Plans to Legalize Marijuana in Arizona
Marijuana facilities are popping up everywhere. New laws are being passed daily to make this possible, which a lot of people are thankful for.
A new proposal has been placed so that they can legalize marijuana in Arizona. According to the reports, the proposal is right on track and is most likely to qualify for the ballot since the state joins the ever growing movement to loosen up on the marijuana laws around the country in the elections.
One of the spokes people for the Arizona’s leading recreational marijuana imitative says that things are looking good. The movement has already gotten 140,000 out of the required 150,000 that are needed to be on the ballot.
The campaign is shooting to get even more than the required number of signatures so they can have back up signatures for any that might/ will get disqualified. The campaign will be trying hard until their July deadline to get all of the signatures.
Marijuana Policy Project’s Arizona Director, Carlos Alfara Statement:
We are riding the wave of public opinion that prefers regulation and taxation rather than criminalization and prohibition.
According to recent studies, Arizona is one of nine states that have pending recreational marijuana initiatives this year. Some of the others are California, Massachusetts, Main, and Nevada.
According to the The Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, it would allow people who are over the age of twenty-one to carry up to one ounce of marijuana on them. They could grow up to six plants and even carry up to five grams of “concentrated marijuana”. That concentrated marijuana could be hash oil or a variety of other different cannabis extracts.
It would also help the stated by establishing a state licensing agency for marijuana, by placing a 15% tax on marijuana and related products. That means that eighty percent of the tax proceeds would go towards education and twenty percent would be set aside for the Department of Health Services.
People Protest Pot Bill
Of course, with anything now days there always has to be some sort of fight or protest. An alliance has now been formed to oppose the measure that the Maricopa County has been working so hard for. Bill Montgomery who is an attorney with Maricopa County have stepped forward and came out against the bill and it’s plan.
Montgomery is opposed to drug legalization. He thinks that the way that the measure is written that it will allow current medical marijuana dispensaries to essentially have a monopoly over the pot sales in the state. So, technically he’s just worried about the bottom dollar.
This new initiative would allow the state to be able to issued around 150 licenses for businesses to sell marijuana. Which looks like that wold help any state with the tax recovery the would make on it. Of course, the medical pot dispensaries will have the first dibs on the 120 licenses which would only leave a little amount left for anyone else.
Montgomery’s Statement:
This is the 21st-century way that one drug dealer keeps another drug dealer off their corner. This is an absolute abuse of the initiative process by a special interest group in Arizona.
Jason Medar, who is a manager for a competing initiative says that the Marijuana Policy Prospect’s proposal doesn’t even offer consumer protections. Medar’s initiative is known as the Campaign to Legalize and Regulate Marijuana. Medar believes that he’s going to make easier for those people who are not already in the medical marijuana industrious to get a license. The initiative is doing well, with around 70,000 signatures so far.
Alfaro doesn’t think that every medical marijuana dispensary will apply for a recreational license. Which makes sense, some dispensaries might just keep things medical use only. Alfaro’s campaign will offer a more balanced approach to legalization.
Alfaro’s Statement:
Not only do we think this is going to be on the ballot but it’s the most viable policy we have. We have had prohibition since 1937. We have to start at a point that people are willing to accept.
Diane Douglas who is the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, denounced that the imitative in a press release just last week. She believes that it would cause a great contradiction for teachers who try to teach the students not to use drugs as well as other ethics.
Douglas’s Statement:
By using drug money to educate our children, regardless of the drug we choose, we’re creating a world where we’re funding our schools by betting against the people graduating from them, and I cannot morally support that stance.
She could be right. The thing is we’ll never know until we try some new things. I personally thing this would be great for twenty-one year old and older because they’re old enough to make their own decisions. but this would definitely help a lot of states who are in finical trouble.
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