Politics & Government

Interview: Goodman Says DUI, Pot Laws Need to Move to Center

The 45th District Democrat tells The Seattle times that drunk-driving laws should be tougher, while pot laws weren't effective because they were too harsh.

Kirkland’s 45th District Rep. Roger Goodman acknowledges in an interview with The Seattle Times that his positions on strengthening drunk-driving laws and relaxing marijuana laws might seem contradictory.

“Some people have asked me about that,” the Kirkland Democrat told the Times recently. “What I have to explain is that it’s actually about effective regulation of intoxicants, whatever it is.”

Goodman previously led an organization seeking to change drug laws, including by the state regulation of legal marijuana. He has acknowledged smoking pot but denied allegations raised in a divorce filing that he drove while high.

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Goodman says laws regulating drunken driving and marijuana haven’t worked because the former aren’t tough enough, and the latter have been too tough.

“It’s about bringing both to the center,” he told the newspaper.

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Read the whole Seattle Times interview with Goodman here.

What do you think? Are DUI and marijuana laws too tough or not tough enough? Are Goodman’s positions contradictory? Tell us in the comments.


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