Arizonans will vote Nov. 2 on whether to allow medical marijuana clinics to be opened in the state. It was the first initiative to qualify for the ballot, according to Secretary of State’s Office, which confirmed that backers had gathered the necessary 153,365 signatures.
The measure has tentatively been assigned as Proposition 203 on the ballot.
If approved by voters, the Arizona Department of Health Services would regulate medical marijuana clinics where patients with conditions including Parkinson’s, cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV/AIDS would be able to buy pot.
Medical marijuana laws have been approved in 14 states, including the neighboring states of California, Nevada and New Mexico. The state laws allow for purchases of small amounts of marijuana, which is still illegal under federal law.
How AZ’s medical marijuana initiative differs from CA
PHOENIX – Some are watching a battle over a proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries in California, wondering what might happen in Arizona should voters pass the medical marijuana initiative this November.
“A lot of people’s concerns are about California and how it implemented its law. California basically has more dispensaries, in the city of Los Angeles, than they have Starbucks,” said attorney Bill Knowlton of Rose Law Group.
The firm Knowlton works for isn’t taking a stance on either side of the debate.
What they did do is help us understand what will happen if voters pass the medical marijuana initiative this November.
Knowlton said Arizona’s medical marijuana is very different from what California passed.
The law only allows 120 dispensaries for the entire state, “and those have to be equally distributed amongst all the population centers in the state.”
ABC Channel 15
The Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project (AMMPP)
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Tags: Arizona, Arizona Elections, Health Care, Medicinal Marijuana, News Item, Proposition 203
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