Resolution would put form of legal marijuana on Arizona ballots
Feb 9, 2018, 3:20 PM
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
PHOENIX — An Arizona House resolution would ask voters if people over the age of 21 in the state should be able possess a small amount of marijuana or not.
HCR 2037, sponsored by Republican Rep. Todd Clodfelter of Tucson and Democratic Rep. Mark Cardenas of Phoenix, was announced Thursday.
Should it be passed by the House and Senate, the matter would be placed on the November ballot. Opposition among Republican lawmakers to legalizing the drug was strong, so its success remained in doubt.
The resolution would allow people to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow six plants, provided they are kept out of the public’s view.
Smoking in public would be banned and cities and towns could bar businesses that sell the drug. Current medical marijuana laws on the books would remain in place.
The proposal would tax sales and allow employers to bar workers from using marijuana.
There was also an effort underway that would decriminalize all drug use in the state.
“This initiative is 100 percent complete legalization of all drugs,” according to Secretary of State Michele Reagan’s office. “It forbids the government from taxing or regulating any drug.”
Another initiative filed with Reagan aims to legalize marijuana, much like Proposition 205.
But public support for any form of legalization remained unclear. Prop. 205 was defeated in 2016.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
