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The highly supported Smart and Safe Arizona initiative that could legalize cannabis for adults 21 years of age and older in Arizona has quietly and swiftly gathered more than half of the signatures required to get listed on the ballots in November 2020.

Stacy Pearson from the initiative’s campaign told AZmarijuana.com that “Smart and Safe has surpassed 150,000 signatures in record time. It’s clear that voters are enthusiastic about this initiative because it aligns with their priorities and funds important items including public health programs and higher education.”

The campaign mentioned that, currently, a majority of the signature gathering is taking place outside of Arizona dispensaries and various mega stores (i.e., Target, Wal-Mart, etc) where individual signature gatherers ask passersby if they’d like to sign.

The easiest way for Arizonans to find the signature collectors is to contact their local dispensary and ask if/when a signature collector for the Smart and Safe initiative will be at the dispensary.

Key facts about the initiative:

– legalizes marijuana possession and use for persons 21 and older

– allows home cultivation of up to 6 plants at an individual’s primary residence (up to 12 plants if two adults reside there)

– establishes over 100 recreational marijuana dispensaries

– marijuana will be sold with a 16% excise tax (which is a lower tax rate than many other states)

– decriminalizes many marijuana-related offenses

People and businesses can donate to the campaign. The donations will, in part, help the campaign promote the initiative to Arizona voters and combat propaganda by anti-marijuana groups.

In 2016, an initiative attempting to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona failed 48.23% to 51.77%. This failure was primarily due to pro-marijuana Arizonans vying for multiple initiatives instead of compromising on the most popular initiative that had the best chance of winning. If these voters had joined forces, that initiative would have passed and adults in Arizona could have been enjoying legalized recreational marijuana for the past few years.