Now that the dust has settled, three states have loosened restrictions on their cannabis laws, and their stories might enlighten the battle Arizona legalization is in for in 2020.
The Mormon Church couldn’t muster the opposition needed to halt Utah’s march toward medical, and even the deep South came around to legalizing medical in Missouri.
Cannabis legalization failed in only one state, North Dakota, which voted against recreational cannabis by a 19 percent margin.
That’s reasonable for a deep-red state. Arizona, though, seems to have strayed further from its red-state status as Democrats picked up four seats in the state House, one in the U.S. House of Representatives and is poised to send the first Democrat to the U.S. Senate since Dennis DeConcini called it quits back in 1994.
Though these candidates probably have little impact on future legalization, their elections may indicate changing attitudes.
Opposition campaigns spent close to half a million dollars fighting legalization in North Dakota, compared to a paltry $10,000 from support campaigns.
About $408,000 of that opposition funding came from the Smart Approaches to Marijuana PAC, with whom Gov. Doug Ducey and Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk have been known to rub elbows, make donations and give speeches about the dangers of cannabis.
North Dakota also has yet to develop its medical cannabis program, which hasn’t even issued dispensary licenses. Having far less experience with cannabis than Arizonans, it’s not surprising North Dakotans shot down the initiative.
Polls leading up to the vote were mixed but showed general opposition to the measure.
In Michigan, however, recreational cannabis passed by a 12 percent margin. Michigan legalized medical cannabis in 2008 and tends to lean liberal. Polls indicated strong support for the proposal, so again, this one was a pretty safe bet.
The kicker is that the opposition raised $1.5 million to fight the proposition. That was met with $2.27 million from the support campaign, which also outspent the opposition, $2.12 million to $790,000.
Again, SAM donated just more than $1 million to fight the initiative.
As Arizona’s 2020 bid shapes up, the story told by campaign funding in North Dakota and Michigan show that SAM will likely have a heavy financial hand in combating legal cannabis in Arizona. The last time Arizona tried to legalize cannabis in 2016 looked a lot closer to North Dakota’s campaign than Michigan’s. Voters were pretty evenly split in the polls leading up to the vote, and the results showed the same as Proposition 205 failed by only about a 2.5 percent margin.
Though SAM wasn’t a major player, they’d only just started gearing up their finance machine. The campaign was larger than that in North Dakota or Michigan with each side raising around $6.5 million. In 2020, the campaign to legalize recreational cannabis will have to step up its game against a more entrenched opposition. The Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy can almost certainly count on SAM funding and has been pushing anti-cannabis propaganda nonstop since 2016.
Moreover, Polk has had a successful streak in the courts, finding ways to lock up innocent people for grievances like possession of CBD oils or concentrates even if the person had a medical card.
It’s still uncertain who will run the campaign for legalization, but the Arizona cannabis industry has a solid foundation to fight from in the Arizona Dispensaries Association.
The question is whether there’s enough cohesion between dispensaries and patients to put forth a proposition supported by both that can knock down the anti-cannabis machine fighting legalization across the country.
This article appears in Nov 15-21, 2018.
Well it is about time to mention faith it’s’ impact and support in regards to Marijuana.
Here we have the profiling of the Mormon church in Utah done ignorantly too. This last opposition too prop 205 was the Tucson Dioceses in Tucson as all of the major ecumenical faiths AZ. Also there have been more leaders of the LDS church from AZ than UT.
However ignorance prevails which is why the profiling of republican libertarian progressive democrat are tools to confuse separate and empower the aristocratic of the Marijuana marketeers.
As we see so many times in American history the ugly of governmental administration. While Jimmy Hoffa spread the Teamsters nationwide so that labor in Idaho Falls or little Rock Arkansas was paid the same as the teamster in NY equality in pay. The social cost was the spread of organized crime. All protected by governmental regulations, labor agreements money skimmed and promised elected officials to promote and exclude. PROTECTIONIST
This last coloration of prop 205 by public admin students was theft pure and simple. Even the AZ Republic redacted comment by Montgomery during the debate between Holyoak & Montgomery Montgomery stated only a fool would vote to give away so much rights that now exist. (AZ republic edited that out)
For some reason the ADA and producers just do get it. I dont give a damm how fancy your waiting room is, I dont want too spend time there on any reason. I dont care what social affiliations one identifies with, I am not going for some kind of sabbatical acknowledgement something legalization wants. I go for relief of pain and nerves not to build coffers so police and fire and education get a cut what I can grow in my back yard period. WHY SHOULD SO MANY PROFIT OFF MY PAIN ?
We dont need or want a State separate department set up to protect and negotiate for the patient is just an oxymoron. The ADA want to pass legalization ? Stop the bullshit TBD (to be determined) stuff. We older know that the devil is in thee details not stating details this far into medical is looking at the devil eye to eye. What follows, stupid is stupid does and vote for it, is voting against whatever is being conjured today.
I do hope the writing and punctuation PUNDITS are about and they
can’t comment content not able to understand for punctuation errors. Because they have no depth just reasons for not able too align. I can imagine of the 100’s of apprentices I have trained in the trades if I had to related to them “You need to express better then I will pay attention to you. (say high school dropout) Catch my drift I relate to more than you do because I engage not mandate standards. All those I have remained or had a input with I remain in contact exclude social medial wont be manipulated with that.
I know this is off track to topic. However I have commented numerous times on this forum which I DO Appreciate as well hold in reverence for open discussion.
I have not seen the ADA engage the patient in open forum just related opinions. Opinions that shift from the individual to market as a whole which turns in to the sea of abyss. This BS confusion of patient/consumer opposites causes need for the special governance dont be fooled thats is BS too. All they want to know is how to split the pie, that is it in it’s entirety. Once established that orphan will grow eats more needs more but wont do it on there own. No it needs the protections of law and civil seizure unfunded pension contributions more tax collectors market restriction home inspections audits administrative court to oversee themselves (really)
It is this quandary of opposites that some say make up the whole of Marijuana not so. Medical Marijuana will make standards on Marijuana. Standards that ADA wants to negotiate to implement by their closed back door origination of BS self interest . I say f–k off
I have 14 grandchildren I WILL ADVISE NOT TO GET A CARD under any reason. Unless medically necessary and all of my assets will be behind that. There will always be enough friends & morons that will supply the party recreational till it no longer become socially accepted like smoking and levels off. I will not promote or endorse it because it does not support medical any more.
Came in under that it would be Medical in the first place, became exploration of the citizens compassion. Nothing discusses me more than Industry Leaders fulfilling dreams of entrepreneurial endeavors at the cost of pain suffering and profits by citizens/patients doing the right thing. The ADA has always done the profit thing first and foremost. YUK.
If the ADA had any integrity what so ever they would have petitioned the AZDHS/MMJ in a process to help Holyoaks daughter and those of like. Not to keep 30 million in coffers to offer to governmental agencies for not a fucking thing ! Just because they have a funding need. We will still be the same place just paying governmental agencies to compete with industry raising all for non civil servants of some type. All monies should go to the general fund period because there is no truth now so let it go to the pool.
I liked the article Mr. Meyers good read! If I may ask, where did you obtain your statistics from?