/.