The debate surrounding recreational marijuana is heating up across the country, as four states plus the District of Columbia have chosen to legalize the substance. Come November, Arizona voters will join four other states in deciding whether or not to legalize marijuana in their state.

What the Initiative Does

This initiative would legalize the possession and consumption of marijuana by people in the state of Arizona who are 21 years of age or older. People of age would be able to possess and use one ounce or less of marijuana and grow up to six plants in their homes. A Dept. of Marijuana Licenses and Control would be created to regulate the growing, testing, transportation, and sale of marijuana (which is similar to how other states with recreational marijuana have regulate it).

The state would also impose a 15 percent tax on marijuana sales. Tax revenue would go to state departments and local governments first, but the remaining funds would be divided as follows: 40 percent would go to general K-12 education expenses, 40 percent would go to funding full-day kindergarten, and the remaining 20 percent would go to the the Dept. of Health Services’ public education campaign regarding marijuana.

Marijuana use would only be legal on private property. Fines would be established for smoking or using marijuana in a public place, underage use, unauthorized production, and possession over legal limits. The maximum punishment would be a $300 fine and community service. Cities, towns, and counties would have the ability to regulate and limit marijuana businesses

The initiative will appear on Arizona ballots on November 8 as Proposition 205.

In Favor

Marijuana should be legal for adults to use and grow because it’s less harmful than some legal substances, and it’s a waste of law enforcement resources to continue its prohibition. By legalizing and regulating marijuana, fewer people will turn to the black market where they can be exploited by drug dealers.

Opposed

Marijuana is a harmful substance and its usage opens the door for further drug abuse and the problems that addiction brings. Making marijuana legal will lead more people to purchase it, and it will become even harder to keep the drug out of the hands of children, as there will be more places they can access it.

In Depth

In early 2015, Rep. Mark Cardenas (D) introduced a bill to the state legislature that would regulate and legalize marijuana on the grounds that lawmakers should act before voters have a chance to pass an initiative to do the same in 2016. Part of his concern was that a voter-approved ballot measure requires 75 percent of the legislature to make any changes, so passing their own bill to legalize marijuana give lawmakers a greater say in how marijuana legalization and regulation in the state is structured.

There was resistance to that proposal, so lawmakers proposed two other bills to instead make it more difficult for marijuana to be legalized by initiative. The two bills were designed to require a 75 percent and 60 percent vote, respectively, to approve any initiative that conflicted with federal law but neither have been enacted.

Once it became apparent that an initiative to legalize marijuana would appear on the 2016 ballot, Arizona’s Attorney General issued a formal legal opinion saying that public officials could use their offices and public resources to “educate” voters about recreational marijuana. Shortly thereafter he retracted that opinion because of laws prohibiting public funds from being used to influence elections, and allegations that his opinion could be used to justify government abuse.

Supporters of this initiative were required to gather at least 150,642 signatures to get it on the ballot, but they far exceeded that threshold by submitting a total of 258,582 which were then certified by the Secretary of State’s office, allowing the initiative to make it on the ballot.

— Eric Revell



Photo by Flickr user jsjgeology

