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House Speaker "Open to Hearing About" Pot Decriminalization

News   November 25, 2009 at 11:50 am Jonah Spangenthal-Lee

This article is by Brian Slodysko, and was originally posted at SeattleCrime.com.

One of the key opponents to reforming Washington’s marijuana laws appears to be softening his stance on the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana. Maybe.

During a meeting of the 43rd District Democrats last week, House Speaker Frank Chopp (D-43) reportedly told those in attendance that he was open to the idea of  decriminalizing the possession of 40 grams or less of marijuana when the legislature convenes in January.

“He’s open to hearing about it,” said Melinda McCrady, communications director for the House Democratic caucus. “It is something that our members have started talking about.”

While Chopp’s commitment to decriminalization is still pretty fuzzy, it marks a significant change of course for the so-called shadow governor of Washington, who last year was rumored to be instrumental in killing a measure that would have enacted the same changes in the law that he now says he is open to. (Although pot wasn’t particularly popular in the House last year, a companion bill in the Senate fared much better, passing out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support.)

Chopp may simply be responding to a shift in the political wind.

“I think that, first of all, this is an issue where the Legislature is behind the electorate,” said Shankar Narayan, the legislative director for the ACLU of Washington. “I think the (votes) are certainly there in the Democratic caucus. No one is going to lose seats over this.”

Narayan says polling data shows more Washingtonians are for marijuana decriminalization than are against it.

Read the rest of this entry at SeattleCrime.com.


  • Keo

    OMG slippery slope! Soon our children will be snorting marijuana off of hooker’s tits! Oh the humanity!

  • Keo

    OMG slippery slope! Soon our children will be snorting marijuana off of hooker’s tits! Oh the humanity!

  • Meinert

    Anything short of full marijuana legalization and taxation just shows how out of touch the State Dem party is with the people of Washington.

    Legalization will save millions in court and jail costs, taxng it will raise billions more. Allowing it to be grown will start a lot of businesses and if hemp is also legalized then we’ll see job growth in the depressed agricultural sector. The time for decriminalization was 10 years ago. It’s now time for legalization and Chopp and the Dems need to get into this decade or risk getting thrown out of office by the voters who will support real progressives. “Considering” decriminalization. What a joke.

  • Meinert

    Anything short of full marijuana legalization and taxation just shows how out of touch the State Dem party is with the people of Washington.

    Legalization will save millions in court and jail costs, taxng it will raise billions more. Allowing it to be grown will start a lot of businesses and if hemp is also legalized then we’ll see job growth in the depressed agricultural sector. The time for decriminalization was 10 years ago. It’s now time for legalization and Chopp and the Dems need to get into this decade or risk getting thrown out of office by the voters who will support real progressives. “Considering” decriminalization. What a joke.

  • T. Chen

    Decriminalization of marijuana is a no-brainer. It says a lot about our sclerotic political system that it still seems like a bold and risky move to do so.

    Get the criminals out of the drug trade: legalize marijuana!

  • T. Chen

    Decriminalization of marijuana is a no-brainer. It says a lot about our sclerotic political system that it still seems like a bold and risky move to do so.

    Get the criminals out of the drug trade: legalize marijuana!

  • seattleartgal

    To #1 – funny…. unless you consider the cognitive ramifications to your teenager’s brain when they smoke pot with whatever the shit has in it and whatever strength it is. I’m all for de-criminalizing pot – selling it in liquor stores and making money off of it -
    But let’s be realistic – we first need a commitment to a lot more money being spent of education (re: alcohol and dope) and counseling/rehab so we don’t toast a generation (see Netherlands programs fro teens that work and lead to moderate use as adults)

  • seattleartgal

    To #1 – funny…. unless you consider the cognitive ramifications to your teenager’s brain when they smoke pot with whatever the shit has in it and whatever strength it is. I’m all for de-criminalizing pot – selling it in liquor stores and making money off of it -
    But let’s be realistic – we first need a commitment to a lot more money being spent of education (re: alcohol and dope) and counseling/rehab so we don’t toast a generation (see Netherlands programs fro teens that work and lead to moderate use as adults)

  • SEN

    Is it an accident that this article appears right before the post about Washington’s $2.something billion deficit?? We could eliminate a lot of municipal and state deficit if only the Feds would decriminalize pot and regulate (i.e. tax) its production, distribution and sale. I won’t go into all the other benefits of decrim (except to note by example that very few people get belligerent and start bar fights etc. when high on weed unlike the disinhibitory effects of our favorite gateway drug, alcohol).

    Maybe with pot-friendly Kerlikowski as Drug Czar we might actually see some trickle-down change. There’s certainly been enough policy analysis and political will displayed by WA/KC/Seattle law enforcement and law making agencies to provide some political cover…

  • SEN

    Is it an accident that this article appears right before the post about Washington’s $2.something billion deficit?? We could eliminate a lot of municipal and state deficit if only the Feds would decriminalize pot and regulate (i.e. tax) its production, distribution and sale. I won’t go into all the other benefits of decrim (except to note by example that very few people get belligerent and start bar fights etc. when high on weed unlike the disinhibitory effects of our favorite gateway drug, alcohol).

    Maybe with pot-friendly Kerlikowski as Drug Czar we might actually see some trickle-down change. There’s certainly been enough policy analysis and political will displayed by WA/KC/Seattle law enforcement and law making agencies to provide some political cover…

  • http://www.hearth-homes.org/ Karen

    Do you folks not know someone addicted to pot that has ruined families lives, not to mention their own? This has been known as, and is, a stepping stone to harder drugs. I know from personal experience. Just as I know the first time I used drugs, I was addicted because of biological and personality traits, home life, emotional toil, etc. I had no intention of ruining the next 30 years of my life. I had dreams of going to college, being a veterinarian, having a normal family. I don’t agree with medical marijuana either, but at least its regulated. You can see from that how difficult it will be to regulate, just see how easy it is for kids to get alcohol already. I saw unequivocally, NO!!!!!

  • http://www.hearth-homes.org Karen

    Do you folks not know someone addicted to pot that has ruined families lives, not to mention their own? This has been known as, and is, a stepping stone to harder drugs. I know from personal experience. Just as I know the first time I used drugs, I was addicted because of biological and personality traits, home life, emotional toil, etc. I had no intention of ruining the next 30 years of my life. I had dreams of going to college, being a veterinarian, having a normal family. I don’t agree with medical marijuana either, but at least its regulated. You can see from that how difficult it will be to regulate, just see how easy it is for kids to get alcohol already. I saw unequivocally, NO!!!!!