Washington Democrats Endorse Medical Marijuana Initiative
by Robert Lunday

June 06, 1998 - Hemp.Net News Reports

Yakima, WA - At the 1998 Washington State Democratic Convention held today in Yakima, Democrats approved a resolution to support Initiative 692, the Washington State Medical Marijuana Initiative. Over 650 delegates from around the state, gathered to vote on issues central to the Democratic Platform.

Included were resolutions to support I-692 and to refocus our drug war efforts on prevention and treatment. The two resolutions passed as follows:

"We support the narrowly focused Medical Marijuana Initiative, which would allow physicians to authorize, and qualified patients to use, marijuana medicinally for well-established medical conditions."

"We support redefining the war on drugs to include emphasis on prevention and treatment to demonstrate the importance of reducing demand rather than simply focusing all resources on supply."

It was clear the delegates at the convention supported a patient's right to use medical marijuana, even though party leadership remained silent on the issue. Justice Sanders, the dissenting voice in the Ralph Seeley medical marijuana case, made an appearance in his race to defend his Supreme Court seat. He was met with resounding applause when he proclaimed that Ralph Seeley and others like Ralph should have the right to use medical marijuana.

While party support was broad, the initiative resolution can be credited to the hard work of the Washington Hemp Education Network. WHEN Medical Coordinator, David Edwards M.D. placed a call to action in early April on hemp-talk@hemp.net, Hemp.Net's Washington Hemp activist e-mail list. Since that time, WHEN activists have coordinated their efforts, gaining support for the proposal at precinct and district levels, culminating in it's successful passage at the State Convention.

Washington Hemp Education Network members who were delegates to the Convention included Dr. David Edwards, Bob Owen, Eve Lentz, Tim Crowley, Magic Black-Ferguson, and Robert Lunday. Activist and Republican defector Ben Livingston also attended in support of the initiative.

For an update on Initiative 692, see Tim Killian's article in the June issue of Hemp Activist Times, available now online at http://www.hemp.net/hat.

For more information on the Washington Hemp Education Network, see http://www.olywa.net/when

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