| Photo: The Stranger |
| Washington state Rep. Roger Goodman supports the legalization of marijuana. He is now running for U.S. Congress. |
Washington state Rep. Roger Goodman has announced he is seeking the Democratic Party nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R), a two-term Congressman who represents Washington’s 8th Congressional District. Goodman supports the legalization of marijuana, and has an excellent track record as a drug policy reformer.
Goodman served as the executive director of the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission in the late 1990s and was elected to the National Association of Sentencing Commissions, reports Phillip Smith at Stop The Drug War. While with the state commission, he published reports on prison capacity and sentencing policy, helped increase the availability of drug treatment in prisons, and guided 14 other sentencing-related bills through the Washington Legislature.
Goodman next led the King County Bar Association’s Drug Policy Project, which coordinated a groundbreaking initiative to critically look at drug laws and promote cheaper, more effective, and more humane drug policies. In doing so, Goodman helped create a coalition of more than 20 professional and civic organizations that has spurred the Legislature to reduce sentences for drug offenders and shift funding away from incarceration and into drug treatment.
A state representative since 2008, Goodman is cosponsoring a marijuana legalization bill currently before the Legislature, and also supports a pending bill which would explicitly legalize medical marijuana dispensaries in Washington.
Last session, he helped pass a 911 Good Samaritan drug overdose prevention bill, and is now seeking similar legislation to help prevent alcohol overdoses. He also continues to work for sentencing reform in the Legislature.
While Goodman is currently aiming at the 8th Congressional District, that could change because of redistricting. He said he could end up in one of three different districts, but said he was “confident he could win in any of them.”
