Frank L. Milstead, Bill Montgomery and Sheila Polk

AZ We See It

The people behind the marijuana initiative want to “regulate marijuana like alcohol.” Clever marketing. But it hides the many flaws inherent in legalizing this drug – flaws that have statewide law-enforcement leaders, along with many others, united in opposition.

Just look to Colorado, the pioneer in marijuana legalization. Since legalization there, teen use has increased to more than 70 percent above the national average. So much for this being about giving adults choices. Arizona should expect similarly disastrous effects.

Meanwhile, advocates claim that legalization will allow law enforcement to focus on more serious crimes than marijuana possession. We already are: Only about 3 percent of marijuana users are ever arrested , and those people are generally involved in other crimes as well. Or, they are carrying pounds (not ounces) of marijuana.

We'd make more arrests, not fewer

We also make a lot more arrests for alcohol and liquor violations . If marijuana is regulated like alcohol, we would actually end up making more arrests for marijuana violations, not fewer. The legalization logic thus runs: Marijuana is a problem, alcohol is a bigger problem, so we should make marijuana like alcohol. This makes no sense.

FORMER DEA AGENT:Why pot should be legal

In Colorado, the black market for marijuana did not end. I t thrives , and police now have a more difficult job sorting out the legal from the illegal. Instead of allowing law-enforcement officials to divert their attention to more serious crimes, legalization has complicated their job, requiring them to spend more time on marijuana. Hardly an improvement.

This is just the beginning. Since legalization in Colorado, that state has seen an increase in traffic fatalities related to marijuana, an increase in marijuana-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits, and an increase in marijuana-related calls to poison control. Much of this is due to the high potency and attraction of marijuana edibles. Now think about what will happen in Arizona when our children bite into pot-infused gummy bears, cookies and lollipops.

The proposed law solves none of the problems proponents of legalization say it will. It exacerbates them.

A slew of new costs and problems

Beyond all this, the industry-friendly initiative creates an entire set of new costs and problems for Arizona:

The proposed law fills 20 pages with complex legal language. It will be voter protected, so the problems cannot be fixed by the state Legislature. We simply have to live with them.

with complex legal language. It will be voter protected, so the by the state Legislature. We simply have to live with them. The proposed law transfers regulatory authority over this harmful and addictive drug from the Department of Health Services to a new ly created d epartment , leading to even more government .

from the Department of Health Services to , leading to . The proposed law creates a Marijuana Commission packed with industry representatives. Regulate it like alcohol? Not likely as the fox would be guarding the henhouse .

packed with industry representatives. Regulate it like alcohol? Not likely as the . Even at that, there isn’t much left to guard. The initiative makes penalties for violations much weaker than alcohol penalties. It makes our roads more dangerous by weakening the ability to prosecute marijuana-impaired drivers. This is not regulating marijuana like alcohol; it’s giving marijuana a free pass and sending all the wrong signals to our youth.

much weaker than alcohol penalties. It makes our roads more dangerous by weakening the ability to prosecute marijuana-impaired drivers. This is not regulating marijuana like alcohol; it’s and sending all the wrong signals to our youth. The proposed law was written by the medical-marijuana dispensary industry , which cynically gives itself a monopoly on retail licenses.

, which cynically on retail licenses. T he proposed law creates a statutory right to use marijuana that protects marijuana users over employers and landlords, and over the rights of other employees.

The benefits in this initiative flow to the marijuana industry for the purpose of their profits — and at the expense of our public health, education and safety. This will all translate to more abuse by teens, more emergency room visits, more traffic deaths and more societal costs. We in law enforcement want none of that. No Arizonan should.

Frank Milstead is director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Bill Montgomery is the Maricopa County Attorney. Sheila Polk is the Yavapai County Attorney. Email them at info@ardp.org.

Our Turn: Pot failed in Colorado. Why bring it here?

My Turn: Legal marijuana would be good for kids

Safe pot? Tell that to the 62 kids who died