Students of Pierce tell about their opinions on the recent legalization of marijuana in Washington

Katelyn Hummel
Staff Writer 

The legalization of marijuana has brought out vastly opposing views from the people of Washington and, more locally, the students at Pierce.

The passing of Initiative 502 legalized the production, possession, delivery and distribution of marijuana for recreational use in the state of Washington. Similar to the laws regarding alcohol, users must be over the age of 21 and can be penalized under similar DUI laws.  The possession of marijuana is legal up to one ounce (28.2 grams)

The vote to legalize marijuana won 55% to 45%, emphasizing a close split. Students at Pierce seemed just as divided as their opinions ranged from some students adamantly stating their belief that the world was running to heck, while others had nothing else to say but “F*** yes!” to the legalization.

Some views are that the taxation of weed will boost the economy, while others view the legalization as a potentially harmful situation for users and non-users in their close-proximity.

However, some students like Phil Becker swayed more in the middle, with ideas of pros and cons in their logic.

“Well I voted for [the legalization of marijuana] and still have mixed feelings on it,” said Becker, “but its kind of like prohibition in a sense. I don’t personally do it, but there are good causes for it and there’s bad causes for it, but if its another source of income for our local governments, then hopefully that money can be put to good use for things like schools.”

Although a majority voted for the passing of initiative 502, some feel that the voters were ill educated.

“I think there wasn’t enough education on the initiative itself, although I agree with it,” said student Ricky Luther. “I feel people just thought that it would mean that they could grow it in their back yard and smoke it any time they want without any penalties.”

Becker explained that the issue of marijuana is a “double-edged sword” no matter how it’s looked at because the Federal Government does not want the legalization of marijuana to ensue.

“Now we are going to have a state and local battle with it, so it’s going to take a while for it to actually come into effect and for the legalization to actually be finalized,” said Becker.

One hope that many had for the legalization of marijuana was that it would illuminate some of the crime and illegal trafficking of the drug. Although marijuana grow farms and food processors can be licensed by the Washington State Liquor Control Board for legal growth and distribution, many believe that the new law will not influence people to follow the law.

Many believe that, due to the tax, people who already smoked weed illegally for free or cheap will continue to do so to evade the tax. Dara Anderson, student, stated that she believed it would be about the same amount of illegal trafficking, if not more so.

“I think its going to make people buy and sell it illegally more now because people wont just say ‘Oh, I’ll just get my license and grow it legally and pay a tax for it,’” said Luther.

“If [the government] hasn’t regulated it up to this point,” said Becker, “they’re not going to really start. Now its just easier for [marijuana users] to grow it.”

Some are not really against it but they still fear repercussions similar to that of drunk driving. Theron Nelson, student, stated very adamantly that the smoking of marijuana should be under the same restrictions as alcohol. Luther agreed, saying that marijuana should be treated exactly like alcohol, “including the DUI portion.”