36th District Representative Mary Lou Dickerson is once again calling on the state legislature to legalize marijuana. House Bill 1550, which was introduced this morning, would legalize the use of cannabis for adults age 21 and over.

Rep. Dickerson says that legalizing marijuana could generate $400 million per biennium for the state. “Subjecting cannabis to a licensed, regulated system would not only improve public health and safety, it would generate hundreds of millions of dollars for health care at a time when Washington’s budget is being decimated,” said Dr. William Robertson, founder of the Washington Poison Control Center.

Under the bill, cannabis would be sold through state liquor stores with growers applying for a license through the Liquor Control Board. The LCB, according to a press release, has a 96 percent success rate in preventing alcohol sales to minors.“Drug cartels and black-market dealers have made it easier for kids to get cannabis than alcohol,” Dickerson said. “The Liquor Control Board has a proven track record of shielding kids from its products. I’m confident our bill will break the back of cannabis crime-syndicate profits and make it possible to preserve vital health services across Washington in these very difficult budget times.”

In 2010, Dickerson submitted a similar bill, HB 2401, which didn’t make it past the Committee on Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness.

House Bill 1550 is not to be confused with legislation introduced this year by 36th District Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles concerning medical marijuana reform (Senate Bill 5073 and House Bill 1100). Read more about these bills here.

The Municipal League of King County today released its non-partisan evaluations of 122 legislative, judicial and local candidates. The League rated our 36th District State Reps. Mary Lou Dickerson as ”Very Good” and Jeanne Kohl-Welles as “Outstanding.”

To determine candidate ratings, volunteers throughout King County have joined the Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Committees to study the public record, review candidate questionnaires, speak with references, and conduct interviews with candidates. Committee members then rate each candidate on four criteria: Involvement, Character, Effectiveness and Knowledge. The possible ratings are: Outstanding, Very Good, Good, Adequate, Not Qualified and Insufficient Information to Rate.

The non-partisan ratings process is similar to a job interview and investigates each candidate’s potential to be effective in the office he or she seeks and to beneficially serve the community. Political affiliations or stances on particular issues are not considered during the League rating process. The Municipal League attempted to contact every candidate in a contested race. Candidates were rated even if they declined to participate.

Check out the full list of ratings of candidates for state representative, state senator, judge, county council and mayor here.

Both 36th District Representatives Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle) and Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle) have seen success for bills that they’re sponsoring during this legislative session.

Rep. Dickerson has been working to ban the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from baby bottles, sippy cups and other food and beverage containers used by children under the age of three and on Wednesday, that ban moved one step closer. The House voted 96-1 on Wednesday to approve SB 6248 with an amendment that adds the ban of BPA on sports water bottles, which pregnant women use. “This is a huge victory for children’s health and for parents. Dangerous chemicals like BPA have no place in baby bottles, sippy cups or any product children put in their mouths,” said State Rep. Dickerson, the prime sponsor of the house version of the legislation. “Parents can soon go to the store with confidence and buy a bottle for their baby that won’t contain BPA.”

Rep. Carlyle has been advocating for tougher laws for drivers using cell phones. On Wednesday, the House passed a bill which would make it a primary offense to text and drive. It also prohibits teenagers from using a cell phone when behind the wheel. “I’m disappointed we had to accept a Republican amendment to take out the provision making speaking without a headset a primary offense. We just did not have the votes to push it through without any of their votes. Still, I’m pleased that we moved forward,” Rep. Carlyle wrote on his blog.

Both bills must pass the Senate with the same wording the House passed before moving to Governor Gregoire’s desk.

36th District Representative Mary Lou Dickerson (D) is the primary sponsor of a bill which calls to ban the hormone-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from bottles, cups and other containers that young children drink from. It also calls for a ban of BPA from sports bottles, which pregnant women use. (Bill text here. pdf)

The state house vote was nearly-unanimous yesterday to ban the chemical, moving the bill on to the State Senate. “I’m proud we united 95 to 1 to protect babies and young children from BPA-laced food containers,” said Dickerson (D-Seattle). “The strong support for this bill reflects the overwhelming evidence that kids need to be protected against this very toxic substance.” Representative Bruce Chandler (R-Granger) was the lone nay in the House. Two representatives were excused from the vote.

After the first reading in the State Senate today, the bill has been referred to Health & Long-Term Care. If this bill passes, Washington state will be the third state to ban BPA, following Minnesota and Connecticut.

Just a reminder that might be getting a phone call from State Reps. Mary Lou Dickerson and Reuven Carlyle just before 6:30 this evening. The 36th district reps are hosting a telephone-town hall, and will be ringing up nearly 30,000 homes in the district, inviting residents to stay on the line and participate. Carlyle and Dickerson will be giving opening thoughts, while the majority of the tele-town hall will be allocated to taking questions from constituents. If you don’t receive a call but are still eager to participate, you may dial-in directly by calling 877-229-8493 and entering the code 15354. Once on the line, participants may ask a question by hitting *3. (Disclosure: Rep. Reuven Carlyle is a sponsor of QueenAnneView.)

Our sister site, My Ballard, recently sat down with 36th District Representative Mary Lou Dickerson to talk about what she’s working on for the upcoming legislative session, which convenes on January 11, 2010. One bill she’s looking to sponsor would legalize marijuana, an act she believes will ultimately turn into a “net benefit” for the state and its residents. Below are her words:

“We have spent a fortune investigating and incarcerating people for using marijuana. We have not only spent huge sums in this failed effort, we have required individuals and families to spend huge sums on lawyers and other expenses in order to avoid drug-abuse violations on their records. Those who couldn’t afford an effective legal defense have often seen their jobs and lives seriously harmed by the record of the legal violation.

And what have we accomplished with these societal, personal, and family costs? I don’t see the positive benefits. The expensive emphasis on prosecution and fines or other punishment has not deterred marijuana smoking, nor has it had any noticeable impact on accessibility to marijuana. The fact that other countries which have legalized marijuana have not seen consumption rates rise sharply is further evidence that our present policy is a monumentally expensive failure.”

Get the full story, along with the rest of Rep. Dickerson’s statement at My Ballard.