The 1998 Washington Hemp Voter’s Guide

by Robert Lunday

     On August 17, the Washington Hemp Education Network sent letters to every candidate running for State Legislature, State Supreme Court and U.S. Congress. The letter contained a survey of candidates’ positions on industrial hemp, medical marijuana and the adult personal use of marijuana. This is a preliminary release of the results. The complete results of the survey will be published in the 1998 Washington Hemp Voter’s Guide. 20,000 copies of the Voter’s Guide are scheduled to be available the second week in September. The guide will be distributed throughout the state using direct mail, drop point distribution and the Internet. In addition, a "Get out the Vote!" tour of the state is planned to further educate and activate Washington voters.

     The response to the survey has been much greater than expected. One hundred forty candidates responded, over 40% of all candidates polled. Much of that success can be attributed to the followup activities to the candidate letter which included email and phone surveys from the active volunteer base of the Washington Hemp Education Network.

     Each candidates was asked to answer the following question with a yes, no, or undecided answer.

• Do you support allowing Washington farmers to grow low-THC (non-psychoactive) hemp for industrial use?
• Do you support allowing the therapeutic use of medical marijuana?
• Do you support the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use by adults?

     Of the 140 candidates who responded, 13 declined to have their answers printed in the guide. Here is a summary of the remaining candidates who answered the survey.

     While it would be premature to draw any conclusions from the results, it does seem clear that candidates are able to make a distinction between industrial hemp, medical marijuana, and adult recreational use of marijuana.

     In addition to providing responses for each candidate, the Hemp Voter’s Guide is provided to encourage communication between the voter and the candidates that seek to represent them.

     This guide will contain contact information (phone, email and website where available) for all candidates and the guide will encourage voters to call candidates who have not yet responded to the survey and "conduct your own personal survey." The guide also contains voter information such as where to register to vote and how to identify legislative districts. It also includes an introduction to Cannabis Hemp and the Washington Hemp Education Network. The guide is pamphlet size at 8 1/2" high by 4" wide. Easily placed in a pocket or stuffed in a standard business envelope.

Background

     In 1996, the Washington Citizen’s for Hemp Reform, the producers of Seattle Hempfest, took a year off from producing the festival, and produced the first ever Washington Hemp Voter’s Guide. That guide provided valuable information for medical marijuana lobbying efforts and was the inspiration for the 1998 guide.

"Get out the Vote!" Road Trip

     The week before primaries, from September 5 through September 11, the guide will be distributed as a part of a "Get out the Vote!" effort. This trip will focus on voter registration and education as well as bringing like-minded people together for a slideshow presentation on various aspects of the movement. The impact of this road trip will be magnified many times due to the willingness of Jim Goettler and Vivian McPeak to make the tour. The combination of Jim and Vivian, as creators of the 1996 guide and producers of Seattle Hempfest, brings a wide range of contacts across the state. This dynamic team has the ability to both attract activists and speak intelligently to politicians and the media. This one week road trip has the potential to mold a large, yet disconnected movement into a solid political force.

Distribution

     In addition to distribution at drop points throughout the state, W.H.E.N. will be direct mailing the guide to as many supportive organizational lists as possible. The guide will look very mainstream in hopes of gathering support from as many organizations as possible. Initial support from the November Coalition and the Marijuana Policy Project looks promising. W.H.E.N. is seeking support from additional organizations who would be interested in distributing the guide to their organization.

contents