Fight for Legal Cannabis is Not Over in WA

Despite the legalization of recreational cannabis for adults ages 21 and over in Washington, harsh punishment still remains surrounding personal possession of the plant.

While the private possession and consumption of an ounce or less of cannabis holds no criminal penalty in Washington State, the possession of more than 40 grams of cannabis can land the accused with a felony penalty and five years of incarceration. Additionally, the fine associated with such charge is a maximum of $10,000.

This harsh punishment is much greater than a majority of other states, many of which do not allow the recreational consumption and possession of cannabis. So why is Washington State so far behind other states with this felony penalty?

There are activist groups working hard to bring more awareness to Washington’s harsh punishment on personal possession, as they try to garner up enough signatures to change this legislation. A petition created on change.org has intentions of doing exactly that. “Tell Washington State Lawmakers to End Felonies for Personal Cannabis Possession” is at the starting line toward making this change, with just 1,121 signatures at the time of this writing.

The activist group behind this petition is attributed to thejointblog.com. CULTURE was able to connect with the Editor-in-Chief of the blog, Anthony Martinelli. Martinelli shared the intention behind starting this petition. “We don’t believe that many Washingtonians, including lawmakers, understand that although an ounce of cannabis is legal, an ounce and a half can land you in prison for up to five years.” Martinelli said. “We want to educate the public on this fact so that it may prevent people from unknowingly committing a felony that could permanently harm their life, and we want to educate lawmakers so that they might support a change in the law.”

The petition has no end date in sight, as the goal behind it is to start the discussion toward changing this punishment. Martinelli stated that they are currently having discussions surrounding this issue with state representatives and senators who may bring forth legislation to change this felony punishment for personal possession of cannabis. He also shared that each person who signs the petition will in turn send an email to Governor Jay Inslee and every other member of Washington’s legislature.

The problem Martinelli and his team have noticed is not just with personal cannabis possession. “There’s another massive problem with Washington’s cannabis policies; cannabis distribution, which includes passing a joint or bowl to someone else 21 and older, is also a Class C punishable by up to five years in prison.” Martinelli continued to explain that although it isn’t likely someone would get charged with a felony for something as simple as passing a joint, that it’s still unnerving and worth getting changed as well.

There are a few action Washingtonians can take in order to lower the punishment on personal possession that exceeds 40 grams. They can call the legislative hotline and ask legislatures to stop charging people with felonies for personal possession of cannabis or they can even write a letter to do so. Additionally, everyone is encouraged to sign the petition to end this harsh punishment for personal cannabis possession once and for all.