Tagged: 2012 Elections

Democrat Jay Inslee is still ahead in the race for Washington governor. The tally now stands at 51% for the former Congressman.

Inslee says he’s waiting for a call from his opponent, Attorney General Rob McKenna, before he’ll declare victory. But, that didn’t stop him from holding a press conference Wednesday to talk about his transition team.

Washington voters have approved the recreational use of marijuana. Many questions remain about how this will work, since it’s still a federal crime to use pot. But the state agency that will regulate the industry is getting into gear.

The law making it legal to possess up to an ounce of pot takes effect one month after Election Day, on Dec. 6. And the state liquor board has a year after that to write the rules that will oversee marijuana production and sales.

Democrat Jay Inslee has a slim lead over Republican Rob McKenna in the race for Governor of Washinton. The initial ballot count shows Inslee with 51 percent to McKenna’s 49 percent.  In Bellevue, McKenna told supporters he’s still optimistic he can win and will wait for more votes to be counted. But, Inslee told a packed election night room in Seattle he expects the trend to continue in his favor.

First came marijuana as medicine. Now comes legal pot for the people.

Colorado and Washington have become the first states to allow pot for recreational use.

Those who have argued for decades that legalizing and taxing weed would be better than a costly, failed U.S. drug war now have their chance to prove it.