A second group aiming to put marijuana legalization on the 2016 ballot filed paperwork Friday with the Secretary of State’s Office.
Calling itself Arizonans for Responsible Legalization, the group said in a news release it wants to allow adults to purchase small amounts of marijuana for private use and tax marijuana sales to help fund education.
The release lists Gina Berman, identified as an emergency room physician, as leading the effort. Barrett Marson, a spokesman for the group, said Berman is affiliated with a medical marijuana dispensary.
Incorporation records list Gina Berman as secretary of Giving Tree Wellness Center, a dispensary with locations in north Phoenix and Mesa.
A statement attributed to Berman said: “Arizonans for Responsible Legalization is committed to taxing and regulating the marijuana industry while ensuring the greatest benefit to taxpayers and boosting education funding. We look forward to an energetic campaign focused on the public benefits of responsible marijuana regulations.”
A voicemail for Berman left with a phone number listed with the Secretary of State’s Office wasn’t returned by late Friday afternoon.
Marson said Arizonans for Responsible Legalization would begin fundraising and develop proposed ballot language soon.
It’s the second group to register an effort to put marijuana-legalization on the 2016 ballot. The other, Safer Arizona, is coordinating with the Marijuana Policy Project, the group behind the 2010 ballot measure that legalized medical marijuana in Arizona.
Carlos Alfaro, Arizona political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, said his organization supports “the most effective scenario possible” to legalize marijuana here.
“We want to establish a good public policy that replaces the underground marijuana market with a system in which marijuana is regulated similarly to alcohol,” Alfaro said.
Seth Leibsohn, chairman of Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, a group registered with the Secretary of State’s Office as opposing efforts to legalize marijuana, said the latest effort is another one to oppose.
“Marijuana is dangerous for adults and for youth,” Leibsohn said. “This drug is dangerous for users who use it in the workplace, around children and on the roads.”
This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2015.
The war on cannabis consumers has been raging for more than 80 years.
Educated people know that Cannabis prohibition has never been about public safety. Prohibition has always been about money and lots of it.
Please demand full legalization and nothing less! Let’s end this insidious war as soon as possible!
In all of these proposals that are going on to tax and benefit from Marijuana. They all want to tell the state how to spend money it collects in taxes. This kind of proposed legislation would set the marijuana industry up as it’s own government. Collect and disperse taxes next they will want their own police force and court system.
Arizona outpaces all other states on revenue collected from the Medical Marijuana. Yes Arizona has collected 50% more in medical than Colorado has on Medical & Recreational combined. Now they Marijuana industry in a Arizona thinks the well runs deeper. I know so many that have gone without to buy their Marijuana done without meals lapsed on utilities bills had their credit cards spike because of late payment or not provided for their kids in many ways.
These Marijuana alliances want to stop free trade between states in the industry limiting our markets as well. When the Dispensary were set up they needed to set a price on Marijuana a bench mark that mark was set at $3000.00 a pound. Now that investments for startup has been recouped several times over for dispensaries and the product line increased to include every bit of the plant as consumable. the Margin in a pound of Marijuana is fantastic about 200%
It is not probable to set the wholesale price at an unrealistic price of $3000.00 a pound and the street price of a pound is $600 to $1000 for illegal. This outrages wholesale price is what the growers and Dispensaries want to happen. Throw the Medical Patient under the bus bleed out every last penny of disposal income a user has dip into the family needs and opportunities.
This is not LEGALIZATION this is just recriminalizing Marijuana and making second class citizens while setting up a mock Government that is not responsible to anything but a overseeing Marijuana board. This is as UGLY and DISGUSTING as it can get. Lets not even go into home grow and confiscation of property monies YES IT is VERY UGLY THIS MARIJUANA INDUSTRY.
I am from Tucson, but currently living in Denver for awhile now (before the full legalization of pot here). Not a huge user of legalization BUT Colorado’s system of regulation of this new industry here is the best in the nation and on the cutting edge of social change. Marijuana can be fully regulated and taxed responsibly to help city and state’s tax revenues. Denver has some of the highest, no pun intended, property living values and with the growth of growers here there is a shortage of industrial/ manufacturing facilities making existing and future economic growth solid. Economics of legalization is smart and with great regulations its safe.
Arizona as a whole is ass backwards on futuristic social change or any social change really; but legalization can also help with the state’s image as a whole. I had to move from the state to realize how sad and lost it is. Long live Tucson though! I’d like to move back one day, to Tucson, but after experiencing the fun and open nature legalization can bring; It would be really hard to move to any state that doesn’t provide such freedoms to it’s citizens. It will only happen If Phoenix and it’s suburbs can evolve their tiny minds just in the slightest and paired with a well written law that mirrors Co’s law. With a provision written in Az’s that would make it crystal clear; any illegal transport over into state lines to or from Mexico and also prohibiting any non-lawful visitor or non-lawful resident person or group from growing or manufacturing within state lines with Harsh penalties.
Law enforcement must have tools to ensure Mexican cartel or any cartel/illegal organization cannot operate. A] yes, illegal drugs from anywhere are bad B] it will subdue the extreme right wing raciest crowd roosting in the state who will undoubtedly make the point that Mexico=drugs/crime and if legalization happens they are going to claim its going to benefit the dealers and smugglers. If the backers of the law can produce a massive pr campaign and a system of advocates to quell the nasty GOP slime merchants, I think legalization has a chance in Arizona… maybe.
markroyal1 I hope not
I think it’s about war. This country has to have a war going on some place to keep the war machine going and well greased. So why not on a little harmless weed plant?
I just don’t get it! This plant could solve a lot of this countries problems financially.