Approving Proposition 205 in Arizona would mean a new level of freedom for adults and help lead a national reform of marijuana laws, Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer said in a speech in Tempe on Wednesday.
The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol brought Blumenauer to Arizona State University to speak on behalf of the marijuana-legalization measure. The Democrat and 20-year member of Congress is one of the nation’s highest-profile pro-marijuana activists.
Which states will be the next to legalize recreational marijuana? Five states have ballot measures that, if passed, would allow the use of recreational pot. Here’s a rundown of the latest polling:
Arizona: Too close to call
44 percent for, 45 percent against
Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute of Public Policy and ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication teamed up with theArizona Republic to sponsor a poll on Proposition 205 that was published the first week of September. The poll indicated that 50 percent of voters favor Prop 205 and only 39.9 percent oppose it. Ten percent were undecided at the time.
New campaign-finance records show that billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson forked over $500,000 last week to the group fighting Arizona’s marijuana-legalization measure,Prop 205.
Adelson — CEO and founder of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation — has been using his money to challenge marijuana legalization across the country, and his gift to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy is one of the group’s largest to date. In two weeks, Arizona voters will get to decide whether they want Colorado-style legalization or continued zero-tolerance felony enforcement for cannabis consumers.
Phoenix-based Discount Tire Company and its billionaire owner, Bruce Halle, face a growing boycott movement after making a $1 million donation to help defeat Proposition 205, the ballot initiative to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Arizona.
In August, local immigrant-rights groups organized a boycott after Discount Tire stores posted “Re-Elect Sheriff Joe Arpaio” signs in their windows. An infamous foe of the Latino community, Arpaio is almost certain to facecriminal charges of contempt for violating a federal judge’s orders in connection with the landmark discrimination case Melendres v. Arpaio.
Prop 205, which would legalize marijuana in Arizona, is gaining momentum in a new poll.
The poll by OH Predictive Insights, conducted September 28-30, shows an increase in support in the past month for Prop 205, and that the proposition still has a chance at passing. However, it also shows the measure behind 43-47, with 10 percent still undecided.
Grijalva.House.Gov
Arizona’s marijuana-legalization ballot initiative, Proposition 205, has been endorsed by the Arizona Democratic Party and several other notable groups and politicians.
Voters will decide the fate of the proposition on November 8. If it’s approved, adults 21 and older could legally possess up to an ounce of marijuana, grow six live plants at home (unless a landlord says no), and buy cannabis products at a limited system of retail cannabis shops like those in the states of Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.
Tim Jeffries, the outspoken director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES), wants people to vote no this November on Proposition 205, the ballot measure that seeks to legalize recreational use of marijuana in the state.
Jeffries has donated a total of $1,500 personally to the opposition group,Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy (ARDP), and spoke out about the initiative at least twice on a radio show hosted by Seth Leibsohn, a cofounder of ARDP.
On Monday, DES employees arrived at work to find an e-mail from Jeffries pushing an anti-Prop 205 message from Leibsohn that contained questionable facts.
Governor Ducey imagines Arizona students lounging around, stoned out of their minds on marijuana-laced lollipops.
A Scottsdale mom worries about pot stores on every corner.
The Arizona Public Health Association sees benefits as well as risks.
Arizona voters will find these opinions and more among the pro and con arguments for Arizona’s marijuana-legalization initiative that the state published last week. It’s an entertaining, albeit lopsided, glimpse into various views on the issue. Advocates for making weed as legal in Arizona as firearms or alcohol will find plenty of reefer madness within the arguments, which are dominated by the “con” side.
Following calls from New Times and an ex-Cottonwood city councilman, MATFORCE, the Yavapai County-based group that opposes cannabis legalization, has corrected a misleading tweet that proclaimed, “Evidence of THC found in Colorado town’s water supply.”
Despite a very brief public scare last week, THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana, never did contaminate the water supply of rural Hugo, Colorado (population 730). But you might not know that if you relied on MATFORCE to keep you informed.
The two main issues behind a cannabis-legalization law set to make the ballot this November are 1. individual freedom, and 2. an end to felony prohibition for possession of marijuana for personal use.
But if voters approve it, the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act would do more than just make Arizona’s cannabis law sane. True to its name, the proposed law attempts to do a lot of regulating. And it sets up a system of retail shops to be run by existing medical-marijuana dispensary owners.