Frequently asked questions about Gathering Signatures
Question: Why does Initiative 663 call it "intoxicating hemp" rather than marijuana?
Answer (quoted from Gerald M. Sutliff):
"The term marijuana was picked up and used in the 1930s by the Hearst newspapers and unemployed prohibition agents. Until then, hemp enjoyed a good reputation as a useful, even vital, American agriculture product."
"The deliberate mixing of the two terms served to confuse the issue among Congress members. Some admitted after the Marijuana Tax Act was passed that they did not know they were voting to ban hemp."
Question: If we "legalize" marijuana, will we be sending the wrong message to our children?
Answer (by Tom Rohan): By being hysterical about marijuana we are sending the wrong message. Kids believe what they see more than what they hear. When they hear from adults that "marijuana kills" or "marijuana will make you crazy", but then they see their peers who smoke and don't die and aren't crazy they stop believing anything adults tell them about drugs. They can't trust what we say and we totally lose credibility. With marijuana "regulation", instead of "prohibition", the atmosphere of hysteria would be dispelled and we can begin to earn back the trust and respect of our children so they will listen to us when we caution them about legitimate concerns about drug use like about not driving while intoxicated and the health risks of excessive use. Moderation is better. Prohibition is a hysterical, extremist position.
Question: If you legalize marijuana why not just legalize all drugs?
Answer (by Tom Rohan): People always try to lump all of the currently prohibited drugs together. But that would be the same as lumping together all of the currently regulated drugs. Do we treat coffee the same way we treat whiskey? Marijuana is as different from cocaine as tea is from Vodka. We are talking about marijuana here: a valuable medicine, a valuable industrial commodity, and a mild intoxicant.
Question: Will the legalization of "intoxicating hemp" encourage people to drive while they're high on marijuana?
Answer (by Tom Rohan): Of course we don't want people driving while they're high on marijuana, just like we don't want people driving while drunk on beer. But I also wouldn't want the police to bust down your door, throw you and your family to the floor at gunpoint, seize your home and possessions, and throw you in jail just because you had a case of Miller Light in your refrigerator!
Question: Is there really any proof that marijuana is a medicine?
Answer (by Tom Rohan): At the time marijuana was made illegal in 1937 there were at least 28 different medicines that used marijuana as their active ingredient. The American Medical Association sent a representative to Congress to try to stop them from making marijuana illegal for that reason. Marijuana is the only treatment for some forms of glaucoma and is the only effective anti-nauseant drug that works for many cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy which is why many doctors who treat cancer patients recommend to their patients to try to get marijuana, even though it is illegal, to help them stay alive during their treatment. This has probably been the single most embarrassing fact the government has had to deal with. Even though they continue to deny its medicinal value publicly they have frantically, but unsuccessfully, tried to develop a more politically acceptable drug to take the place of marijuana in these treatments. But to this day they have failed. Even their attempt at developing a "marijuana pill" (called Marinol or dronabinol) resulted in failure.
Question: Can you sign the petition in red ink?
Answer: According to the Secretary of State's office the ink color does not matter at all. As long as they can read the entry it is fine.
Question: If someone abbreviates their city instead of filling it out in its entirety is the signature invalid?
Answer: According to the Secretary of State's office as long as they can find a person's name in their Voter's register and as long as their signature is their own signature then it counts on the petition. Now, lets not use that as an excuse to be sloppy and not get people's addresses. But you don't have to freak out if someone writes "PT" instead of spelling out "Port Townsend".
Question: If you have an invalid signature on a petition, does it invalidate the entire petition?
Answer: No it does not. If there is a bad signature on a petition then only that signature is invalid. The rest of the signatures on that petition are still good.