The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol announced today their initiative to legalize cannabis (Proposition 205) has been officially endorsed by the Arizona Democratic Party. The endorsement comes roughly a month prior to the measure being voted on in the November 8th election.
The campaign also announced that U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva (AZ-3) became the second member of Arizona’s congressional delegation endorse the initiative, joining Representative Ruben Gallego (AZ-7). The legalization initiative also received endorsements from nearly a dozen state legislators, two members of the Tucson City Council, two members of the Tempe City Council, a member of the Maricopa City Council, as well as Las Adelitas Arizona, a Latina-focused civic engagement organization.
According to a press release sent out today, Proposition 205 “also picked up several endorsements from the other side of the political spectrum, including the La Paz County Republican Committee, the Arizona Liberty Caucus, Arizona Libertarian Party Chairman Michael Kielsky, Cato Institute Adjunct Scholar Dr. Jeffrey Singer, and former Arizona Senate Majority Leader Dr. Tom Patterson, a past president of the Arizona Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians who served as chairman of the Goldwater Institute from 2000-2015.”
“The Arizona Democratic Party proudly supports Prop. 205″, says Alexia Tameron, Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. “Regulating marijuana like alcohol will enhance public safety, promote social justice, and improve our education system by raising much-needed revenue for schools. These values are shared by Arizonans of all political persuasions, and it is my hope that they will vote ‘yes’ on Prop. 205.”
“This is not an issue of left versus right. It is an issue of right versus wrong”, says J.P. Holyoak, who chairs the campaign behind Prop 205. “It is wrong to force marijuana into the criminal market, where it is entirely uncontrolled and the money benefits cartels and criminals.”
Holyoak continues; “It is wrong to use our limited law enforcement resources to enforce failed prohibition policies when they could be used to address serious crimes. And it is wrong to criminalize thousands of Arizona adults each year simply for using a substance that is less harmful than alcohol. You don’t need to be Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Green to recognize that regulating marijuana like alcohol is the right thing to do.”
