Marijuana

I’ll always remember 2012 as the year I jumped into the political trenches and helped our state legalize marijuana (by passing Initiative 502 in November). It was a fascinating story that caught the nation’s attention. While in Washington DC for the inauguration last month, my senator got me into a high-society party to proudly introduce me to other senators as a key player in our state’s legislative triumph.

But just a few months ago, legalization was far from a sure thing. All along the road, two scrappy documentary filmmakers were there with their cameras rolling. Riley Morton and Nils Cowan sensed history in the making and committed months of hard work to producing Evergreen, a one-hour documentary telling the story of how marijuana became legal in Washington State (the Evergreen State, by the way). If we lost the election, their work would have been wasted. But we won, and they alone were there from the start to show how it happened. (And it wasn’t a smooth ride!)

They have an impressive trailer (see below) and are now in the final stretch of their mission. But film production is expensive, and they need to raise $36,000 to make it happen. Watch their trailer for a sense of the film. And, if so inspired, I’d encourage you to visit their press release and help them out.

Among drug policy reformers, the entire country (and even Europe) is looking at Washington State and Colorado for a smart example on moving forward out of our war on pot. And this movie will help… but only if Riley and Nils can complete it. Thanks.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

George Washington said that America’s most important challenge and accomplishment was “not the election of the first president, but the election of its second president.” The peaceful transfer or extension of power is a blessing. Last weekend, I traveled across our country — from our first president’s namesake state to his namesake city — to celebrate it.

With about a million gathered for Obama’s second inauguration, this could be considered a front-row seat.

The inauguration festivities were a thrill. While expensive, exhausting, and time-consuming, the journey was worth it. My son once told me it was worth two days of travel just to see Lance Armstrong speed by on an alpine stretch of the Tour de France. The same was true for us to be on Pennsylvania Avenue to watch our President and First Lady get out of their armored limo and walk hand-in-hand, waving at so many enthralled Americans… including my partner Trish and me.

We waited an hour for security at our parade bleachers, and this sight made it worth the shivers. (All photos by Trish Feaster; for more, see www.thetravelphile.com)

We dressed up and attended what must be the biggest ball ever thrown. The DC convention center opened up all its collapsible walls, and more than two football fields of floor space was absolutely jammed. We muscled our way close to the pastel patriotic stage to hear John Legend, the cast of Glee, Stevie Wonder, and Soundgarden — and to watch the second couple, Joe and Jill Biden, dance to a Jamie Foxx serenade. (The line was so long, we missed the President and First Lady.)

This shows only about a third of the floor at the Inauguration Ball. Don’t lose your partner.

But for us, the highlights were the smaller events. Being a good partisan and a co-sponsor of our winning bill to legalize marijuana in my state gave me VIP status for the weekend. My senator, Maria Cantwell, took me as her guest to a big-ticket fundraiser at the mansion of a former ambassador. She introduced me to seven senators as “the man behind Washington State’s drug policy reform law.” I met Senators Tom Harkin (Iowa), Jon Tester (Montana), Bob Casey (Pennsylvania), Bernie Sanders (Vermont), and even Chuck Schumer (New York).

Thrilled to meet Senator Schumer, I held out my hand, and before I could say, “I’m a fan,” he said, “I love your guidebooks. We just traveled with you through Italy and had a marvelous trip.” I gave him my card, and the next day I got a call from him sharing a tip on a good restaurant in Florence. Later, along with the rest of America, I watched him introduce President Obama at the inauguration. A staffer told me, “Washington is my Hollywood.” I felt the same way.

I also went to the new Bread for the World offices and huddled with 40 or so religious leaders in the USA. Jim Wallis (of Sojourners magazine), David Beckmann (president of Bread for the World), Reverend Mark Hanson (the Presiding Bishop of my Lutheran Church) were all there, along with Gene Sperling (Obama’s principal economic advisor). We discussed the “circle of protection” we are advocating to spare our nation’s most vulnerable citizens from cuts in the federal budget. Great public servants took turns talking about how we must find “common ground for the common good” and how, “in these times, protecting gains for the hungry has the same value as winning those gains in the first place.” To be with a room full of committed leaders passionate about our fiscal soul, rather than afraid of our fiscal cliff, was an inspiration.

Inaugurations bring lots of people together. Lutherans don’t have a Pope, but we have a Presiding Bishop, Reverend Mark Hanson.

Mr. Sperling congratulated Bread for the World and Sojourners as the only voices for the voiceless in the lobbyist-infested world of Congress. He noted how, because of their hard and effective work, even after several trillion dollars of necessary cuts to government programs, the “circle of protection” they declared around our country’s poorest citizens has survived so far essentially unscathed.

