Think that Washington voters successfully legalized the cannabis industry? You’d be wrong.

On April 17, three un-elected bureaucrats appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee, known as the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, woke up and decided that cannabis was too legal for their tastes, so they banned advertising at the industry’s largest event, Hempfest. Fortunately, the industry had lawyers and the ACLU. So a couple weeks ago the attorney general decided to call off the dogs and they lifted the ban.

It should be shocking that three un-elected bureaucrats could have the power to destroy an industry, but this is normal. The current Code of Federal Regulations is over 180,000 pages long, adding thousands of pages each year (over 20,000 since 2010), written by unelected busybodies appointed by executives like Inslee and President Donald Trump.

Delegating isn’t legislating. If something is important enough to regulate, the legislature should regulate it directly so the people have a voice, not appoint dictators.

David Johnson

Woodinville