DORI MONSON

Dori: E-cigarettes, sports betting bad, but heroin death dens ok

Jun 28, 2019, 2:05 PM | Updated: Jun 30, 2019, 8:07 am

e-cigarettes...

A ban on e-cigarettes could be coming to Seattle. (AP)

(AP)

Seattle is considering following San Francisco and becoming one of the first U.S. cities to ban sales of e-cigarettes.

San Francisco banned e-cigarettes on Tuesday, and Jenny Durkan has said that it’s time to discuss a similar move in Seattle.

What makes this so bizarre? Jenny Durkan supports heroin death sites in Seattle and King County. She supports the government spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up heroin dens where addicts can go inject poison into their veins under the watchful eye of local government.

So she wants to set up a formal heroin injection location, but ban e-cigarettes. Does that make any sense to you?

There is nothing ‘safe’ about injection sites

I’ll give you another example of the hypocrisy of our region. Last year, the Supreme Court said that states can engage in sports gambling. It was previously only legal in Nevada, for the most part. Did you know that last month, New Jersey did more business in sports betting than Nevada?

There are around 20 states that have legalized or are in the process of legalizing sports betting. Is Washington among them? No — Washington isn’t even considering it. No one in the Legislature is even proposing it.

Why not? It’s a voluntary tax. And it’s not like we’re prudes when it comes to gambling. The tribal casinos do very well for themselves. We’ve got horse racing, we’ve got Bingo. The Washington State Lottery runs the biggest rip-off gambling game there is. We’ve got all kinds of gambling. But the one we will not tolerate is sports gambling.

We’ve legalized personal possession amounts of hard drugs, effectively, in King County. Yet if you want to place a $10 bet against the Mariners — or on the Mariners, if you don’t need the $10 — that is a felony. That is because the gambling interests that are already entrenched in our state don’t want the competition.

This is a vast pot of available revenue for our state. Right now, there are a lot of people who gamble on sports — they just do it on offshore accounts. All that money flows out of the state. Washington could make a fortune, and the best part is, it’s a voluntary tax. If you don’t want to be taxed for sports betting, don’t make a sports bet.

We remain one of the most bizarre states in the union. Small amounts of heroin are acceptable, but e-cigarettes are not. Small amounts of meth are fine, but sports betting is not. If you can make any sense of that, please let me know, because I’m having trouble making sense of how ridiculously liberal we are when it comes to drugs, and how regressive we are when it comes to things like sports gambling.

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Dori Monson Show

Dori Monson

Dori Monson stage show...

MyNorthwest Staff

Watch: Dori Monson’s ‘What are the Odds?’ stage show

In 2019, Dori Monson hosted a stage show - 'What are the Odds?' - which introduced you to the people who helped shape his improbable career.

1 year ago

Dori Monson welcomes the Moose back to KIRO. Follow @http://twitter.com/Mynorthwest...

MyNorthwest Staff

A collection of the all-time best Dori Monson stories

With the passing of Dori Monson, a collection of some of his top stories to remember all the hard work Dori brought to Seattle.

1 year ago

Alaska, fishing...

KIRO Newsradio staff

Listen: Friends, colleagues offer tribute to KIRO Newsradio’s Dori Monson

All day Monday, KIRO Newsradio's John Curley talked to friends, news makers, and more in tribute to Dori Monson.

1 year ago

Dori Monson Shorecrest...

Dori Monson Show

How to support charities reflecting Dori Monson’s values, passions

In tribute to Dori Monson, learn more about how you can support these three charities which best reflect his values, passions, and advocacy.

1 year ago

From left, Producer Nicole Thompson and KIRO host Dori Monson. (Courtesy of the Monson family)...

MyNorthwest Staff

Broadcasters, politicians, coworkers and friends remember Dori Monson

Dori Monson, a longtime KIRO Newsradio host, passed away Saturday. He is remembered by public figures, broadcasters, coworkers, and listeners.

1 year ago

Dori Monson...

MyNorthwest Staff

Longtime KIRO Newsradio host Dori Monson dies at age 61

We are deeply saddened to announce Dori Monson's sudden passing on Saturday, December 31, 2022, at a Seattle hospital.

1 year ago

Dori: E-cigarettes, sports betting bad, but heroin death dens ok