King County Sheriff John Urquhart, who represents the largest county in Washington state, is letting voters in Oregon know that marijuana legalization is working well in his state and can work well in theirs. He is featured in the latest ad from the Yes on Measure 91 campaign.

Urquhart points out that the evidence is showing that tax revenue are up, wasteful arrests are down, and schools are getting more funding.

I really like this ad for two reasons. First, it is a powerful message to directly counter many of the attacks against the measure. Second, it highlights why political support for legalization may start really snowballing in the coming years.

Just a few years ago many of the attacks against marijuana reform tried to scare voters, focusing on the uncertainty involved in doing anything new, and exploiting the lack of real-world data to make unfounded scary predictions. Now there is actual data proving the sky hasn’t fallen, and clear examples for how legalization can be implemented. When there are experts with direct experience who can speak about the subject, it becomes much more difficult for the other side to scaremonger.

I wouldn’t be surprised if similar ads feature prominently in all the legalization ballot measure campaigns expected in 2016.