Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Proposition 205 asks Arizona voters to decide whether marijuana should be legal for adults to use in private, transport and grow it in their homes.
The measure is 19 pages long, and includes details worth knowing before you cast your vote. Here are answers to key questions about Prop. 205.
Question: Who is funding the campaign to legalize marijuana?
Answer: The Marijuana Policy Project, a national group that has helped lead efforts elsewhere to legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use, is a primary funder. MPP and its related foundation have given about $1 million to the legalization campaign. Also, the owners of various medical marijuana dispensaries and marijuana-related businesses have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars. They could benefit from a recreational program since medical marijuana dispensaries get the first shot at obtaining retail licenses.
Q: Who is funding the campaign opposing the legalization of marijuana?
A: The anti-Prop. 205 campaign is largely funded by business groups and leaders who think legal marijuana could lead to less-productive employees, more impaired workers and drivers, and increased youth drug use. Major backers include the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, U-Haul and a Chandler pharmaceutical company that touts on its website its "capability to develop pharmaceutical cannabinoids."
Q: If Prop. 205 passes, when could adults begin purchasing marijuana?
A: Sales could start on March 1, 2018.
Q: If Prop. 205 passes, would individuals be allowed to grow marijuana?
A: If you're 21 or older, then yes. The initiative does not specify how soon after legalization growing could begin, but both campaigns say you could start growing once election results are made official. That generally happens a few weeks after the election. Adults could grow up to six marijuana plants each at a place of residence, and in an enclosed space. That could mean a room, a garage or even a backyard, as long as it's out of public view. No more than 12 plants could be grown in a single residence.
Q: If Prop. 205 passes, when could adults legally posses marijuana?
A: Again, the initiative does not specify a date, but both campaigns agree it would be legal to posses marijuana as soon as election results become official.
Q: This all sounds complicated. Who is in charge of regulating legal marijuana?
A: The details are complicated. Prop. 205 creates a new state department to regulate the program. The department would be responsible for licensing and regulating retail stores, and entities involved in growing, manufacturing, distributing and testing marijuana products.
The Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control would consist of a director, a Marijuana Commission, and staff. The governor would appoint the director and the commission's seven members.
The commission would be made up of four individuals with no financial stake in a marijuana establishment and three with a "controlling" interest in a marijuana establishment. The commission would approve licenses and adopt rules tied to the program.
Department officials could inspect marijuana establishments, examine records to enforce the law, and would have the power and duties of peace officers. Unlike most state director positions, the governor would need cause to fire the Marijuana Department director.
Q: Where would marijuana be sold?
A: At shops licensed by the state. At first, the number of stores would be limited to about 147 – 10 percent of the number of the state's Series 9 liquor store licenses, according to an analysis by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Additional stores could open starting on Sept. 1, 2021.
Q: How would consumers buy marijuana?
A: Buyers would need to use cash or a debit card. Since marijuana remains illegal under federal law, banks are reluctant to do business with marijuana retailers. Many stores in Colorado, where the drug is legal, don't accept credit cards.
Buyers would also need to bring an ID to prove they are at least 21.
Like the medical marijuana dispensaries, retail stores would likely have a lot of security to discourage criminal activity.
Q: Would a record be kept of consumers' marijuana purchases?
A: Buyers' privacy is supposed to be protected. The state is not supposed to require customers to provide information other than identification to verify age – kind of like buying alcohol or cigarettes. Prop. 205 says stores are not required to "acquire or record" personal identifying information other than information typical to a retail transaction.
Q: Would there be retail stores in residential neighborhoods?
A: It depends on where you live. Prop. 205 would allow cities and towns to ban new retail shops if local voters approve doing so through an election.
Medical pot dispensaries get the first shot at retail licenses. Local governments could not block existing medical dispensaries from getting retail licenses at their current locations, says Yes on 205 attorney Ryan Hurley.
Both campaigns say medical dispensaries could either sell recreational pot out of the medical dispensary or out of a different location, if allowed by local land use rules.
Most counties have at least one medical marijuana dispensary, according to the state Department of Health Services. And in urban areas like metro Phoenix and Tucson, there are a lot more.
If Prop. 205 passes but the state refuses to implement it, local governments could designate a local authority to process applications to allow pot establishments within the city or town; issue annual licenses for operation; and adopt rules for the licensing and regulation of marijuana establishments.
