Arizona is on my list of states that have a great chance of legalizing marijuana in 2016. The Marijuana Policy Project recently announced that they are ramping up efforts there. If Oregon, Alaska, and Washington D.C. can approved marijuana legalization next month during the 2014 Election, it would increase the chances for other states to follow suit in 2016 such as Arizona. At least one Arizona lawmaker wants to introduce a marijuana legalization bill next session. Per The Joint Blog:
Arizona State Representative Ethan Orr, a Republican, has announced that he will file a proposal to legalize cannabis early next year. Although no specific details were given on what exactly the bill will do, Orr says it will be modeled after cannabis legalization initiatives which were approved in Colorado and Washington State in 2012.
Last month, Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) of Arizona officially launched its campaign to legalize cannabis in the state, with the group planning to put an initiative on the 2016 presidential election ballot. Orr’s goal is to have his proposal approved into law before MPP’s initiative is put to a vote.
According to polling released last year by the Behavior Research Center, 56% of those in Arizona support the legalization of cannabis.
Whenever a politician says they want to do something before the citizens initiative process does, it makes me skeptical. For all we know Mr. Orr wants to legalized marijuana, but only CBD. Recreational CBD of course would not help nearly as many people as true legalization. Fortunately, if Mr. Orr’s plan sucks, the citizens can always be working in the background with the help of the Marijuana Policy Project to put something on the ballot that is better if need be.
