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Newsbrief:
Seattle
Marijuana
Initiative
in
Trouble
9/13/02
Seattle's Initiative 75,
which would direct the police department to make marijuana offenses "the
lowest priority," was dealt a possibly fatal blow on September 6, when
a judge rejected backers' efforts to force the city to place it on the
ballot. The Sensible Seattle Coalition (http://www.sensibleseattle.org)
had handed in some 29,000 signatures, well above the 17,000 required to
place a measure on the city ballot, but King County Elections Superintendent
Julie Anne Kempf ruled on September 3 that more than 12,000 of the signatures
were invalid.
Some signatures were gathered
at events such as the Seattle Hempfest that draw large numbers of out-of-towners,
Kempf noted. Other signatures were invalidated for being duplicates,
being illegible or not having complete addresses.
Sensible Seattle supporters
sued the city, claiming it had erroneously tossed out some signatures and
had failed to verify the signatures in a timely manner. But King
County Superior Court Judge James Doerty rejected the motion, saying it
was not clear that the initiative had sufficient valid signatures to warrant
placing it on the ballot.
I-75 may be wounded, but
it is not yet dead. In rejecting the Sensible Seattle motion, Doerty
also ordered the city clerk to send a report on the signatures to the Seattle
City Council, which could order the measure placed on the ballot.
And Sensible Seattle campaign manager Dominic Holden told the Seattle Times
the coalition would continue to gather signatures in an effort to qualify
in time for the November ballot.
-- END --
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Issue #254, 9/13/02
Conflict Heightening in California Medical Marijuana Battle | Michigan "Treatment Not Jail" Initiative Knocked Off Ballot | Dance Culture Holds Raves Against RAVE Act -- Techno at the Capitol Last Friday | Montana Activists Hold First Drug Policy Summit | Marijuana Reform Party Makes New York Ballot | Pictures of DRCNet StopTheDrugWar.org Merchandise Now Online | John Perry Featured on NY1 News Channel | Urgent: Demand Freedom for the Tulia Victims | Other Alerts: Rave Bill, Medical Marijuana, Higher Education Act Drug Provision | Newsbrief: Seattle Marijuana Initiative in Trouble | Newsbrief: Canadian Justice Minister Calls for Marijuana Decriminalization Next Year, Rejects Legalization | Newsbrief: Noelle Bush in Trouble Again | Newsbrief: Afghan Marijuana Trade Back in Business | Newsbrief: Missouri Man Takes Pot Shots at Dope Chopper | Newsbrief: Oregon Drug Task Force Wants Tax Hike to Fund Operations | Newsbrief: Tennessee Drug Task Force Director Fired for Sampling Evidence Stash | Web Scan: WAMM, State on Eradication, Deborah Small, DEA Museum, Canada, California Student Survey, The Onion | The Reformer's Calendar
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