With the cap of 147 stores, the state would have about one retail marijuana business for every 3,993 users, says the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee analysis is based in part on a national survey on Arizona marijuana use.
Local governments would be allowed to "enact reasonable ordinances or rules" that don't conflict with Prop. 205, like rules pertaining to hours of operation and public signage. Also, new retail shops would have to adhere to local land use rules.
Q: How else could people obtain marijuana?
A: Someone could give it to you, as long as it's under 1 ounce, you don't pay for it, and it's not publicly advertised (like, you don't buy it off of Craigslist).
Also, in January 2020, Prop. 205 allows the marijuana department to adopt rules for marijuana to be delivered to consumers. You read that right: Marijuana delivery could one day be "a thing," like pizza delivery.
Q: How much would it cost?
A: It depends on the strain, the quality, and how much you buy. In Colorado, prices for an ⅛ of an ounce are as low as the low $30s, one pot guide says. One ounce there could cost you anywhere from $175 to $300, the guide said.
Prop. 205 would tax marijuana and marijuana products at 15 percent, in addition to regular state and local sales taxes.
Q: What happens to the money from the tax?
A: First, it would fund the new state marijuana department and the costs of a recreational program. Some money would go to the Department of Revenue to pay for administering and collecting the 15 percent tax.
Then, additional revenue would pay for school construction, maintenance and operating costs, full-day kindergarten programs, and substance abuse programs. The revenue would be doled out on a quarterly basis. Also, cities and towns that have marijuana-related businesses in their jurisdictions would also get funding from licensing fees.
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee projects Prop. 205 would generate $53.4 million in fiscal year 2019 and $82 million the following fiscal year.
Q: Where could I consume marijuana?
A: Not in public. We've all seen the images of people in Colorado toking in parks or on the sidewalks. That's not allowed there, and it isn't allowed under Prop. 205, at least for now. In 2020, the Department of Marijuana Licenses could adopt rules allowing use of pot "on the premises where sold."
The initiative would allow you to use marijuana in public view only if you are on private property, like your front porch or patio. The initiative allows cities and towns to restrict "smoking production, processing" or manufacture of marijuana and marijuana products "when it is injurious to the environment or otherwise is a nuisance to a considerable number of persons."
Marijuana use would be prohibited on government property, in correctional facilities or at K-12 schools.
Q: Could property owners keep marijuana use and related activities off their property?
A: Prop. 205 says anyone who owns, manages or leases a property can prohibit or regulate "the smoking, production, processing, manufacture or sale of marijuana and marijuana products on or in that property." Missing from that list: possession and consumption of marijuana.
Q: I keep hearing about marijuana gummy bears and brownies. How are those regulated?
A: So-called edibles are marijuana-infused food products that are becoming more popular. They include soft and hard candies, chocolate bars, drinks and more.
Prop. 205 would allow marijuana stores to sell edibles. On or before Sept. 1, 2017, the marijuana department must spell out requirements for the packaging of marijuana and marijuana products. Those requirements include: child-resistant packaging, a symbol or other mark indicating the package contains marijuana, the amount of THC and cannabidiol in the package, and in each serving of the product, the number of servings in the package and a list of ingredients used to manufacture the products.
Q: Will there be potency limits?
A: No. Prop. 205 does not cap the potency of marijuana. Opponents often say today's marijuana is not like the marijuana smoked at Woodstock. Marijuana has become increasingly potent, and in Colorado, attempts to limit potency have failed. A 2015 study by Colorado's Department of Revenue found the average potency of marijuana products is about 17 percent for cannabis flower and about 62 percent for marijuana extracts.
Q: Can motorists use marijuana while driving?
A: No. The measure says driving a car, boat or other vehicle while impaired by marijuana would remain illegal.
Arizona does not have a per se impairment limit for marijuana, so law enforcement would use the same assessments they now use when they suspect someone is impaired by marijuana. Those include blood tests and other evidence such as moving violations and field sobriety tests.
Prosecutors working with the No on Prop. 205 campaign say the measure would make it more difficult to prosecute DUI cases. They point to a provision that says a person "may not be penalized for an action taken while under the influence of marijuana or a marijuana product solely because of the presence of metabolites or components of marijuana in the person's body or in the urine, blood, saliva, hair or other tissue or fluid of the person's body."
The Yes on 205 campaign says the state Legislature could set a per se marijuana limit in the future, although the No on 205 campaign disagrees.
Q: What happens to underage users caught with less than an ounce of marijuana, or a fake ID to buy marijuana?
