Arizona Inches Closer To Marijuana Legalization Vote

The effort to legalize recreational cannabis in Arizona has enough signatures to get on the ballot, but legalization will still need to survive a final legal challenge before it gets to voters. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol — funded and organized by the Marijuana Policy Project — learned this week that it had collected enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

The Arizona Secretary of State was scheduled to certify the petition on Thursday, according to Roll Call.

If approved by voters, Proposition 205 would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants. Cannabis sales in licensed shops would be taxed, using a model similar to that in Colorado, according to the Arizona Republic. Proposition 205 is similar in scope to Prop. 64, California’s legalization measure.

However, one more hurdle needs to be cleared before Arizona can join California, Maine, Nevada, and Massachusetts as the fifth state to have a legalization measure this fall. Opponents of legalization have filed a lawsuit, claiming that supporters misled the public during the signature drive, and are asking a Maricopa County judge to toss out the measure.

Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy say that potential tax revenues from legalization are not outweighed by the potential costs of legalizing the drug, including public health and public safety, the Arizona Republic reported. A hearing on that case is scheduled for Friday.

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