Former Seattle US Attorney Takes Up an Unlikely New Cause
John McKay was the Justice Department's man in Seattle for 5 years, making him a key figure in the Federal Government's War on Drugs. Given this background, it's perhaps surprising that he has signed on to a a new venture sponsoring an initiative that would legalize up to an ounce of cannabis.
McKay says that he's not the only former federal prosecutor who feels the same way. He's joining with Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, the Washington branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, and travel guru Rick Steves to form "New Approach Washington," an organization dedicated to pressuring the legislature for marijuana reform.
The last time John McKay was in the spotlight, it was for the patently uncontroversial stance of doing his job competently. He was fired from his position as US Attorney by then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales during the 2006 US Attorney dismissal scandal along with six of his colleagues who were deemed insufficiently loyal to the Bush administration. One of McKay's supposed offenses was declining to investigate Republican claims of widespread voter fraud during the 2004 gubernatorial election, which he, along with most neutral observers, deemed to be unsubstantiated. The Bush administration pushed US Attorneys to aggressively prosecute accusations of voter fraud, which according to critics was part of a scheme to depress turnout among Democratic-leaning populations. Attorneys that didn't play ball were fired en masse in late 2006.
McKay also rankled the administration by pushing for more resources in the investigation of the unsolved 2001 murder of Assistant US Attorney Thomas C. Wales, which was politically inconvenient for the administration given that Wales was possibly murdered for his support of gun control. Given his willingness to stand up to the Bush administration and speak out for legalized marijuana, it's perhaps surprising that McKay is a lifelong Republican. A note to Rob McKenna: this is what a bona fide Washington moderate Republican looks like.
Despite being mugged by politics in his last go-around, McKay seems hopeful about his new venture. He points out that the American appetite for marijuana only feeds a black market, empowering drug cartels and other organized crime: "a dumb policy," as he puts it. New Approach Washington is modeling its proposed legalization regime on the way the state currently handles liquor: authorizing the Liquor Control Board to manage sales in standalone stores. Like alcohol, you wouldn't be able to purchase it before turning 21, and the police would conduct blood tests of drivers suspected of driving high. Pot enthusiasts would be limited to one ounce of dried marijuana, 16 ounces of marijuana-infused foods, or 72 ounces of marijuana-infused liquids. Supporters say these limits will prevent people from buying Washington pot for sale in prohibition states. Pete Holmes estimates that taxes on marijuana could bring in $215 million a year, not a insignificant sum, especially for a state in a budget crunch.
The proposal is not perfect. It does not address cultivation of cannabis for purposes other than recreational smoking (hemp products), and some medical marijuana advocates say that the legal limit of 5 nanograms of active THC per milliliter of blood is so low that it all but bans medical marijuana patients from driving.
Still, New Approach Washington is the boldest and highest-profile push for legalized marijuana yet in the State of Washington, and as John McKay puts it: "the War on Drugs has failed."
