Transforming Washington's Budget

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  Effective Government »

  Legalizing Marijuana

  I have never ingested marijuana or any illicit drugs, but you could help the budget by legalizing a fairly benign substance in marijuana as i-1068 would have done. The polling data is fairly neutral regarding this topic in Washington state. Both state polls I have seen show legalization favored by slightly over 50% though. You would be doing this in two ways. 1.) Not having to waste money on law enforcement, judicial ...more »

  I have never ingested marijuana or any illicit drugs, but you could help the budget by legalizing a fairly benign substance in marijuana as i-1068 would have done. The polling data is fairly neutral regarding this topic in Washington state. Both state polls I have seen show legalization favored by slightly over 50% though.

  You would be doing this in two ways. 1.) Not having to waste money on law enforcement, judicial proceedings, and incarceration. 2.) Potentially collecting taxes from those that sell it. Another interesting way to go with that would be to treat it like alcohol by selling it in a regulated manner as they do in Amsterdam (despite it not being legal). Interestingly, use in Amsterdam is the lowest in Europe despite how easy it is to obtain. Why? Drug dealers do not check for I.D.

  I became interested in this topic ever since the state held a committee hearing in Olympia in January of this year. I have done the research and it has changed my mind from disagreeing with legalizing to thinking legalizing is probably the way to go.

  Thank you.

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  199 comments for Idea: Legalizing Marijuana

  Submitted by Guy B. Anonymous 2 years ago

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  Protect Health and Vulnerable People »

  Drug Test for State Payments.

  We all know that Welfare is necessary to keep those afloat that cannot do so on their own. It also seems to be a known fact that many that receive Welfare tend to spend some of the money they receive on illegal drug use. By requiring a drug test to receive a Welfare check, not only do you avoid paying "free" money to "criminals" but, in turn, it is likely that the amount of drug use will decrease by the effect of the ...more »

  We all know that Welfare is necessary to keep those afloat that cannot do so on their own. It also seems to be a known fact that many that receive Welfare tend to spend some of the money they receive on illegal drug use. By requiring a drug test to receive a Welfare check, not only do you avoid paying "free" money to "criminals" but, in turn, it is likely that the amount of drug use will decrease by the effect of the recipients not wanting to lose their benefits.

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  96 comments for Idea: Drug Test for State Payments.

  Submitted by Shane Morrison 2 years ago

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  Economic Development »

  More communtiy service/less jail time for nonviolent offenders.

  I suggest offenders of nonviolent and less serious crimes are given a choice of massive amounts of community service or a larger sentence/fines. The less people we have in jail means less tax money. The more people we have working on community projects means a healthier community. Basically it’s counterproductive to have someone just sit in a jail cell for selling pot, while they could be heavily engaged in helping ...more »

  I suggest offenders of nonviolent and less serious crimes are given a choice of massive amounts of community service or a larger sentence/fines. The less people we have in jail means less tax money. The more people we have working on community projects means a healthier community. Basically it’s counterproductive to have someone just sit in a jail cell for selling pot, while they could be heavily engaged in helping the community..

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  22 comments for Idea: More communtiy service/less jail time for nonviolent offenders.

  Submitted by steve 2 years ago

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  Protect Health and Vulnerable People »

  Canadian Prescriptions available to all

  Prescriptions drugs are more expensive here than in Canada. Why is this? We are bordering Canada after all. I believe the state should allow shipments of Canadian prescription drugs to be shipped to Washingtonians. To help the state budget shortfall we could put an extra tax on Canadian drugs so that they are more in line with U.S. prices (but please, not as high as that would defeat the purpose). You would be helping ...more »

  Prescriptions drugs are more expensive here than in Canada. Why is this? We are bordering Canada after all.

  I believe the state should allow shipments of Canadian prescription drugs to be shipped to Washingtonians. To help the state budget shortfall we could put an extra tax on Canadian drugs so that they are more in line with U.S. prices (but please, not as high as that would defeat the purpose).

  You would be helping the state and it's citizens in this case. An alternative to this is perhaps allowing stores in Washington to carry those Canadian prescriptions with said tax.

  It's an idea. I'm not sure how crazy I would be about it as I'm not confident the state would pull it off without jacking up prices too much.

  ---edit---

  The FDA regulates prescription drugs made in the U.S. Under federal law so it is illegal for anyone except the drug manufacturer to import prescription drugs into the U.S.

  So I would propose that Washington state inquire about changing federal law before proceeding with this idea. Draft up a bill to send to the senate/house

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  4 comments for Idea: Canadian Prescriptions available to all

  Submitted by Guy B. Anonymous 2 years ago

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  Protect Health and Vulnerable People »

  Recycle State supplied Prescription Drugs

  31 states currently recycle prescription drugs and save a ton of money. Any prescription drugs the state is supplying (old folks homes, welfare, inmates), are currently thrown away if the person moves, dies, is told to stop taking the prescription. 31 states now recycle any unused & unopened prescription drugs. Many list the drugs on a web site which pharmacys can order from and recieve the recycled drugs within 24 ...more »

  31 states currently recycle prescription drugs and save a ton of money. Any prescription drugs the state is supplying (old folks homes, welfare, inmates), are currently thrown away if the person moves, dies, is told to stop taking the prescription. 31 states now recycle any unused & unopened prescription drugs. Many list the drugs on a web site which pharmacys can order from and recieve the recycled drugs within 24 hours and supply folks on Low income or Welfare. Imagine the savings. Roy

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  3 comments for Idea: Recycle State supplied Prescription Drugs

  Submitted by roy harvey 2 years ago

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