A: Underage users would get a slap on the wrist with a petty offense. Think of it as a traffic ticket. They'd have to pay a fine of no more than $300 and do community service. Right now, people under 21 could be charged with a felony for possession, however, under state law, marijuana possession charges are first referred to treatment and cannot be jailed until a third conviction.
Q: What happens to the state's medical marijuana program?
A: The medical program, which has about 100,000 participants, continues as is for now. Prop. 205 would transfer on Sept. 1, 2017, responsibility for regulation of the medical program to the new marijuana department from the state Department of Health Services.
Q: Could people use marijuana at a hotel?
A: Hotels can, but are not required to, prohibit smoking of marijuana on their property, says attorney Julie Pace, who is not associated with either campaign and advises employers.
"Assuming the hotel room is not a public place, hotels can choose to allow smoking of marijuana in designated smoking rooms," Pace said. The Smoke-Free Arizona Act provides an exception that allows hotels to designate smoking rooms. She noted public consumption of marijuana is against the law, which includes any common area of a hotel.
Q: Could Arizona users legally take marijuana across state lines or into Mexico?
A: No.
Q: How is any of this legal since marijuana is still illegal under federal law?
A: Marijuana is still illegal under the Controlled Substances Act. But the U.S. Justice Department has said it will not challenge state laws legalizing medical or recreational use as long as certain federal priorities are met, such as selling to kids or helping out trafficking organizations. With the guidelines, released in 2013, the federal government signaled it was taking a hands-off approach with states that make weed legal.
Q: Speaking of drug trafficking, will legal weed get rid of it?
A: Not altogether, if Colorado is any indication. The Yes on 205 campaign has said there will be a "transition period" for a fully legal market to emerge, and that could take years. In Colorado, illegal drug trafficking still occurs.
Q: What else should voters know about Prop. 205?
A. Go straight to the source: Check out the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. If you want to see the arguments for and against Prop. 205, read the secretary of state's publicity pamphlet that's mailed to voters and is available online. You can also see what the Yes on 205 and No on 205 campaigns have to say about it.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: If Arizona Legalizes Marijuana, What Happens Next?
Author: Staff
Contact: 602-444-8000
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: The Arizona Republic
The measure is 19 pages long, and includes details worth knowing before you cast your vote. Here are answers to key questions about Prop. 205.
Question: Who is funding the campaign to legalize marijuana?
Answer: The Marijuana Policy Project, a national group that has helped lead efforts elsewhere to legalize marijuana for recreational and medical use, is a primary funder. MPP and its related foundation have given about $1 million to the legalization campaign. Also, the owners of various medical marijuana dispensaries and marijuana-related businesses have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars. They could benefit from a recreational program since medical marijuana dispensaries get the first shot at obtaining retail licenses.
Q: Who is funding the campaign opposing the legalization of marijuana?
A: The anti-Prop. 205 campaign is largely funded by business groups and leaders who think legal marijuana could lead to less-productive employees, more impaired workers and drivers, and increased youth drug use. Major backers include the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, U-Haul and a Chandler pharmaceutical company that touts on its website its "capability to develop pharmaceutical cannabinoids."
Q: If Prop. 205 passes, when could adults begin purchasing marijuana?
A: Sales could start on March 1, 2018.
Q: If Prop. 205 passes, would individuals be allowed to grow marijuana?
A: If you're 21 or older, then yes. The initiative does not specify how soon after legalization growing could begin, but both campaigns say you could start growing once election results are made official. That generally happens a few weeks after the election. Adults could grow up to six marijuana plants each at a place of residence, and in an enclosed space. That could mean a room, a garage or even a backyard, as long as it's out of public view. No more than 12 plants could be grown in a single residence.
Q: If Prop. 205 passes, when could adults legally posses marijuana?
A: Again, the initiative does not specify a date, but both campaigns agree it would be legal to posses marijuana as soon as election results become official.
Q: This all sounds complicated. Who is in charge of regulating legal marijuana?
A: The details are complicated. Prop. 205 creates a new state department to regulate the program. The department would be responsible for licensing and regulating retail stores, and entities involved in growing, manufacturing, distributing and testing marijuana products.
The Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control would consist of a director, a Marijuana Commission, and staff. The governor would appoint the director and the commission's seven members.
The commission would be made up of four individuals with no financial stake in a marijuana establishment and three with a "controlling" interest in a marijuana establishment. The commission would approve licenses and adopt rules tied to the program.
