Following the defeat last fall of the

, the movement to legalize marijuana in Oregon has taken a more sober tack. A coalition of advocates has approached the Legislature and said, in effect, help us do this. It would be a mistake to ignore them.

The group, New Approach Oregon, has momentum and favorable public opinion on its side. It also has something called the initiative system.

For the time being, however, the legalization advocates' vehicle is

. After giving the proposal a hearing last week, the House Judiciary Committee sent it to the House Revenue Committee, "where it'll have the substantial policy debate," said Judiciary Chair

. While further debate is good, Barker held out little hope that the bill will pass,

by The Oregonian's Yuxing Zheng.

That's not surprising. Because HB3371 would tax marijuana as well as legalize it, passage requires a three-fifths majority in each chamber. Securing even a simple majority would be a challenge, as pot legalization is a hot potato for most lawmakers. Nevertheless, a little thing known as reality provides a good argument for breaking out the oven mitts and bacon bits and getting to work.

Many Oregonians believe legalization is on the way, according to a

commissioned by New Approach Oregon. An astounding 81 percent of likely voters told pollsters that pot will be legal here "sooner or later." A more modest, but still noteworthy, 50 percent of those polled support legalization, according to Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall, which conducted the survey.

Some might argue that legalization is here already, thanks to Oregon's wink-and-a-nudge

. The success last year of Washington's legalization effort created a backyard precedent, and probably momentum, for overt legalization in Oregon. Doing what most consider inevitable, then, would be a much smaller step in 2014 than it was last November, especially if voters had a serious and carefully vetted measure to consider.

That's where the Legislature comes in. HB3371 allows lawmakers to shape a responsible legalization scheme. The state would tax marijuana and license sellers, the idea being that pot should be treated more or less like beer and wine. People 21 and older would be allowed to grow plants for personal consumption. But supporters say they're willing to work with lawmakers to amend the bill and fix its flaws, including -- in our view, anyway -- its biggest: As introduced, HB3371 would not involve voters.

If the Legislature approved the current bill, marijuana would be legal, and that would be that. Bad idea. New Approach Oregon's own polling indicates that roughly twice as many likely voters would prefer lawmakers to refer a legalization plan to the ballot than send it to the governor's desk. Turning HB3371 into a referral might even persuade more lawmakers to support it.

Legislators shouldn't pass up their chance to determine how legalization would work. If they don't send a proposal to the ballot, somebody else will. Somebody like New Approach Oregon, for instance, whose director, Anthony Johnson, said as much last week. Ideally, the group's initiative would be shaped according to concerns of legislators willing to discuss HB3371, but not pass it. There's no guarantee, though.

What is certain is that legislators who don't like what the initiative process produces will know -- and be reminded -- that they had a chance to do better and passed it up.