Sponsored by Vivian McPeak, Douglass Hiatt, Jeffrey Steinborn, Philip Dawdy, initiative I-1068 sought to legalize marijuana by removing marijuana offenses from the state's controlled substances act, but failed to gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Notable among these is the proposed Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act of 2008, versions of which have been discussed since 2001.
[citation needed] In 1998, Washington voters passed Initiative 692, removing criminal penalties for medical patients with an approved condition.
[8] On February 10, the Attorney General's office issued a ballot title and summary for the initiative.
[2] One week later, the campaign announced they had "cleared the statutory hurdles" and would start collecting signatures for the initiative.
Concise Description: This measure would remove state civil and criminal penalties for persons eighteen years or older who cultivate, possess, transport, sell, or use marijuana.
[14] Despite high polling numbers it is extremely rare that an initiative make it to the ballot without the use of a paid signature gathering firm.
Of those, 52% supported and 35% opposed "the removing of state civil and criminal penalties for possession or use of marijuana.