Department officials could inspect marijuana establishments, examine records to enforce the law, and would have the power and duties of peace officers. Unlike most state director positions, the governor would need cause to fire the Marijuana Department director.
Q: Where would marijuana be sold?
A: At shops licensed by the state. At first, the number of stores would be limited to about 147 – 10 percent of the number of the state's Series 9 liquor store licenses, according to an analysis by the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. Additional stores could open starting on Sept. 1, 2021.
Q: How would consumers buy marijuana?
A: Buyers would need to use cash or a debit card. Since marijuana remains illegal under federal law, banks are reluctant to do business with marijuana retailers. Many stores in Colorado, where the drug is legal, don't accept credit cards.
Buyers would also need to bring an ID to prove they are at least 21.
Like the medical marijuana dispensaries, retail stores would likely have a lot of security to discourage criminal activity.
Q: Would a record be kept of consumers' marijuana purchases?
A: Buyers' privacy is supposed to be protected. The state is not supposed to require customers to provide information other than identification to verify age – kind of like buying alcohol or cigarettes. Prop. 205 says stores are not required to "acquire or record" personal identifying information other than information typical to a retail transaction.
Q: Would there be retail stores in residential neighborhoods?
A: It depends on where you live. Prop. 205 would allow cities and towns to ban new retail shops if local voters approve doing so through an election.
Medical pot dispensaries get the first shot at retail licenses. Local governments could not block existing medical dispensaries from getting retail licenses at their current locations, says Yes on 205 attorney Ryan Hurley.
Both campaigns say medical dispensaries could either sell recreational pot out of the medical dispensary or out of a different location, if allowed by local land use rules.
Most counties have at least one medical marijuana dispensary, according to the state Department of Health Services. And in urban areas like metro Phoenix and Tucson, there are a lot more.
If Prop. 205 passes but the state refuses to implement it, local governments could designate a local authority to process applications to allow pot establishments within the city or town; issue annual licenses for operation; and adopt rules for the licensing and regulation of marijuana establishments.
With the cap of 147 stores, the state would have about one retail marijuana business for every 3,993 users, says the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee analysis is based in part on a national survey on Arizona marijuana use.
Local governments would be allowed to "enact reasonable ordinances or rules" that don't conflict with Prop. 205, like rules pertaining to hours of operation and public signage. Also, new retail shops would have to adhere to local land use rules.
Q: How else could people obtain marijuana?
A: Someone could give it to you, as long as it's under 1 ounce, you don't pay for it, and it's not publicly advertised (like, you don't buy it off of Craigslist).
Also, in January 2020, Prop. 205 allows the marijuana department to adopt rules for marijuana to be delivered to consumers. You read that right: Marijuana delivery could one day be "a thing," like pizza delivery.
Q: How much would it cost?
A: It depends on the strain, the quality, and how much you buy. In Colorado, prices for an ⅛ of an ounce are as low as the low $30s, one pot guide says. One ounce there could cost you anywhere from $175 to $300, the guide said.
Prop. 205 would tax marijuana and marijuana products at 15 percent, in addition to regular state and local sales taxes.
Q: What happens to the money from the tax?
A: First, it would fund the new state marijuana department and the costs of a recreational program. Some money would go to the Department of Revenue to pay for administering and collecting the 15 percent tax.
Then, additional revenue would pay for school construction, maintenance and operating costs, full-day kindergarten programs, and substance abuse programs. The revenue would be doled out on a quarterly basis. Also, cities and towns that have marijuana-related businesses in their jurisdictions would also get funding from licensing fees.
The Joint Legislative Budget Committee projects Prop. 205 would generate $53.4 million in fiscal year 2019 and $82 million the following fiscal year.
Q: Where could I consume marijuana?
A: Not in public. We've all seen the images of people in Colorado toking in parks or on the sidewalks. That's not allowed there, and it isn't allowed under Prop. 205, at least for now. In 2020, the Department of Marijuana Licenses could adopt rules allowing use of pot "on the premises where sold."
The initiative would allow you to use marijuana in public view only if you are on private property, like your front porch or patio. The initiative allows cities and towns to restrict "smoking production, processing" or manufacture of marijuana and marijuana products "when it is injurious to the environment or otherwise is a nuisance to a considerable number of persons."
Marijuana use would be prohibited on government property, in correctional facilities or at K-12 schools.
