State Patrol breaks up rowdy Rick Steves led pro-pot rally
Oct 12, 2012, 2:10 PM | Updated: 5:33 pm
Supporters and opponents of a measure to legalize marijuana clashed briefly Friday at a rally at the state capitol in Olympia. (Image courtesy TVW)
(Image courtesy TVW)
A pro-pot rally in Olympia Friday afternoon ended up in angry shouting and shoving when opponents of Initiative 502 turned up.
TVW reports more than a dozen people tried to shout down travel-guru and legalization advocate Rick Steves while he was giving a presentation. State Patrol troopers removed at least two protesters from the meeting after the confrontation got physical.
In an interview with KIRO Radio’s Ron and Don Show, Steves says he was not surprised by the turn of events, which mirrored those used by opponents of a move to legalize pot in California back in 2010 seeking to protect their black market profits.
“Right now the marijuana business in our state is a huge cash crop. It’s the second biggest crop after apples in our state. Nearly all that money is going to gangs and criminals and so on.”
Steves, a co-sponsor of the measure, has launched a statewide tour to promote I-502. He says it’s not about promoting pot use, but taking the crime out of the equation for those adults that want to consume it.
“This is not a pro-marijuana initiative, it’s an anti-prohibition initiative. And the Children’s Alliance is supporting us and the NAACP is supporting us and law enforcement is supporting us,” he says.
While some opponents of the measure say it sets unfair DUI limits that could criminalize many medical marijuana users, Steves says the measure had to be crafted to be “palatable” to enough of the public to pass.
“We have to have strict DUI provisions. And we have to be very careful to keep it away from people under 21. And we have to take the money out of the black market and put it into our legal economy.”
Steves says a state budget analysis predicts legalized marijuana would generate approximately $500 million in new revenue for Washington annually. And he insists it will not promote increased use.
“The fundamental of the discussion for me is use will not go up if we legalize, tax and regulate marijuana,” Steves says. “Bottom line is every other society that has decriminalized marijuana has found that use is not related to how strict the laws are.”
Steves argues studies have found in Holland, for example, where marijuana is decriminalized, Dutch young people smoke half as much as those in the United States.
Josh Kerns/MyNorthwest.com reporter contributed to this report
