The mayor and at least one Fountain Hills Town Council member have already gone on the record expressing their opposition to a proposed measure that would legalize marijuana in Arizona.

The names of Mayor Linda Kavanagh and Councilman Cecil Yates were included in a list of opponents to legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

The list of 45 Arizona city and municipal leaders was released by Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy.

The announcement was in response to a press conference held last week by “The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol,” which is sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project.

The campaign is in the process of gathering petition signatures in an attempt to have a legalization question on the 2016 ballot.

The campaign must collect more than 150,000 valid signatures of registered Arizona voters to qualify for the November 2016 ballot.

The campaign says it has collected about 60,000 signatures since its petition drive launched in May.

The pro-marijuana group said that the measure would raise more than $40 million annually for education in Arizona.

The approach and that figure were immediately disputed by marijuana opponents.

“Our schools are in serious need of funding, and taxing marijuana would create a significant new revenue stream,” said State Sen. Martin Quezada, a member of the Pendergast Elementary School District Governing Board, who spoke at the news conference.

“Marijuana sales are going to keep taking place regardless of whether this initiative passes or fails.

“But only if it passes will they raise tens of millions of dollars each year for public education in Arizona.”

Lisa Olson is a Mesa teacher who participated in last week’s news conference.

“Generating revenue for our schools isn’t the only reason to pass this initiative, but it’s an important one,” she said.

“I support it because it will not only improve public education, but also public safety.

“Regulating marijuana would replace dealers on the streets with store clerks who ask for ID and only sell to adults.”

Under the proposed Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, adults 21 and older could possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants in their homes without obtaining licenses, as long as the plants were in a secure area.

The initiative also would create a distribution system similar to Colorado’s, where licensed businesses produce and sell marijuana, and pay a 15 percent tax on retail sales to be allocated to education, including full-day kindergarten, and public health.

Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy Chair Seth Leibsohn said the harms of marijuana legalization would outweigh new funding for schools.

He said legalization would jeopardize educational outcomes and could create “social, educational and health damage that would outweigh all of the potential collected revenue.”

Leibsohn said city and town leaders know first- hand the damaging effects of marijuana on their citizens and resources.

“They are rightly concerned that making a dangerous substance legal and more available will only magnify the social and financial strain on their communities,” he added.

Jaime Molera, former Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction and former president of the Arizona State Board of Education, also opposes legalization.

“To regulate marijuana like alcohol, knowing all the damage alcohol causes in our school-aged population, is an education, social and financial policy disaster,” Molera said.

“One cannot legalize a dangerous substance for adults and expect it to be kept out of the hands and brains of our youth.

“This is why far more Arizona students currently use alcohol than marijuana.

“Legalizing marijuana will mean more students will use a dangerous substance that negatively affects every single outcome that serious education professionals have dedicated their lives to improving.”

Opponents note that Colorado is collecting far less in tax revenues than originally projected, and the same will happen in Arizona.

The Arizona Republic noted in an editorial that the Colorado initiative that legalized pot promised the first $40 million each year would help pay for school construction.

The tax generated $13.3 million last year.