Flying home on Alaska’s wonderful direct five-hour flight from DC to Seattle, the newly elected governor of Washington State, Jay Inslee, was asleep in seat 21A behind me. Thinking he’s likely tired after his meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder to discuss how the Department of Justice will respond to our marijuana law, I’m thankful I live in a nation where engaged citizens can actually take part in their government. And I’m thankful we have a government that is filled with real people who, as far as I can tell, work hard for us and really care.

It’s my hope, perhaps helped by a little inspiration that comes from considering the amazing story of our nation, that together we can indeed find common ground for the common good.

Drug law reform advocates worked very hard over the last year, won the election, and today marijuana is legal in two states: Washington and Colorado. As the new law (Initiative 502) kicks in today in my state, I was wondering how to celebrate. While many will just smoke a little pot, I would rather focus on building on our victory and contributing further to the end of the Prohibition of our age. Should this movement go nationwide? Watch the following clip, from today’s CBS This Morning, and tell me what you think.

My travels have been in-state lately — bringing a European sensibility toward drug policy to my neighbors.

I’ve just returned from my ten-cities-in-seven-days, state-wide road trip. From the East to the West, conservative and liberal Washingtonians are learning that I-502 — which will legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adult use — is not pro-pot. It is anti-Prohibition, pro-public safety, creates a better situation for children, actually makes our roads safer, and undercuts a vast black market industry — all while raising some serious money for our state.

I care about this for lots of good citizenship reasons. Watch this video to see highlights of my talk in Spokane last week at the Bing Crosby Theater. (B-B-B-Bing, by the way, enjoyed the responsible adult use of marijuana quite famously.) This is an important issue. It’s on track to win in our state, and I’d love a chance to explain to you the case for I-502.

Please watch the video and check out my editorial.  And, one way or another…please vote! Thanks.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

I’m in the midst of an unforgettable road trip, packed with vivid experiences. So far, I’ve shared an inspirational message at a Unitarian church in Spokane, hiked across a farm to see a huge “Hemp for Washington” sign overlooking a freeway with the farmer who posted it, and sipped wine in a trendy Walla Walla winery with a skeptical Republican legislator (Maureen Walsh, whose emotional speech about marriage equality just went viral on YouTube).

It’s all part of our 10-stops-in-7-days road trip with my team to talk up I-502, the Washington State initiative to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana for adults. (If you’d like to know more about why I support this initiative, read my recent editorial.) Working diligently on our laptops and cellphones as we drive, and determinedly lobbying legislators, mayors, and city council members each lunch and evening, it occurred to us as kind of funny how different we are from many of the people whose civil liberties we are defending.

Last night we enjoyed the odd experience of talking up marijuana law reform in the cute little faux-Bavarian town of Leavenworth — while tipsy revelers there were spilling out of the bars and into the streets as the entire place was celebrating a sloppy and boisterous Oktoberfest. The only vigorous opposition we’ve encountered was at the Washington State Capitol—from people who claim our law doesn’t go far enough. An angry gang who thinks our initiative is too restrictive and too strict in its DUI limits tried to shout us down. When I wonder who was behind that rumble at the rotunda, I have a hunch it was what I like to call the PPP (Pot Prohibition Profiteers).

Doing radio and newspaper interviews in the car as we roll, dining with a 27-year FBI veteran (the former special agent in charge of the Seattle division, who now understands that our nation’s war on marijuana is an expensive disaster), and sharing the stage with a Baptist minister whose African American community is taking the brunt of a war on drugs he considers racist, we find the days jam-packed with both learning and teaching.

We’re being trailed by a film crew making an hour-long documentary on the story of our historic-if-we-win initiative, which is on track to make our state a leader in deconstructing this prohibition one state at a time (which is how the earlier Prohibition was ended). We read about our events the morning after in small-town papers at truck stops. The national media is starting to pay attention to what’s about to happen in Washington State.

We’re four days down…and just over halfway through. And it’s a lot more than talks and politics. I’m seeing our state as never before, getting up early and marveling at the beauty of our “Inland Empire” in the sunrise light. Driving along the Columbia River Gorge from Vancouver, Washington, towards Kennewick, and then cutting through the Palouse from Walla Walla to Spokane, and driving over Blewett Pass through the turning leaves of fall — it’s all been a joy. (Well, all except for the speeding ticket two of our SUVs got — from a very friendly cop who liked my TV show…but not quite enough — near the Idaho border.)

It’s a heady mix of beauty, exhilaration, exhaustion, and fun, all pushing forward our strong belief that the truth is on our side. We believe that, ten years from now, our country will look back and be thankful that Washington State finally stood up to Washington, DC, and voted to take the crime out of marijuana: treating its abuse as a health and education challenge; ending a massive black market that has enriched and emboldened gangs and organized crime; and finally accepting its use by mature and responsible adults as a civil liberty.

Follow the rest of our tour on Facebook at – Yes On WA’s Marijuana Initiative 502, “Like” us and imagine helping this happen in your state. Or visit New Approach Washington. Thanks.