About thirty people heard the pros and cons this week of Proposition 205, which would legalize recreational use of marijuana in Arizona. The Yuma County Chamber of Commerce forum pitted Adam Kinsey, manager of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, and Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, co-chair of Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy. Each presenter had an hour to make their case.
Kinsey told the forum the proposition would legalize recreational use of marijuana. It would establish limits on the amount of the drug a person could possess, where it could be purchased and where it could be consumed. It would establish a 15% sales tax going to education and public health, along with a commission to regulate the drug.
Polk said the Colorado experience of legalized marijuana has resulted in a spike of people arrested for driving high and teens using the drug. She said the way the proposition is worded would create a special class of "protected" pot smokers in the state's drug free workplaces.
Among forum attendees, Lynn Delbee says she went to get information about the drug for the youngest members of her family..........
John Gleason, who says he has taught classes on marijuana in the area and has been involved with Facebook Groups promoting legalization, says it is hard to say how the vote on Prop. 205 may go, especially with this year choice of presidential candidates..........
There is still a challenge to Proposition 205 even making it onto the General Election ballot. Opponents, led by Polk's group, say the question's 100 word ballot summary is too vague. The challenge was rejected by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge. The verdict has been appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court.