Legalized pot supporters hoping to sway voters to cause in November

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol believes its message will win over voters in November, despite a recent poll showing otherwise.

The poll from OH Predictive Insights said a majority of Arizona voters are against legalizing marijuana for recreational use. The “No” vote is leading the “Yes” vote by 13 points, with 8 percent undecided. Barrett Marson, a spokesman for the Campaign To Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said this most recent poll is an outlier compared to others taken on the topic.

“All the polls released actually show it closer than this poll,” Marson said.

He said they will try to convince voters that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. The campaign also plans to discuss the benefits to the state financially. He said if recreational marijuana is legalized in Arizona, it could bring in $123 million in tax revenue by year two.

“A substantial amount of the money that is collected through marijuana sales goes to education,” Marson said.

He said 80 percent of the excise tax collected on marijuana in the state goes to schools. Half of the money will go to full-day kindergarten, with the other half going to general school budgets.

“We take money that is literally going to drug cartels in South and Central America, and instead keep it here in Arizona to help our woefully funded schools,” Marson said.