Q: Could property owners keep marijuana use and related activities off their property?
A: Prop. 205 says anyone who owns, manages or leases a property can prohibit or regulate "the smoking, production, processing, manufacture or sale of marijuana and marijuana products on or in that property." Missing from that list: possession and consumption of marijuana.
Q: I keep hearing about marijuana gummy bears and brownies. How are those regulated?
A: So-called edibles are marijuana-infused food products that are becoming more popular. They include soft and hard candies, chocolate bars, drinks and more.
Prop. 205 would allow marijuana stores to sell edibles. On or before Sept. 1, 2017, the marijuana department must spell out requirements for the packaging of marijuana and marijuana products. Those requirements include: child-resistant packaging, a symbol or other mark indicating the package contains marijuana, the amount of THC and cannabidiol in the package, and in each serving of the product, the number of servings in the package and a list of ingredients used to manufacture the products.
Q: Will there be potency limits?
A: No. Prop. 205 does not cap the potency of marijuana. Opponents often say today's marijuana is not like the marijuana smoked at Woodstock. Marijuana has become increasingly potent, and in Colorado, attempts to limit potency have failed. A 2015 study by Colorado's Department of Revenue found the average potency of marijuana products is about 17 percent for cannabis flower and about 62 percent for marijuana extracts.
Q: Can motorists use marijuana while driving?
A: No. The measure says driving a car, boat or other vehicle while impaired by marijuana would remain illegal.
Arizona does not have a per se impairment limit for marijuana, so law enforcement would use the same assessments they now use when they suspect someone is impaired by marijuana. Those include blood tests and other evidence such as moving violations and field sobriety tests.
Prosecutors working with the No on Prop. 205 campaign say the measure would make it more difficult to prosecute DUI cases. They point to a provision that says a person "may not be penalized for an action taken while under the influence of marijuana or a marijuana product solely because of the presence of metabolites or components of marijuana in the person's body or in the urine, blood, saliva, hair or other tissue or fluid of the person's body."
The Yes on 205 campaign says the state Legislature could set a per se marijuana limit in the future, although the No on 205 campaign disagrees.
Q: What happens to underage users caught with less than an ounce of marijuana, or a fake ID to buy marijuana?
A: Underage users would get a slap on the wrist with a petty offense. Think of it as a traffic ticket. They'd have to pay a fine of no more than $300 and do community service. Right now, people under 21 could be charged with a felony for possession, however, under state law, marijuana possession charges are first referred to treatment and cannot be jailed until a third conviction.
Q: What happens to the state's medical marijuana program?
A: The medical program, which has about 100,000 participants, continues as is for now. Prop. 205 would transfer on Sept. 1, 2017, responsibility for regulation of the medical program to the new marijuana department from the state Department of Health Services.
Q: Could people use marijuana at a hotel?
A: Hotels can, but are not required to, prohibit smoking of marijuana on their property, says attorney Julie Pace, who is not associated with either campaign and advises employers.
"Assuming the hotel room is not a public place, hotels can choose to allow smoking of marijuana in designated smoking rooms," Pace said. The Smoke-Free Arizona Act provides an exception that allows hotels to designate smoking rooms. She noted public consumption of marijuana is against the law, which includes any common area of a hotel.
Q: Could Arizona users legally take marijuana across state lines or into Mexico?
A: No.
Q: How is any of this legal since marijuana is still illegal under federal law?
A: Marijuana is still illegal under the Controlled Substances Act. But the U.S. Justice Department has said it will not challenge state laws legalizing medical or recreational use as long as certain federal priorities are met, such as selling to kids or helping out trafficking organizations. With the guidelines, released in 2013, the federal government signaled it was taking a hands-off approach with states that make weed legal.
Q: Speaking of drug trafficking, will legal weed get rid of it?
A: Not altogether, if Colorado is any indication. The Yes on 205 campaign has said there will be a "transition period" for a fully legal market to emerge, and that could take years. In Colorado, illegal drug trafficking still occurs.
Q: What else should voters know about Prop. 205?
A. Go straight to the source: Check out the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. If you want to see the arguments for and against Prop. 205, read the secretary of state's publicity pamphlet that's mailed to voters and is available online. You can also see what the Yes on 205 and No on 205 campaigns have to say about it.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: If Arizona Legalizes Marijuana, What Happens Next?
Author: Staff
Contact: 602-444-8000
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: The Arizona Republic
