Arizona voters are considering what is called the “Smart and Safe Arizona Act” on the General Election ballot this fall.

This is a citizen initiative that provides for the “responsible adult use, regulation and taxation of marijuana.”

Arizona law has provided for medicinal use of marijuana extracts for several years. In 2016 a previous attempt to pass an initiative to allow recreational use failed at the ballot box.

Currently 11 states in the U.S. allow recreational use of marijuana, three of those border Arizona – California, Nevada and Colorado. Others are Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Massachusetts, Michigan, Vermont, Illinois and Maine, as well as District of Colombia.

The Smart and Safe Arizona Act states that the initiative is “in the interest of the efficient use of law enforcement resources, enhancing revenue for public purposes, and individual freedom, the responsible adult use of marijuana should be legal for persons 21 years of age or older, subject to state regulation, taxation and local ordinance.”

The initiative specifically provides for funding for the following:

*Arizona Teachers Academy.

*A department to be established to fund the formation and operation of councils, commissions and programs dedicated to improving public health, including teen suicide prevention, the maternal mortality review program, improving youth health, substance abuse prevention, addressing adverse childhood experiences, the poison control system, the Arizona Health Improvement plan, the Child Fatality review team and chronic pain self-management program.

*Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to provide grants for reducing impaired driving, and equipment training and personnel dedicated to traffic enforcement.

*Funding to implement, carry out and enforcement of portions of the initiative

*Grants to qualified non-profits that provide outreach and support to individuals who may be eligible to file petitions for expungement.

*Development of a social equity ownership program related to the ownership and operation of marijuana establishments, marijuana testing by individuals disproportionately impacted by enforcement of previous marijuana laws.

*Department to fund programs and grants to qualified non-profits for outreach and education

*Establishment of the Smart and Safe Arizona Fund.

The ordinance does allow for the restriction of use of marijuana including in the workplace; driving, as well as a passenger in a vehicle; boating or flying; under the age of 21; in public facilities and open space.

Licensing priorities will be allowed to those that currently hold licenses for medical marijuana production and sales in the state.

An analysis by the Arizona Legislative council summarizes the Prop 207 initiative.

It would allow a person who is at least 21 years of age to lawfully possess and use one ounce or less of marijuana, including not more than five grams of marijuana concentrate (hashish), as well as up to six marijuana plants at a person’s primary residence.

In addition to sales tax there is a 16 percent excise tax on the sale of marijuana and marijuana products.

The Arizona Department of Health Services would adopt the rules that regulate the industry, as it did for the medical marijuana industry.

Arguments

Chad Campbell, chairman of Smart and Safe Arizona, states that the war on drugs has failed and marijuana is safest when it’s sold and taxed and tested in a regulated environment – not on the street corner.

“Our streets will be safer. We increased penalties for driving under the influence of marijuana and gave departments funding for training, equipment and task forces,” Campbell said. “And legalization will also free up our clogged criminal justice system to focus on serious crimes.”

Former Arizona Governor, J. Fife Symington III, is also a proponent.

“As former governor…I am keenly aware of how important it is to defend liberty and to conserve scarce government resources,” Symington said. “I also know that to accomplish these goals we must constantly re-evaluate our policies in the face of new evidence.

“Simply put, the Smart and Safe Arizona Initiative allows us to expand individual liberty and to protect public safety all while generating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue for the state without raising taxes.

“In government we call that a rare win-win-win.”

Richard Rutkowski, M.D., a Fountain Hills resident, made his argument against the initiative in the election publicity pamphlet. He is one of several residents to do so.

“(Marijuana) is a clear and present threat to our safety and health, especially the safety and health of our children and our teens,” Rutkowski said. “Marijuana is an addictive drug, with THC that is the addictive component. In the 1960s the percentage of THC in marijuana was around 3 percent. Now that percentage is often as high as 60 percent and even more in some concentrated forms.”

Shelly Mowrey of Scottsdale is director of the Fountain Hills Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. She also wrote for the pamphlet.

“Prop 207 is about addiction for profit…at any cost,” Mowrey wrote. “They want to hook your child so that they can keep them as a customer for life. Already in Arizona there is an incredibly high number of youth vaping with THC concentrates.

“The stunning reality is that one-third of Arizona high school seniors admits to vaping THC concentrates. More concerning is that one out of five gets in a car with a driver that is stoned. All this is happening and marijuana is illegal for them to use. Imagine if it is legalized.”