Homeless in Arizona

I have heard that Prop 64 in California was just as bad as Prop 205 in Arizona.

Sadly California voters passed their law which I understand is mostly for making billionaires out of people in involved in the marijuana business and screws marijuana consumers.

Of the five recreational marijuana measures on ballots across the nation, four passed. Voters in California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada approved initiatives legalizing recreational marijuana.

On the other hand, it's good that the voters seem to be tired of throwing people in jail for the victimless crime of using marijuana. Sadly most of them don't see that giving recreational marijuana monopolies to a few special interest groups is just as bad.

Last voters rejected the phoney baloney MPP or Marijuana Policy Project initiative to legalize marijuana in Arizona.

But with 97 percent of Arizona ballots counted early Wednesday morning, ‘No’ led by almost 80,000 votes.

Source

Arizona voters reject Proposition 205 on night of sweeping change for marijuana

Alden Woods , The Republic | azcentral.com 10:06 a.m. MST November 9, 2016

As cannabis legalization continued its sweep across the nation, Arizona voters rejected a highly contested, well-funded ballot measure that would have legalized the drug for recreational use. Just over 52 percent of Arizona voters opposed Proposition 205, although an official count of votes likely will not be known for several days.

Of the five recreational marijuana measures on ballots across the nation, four passed. Voters in California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada approved initiatives legalizing recreational marijuana. Four other states – Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and Montana – passed medical-marijuana measures.

“The defeat of Prop. 205 helps to secure a safe and prosperous future for Arizona for many years to come,” No on 205 campaign manager Adam Deguire told The Arizona Republic last night. “Tonight’s defeat shows Arizonans will not risk letting out-of-state interests buy the ballot box to drastically change our state.”

Prop. 205 would have allowed adults 21 or older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and use it in private spaces. It would have established a system of licensed dispensaries where marijuana could be sold and taxed. The act would not have allowed marijuana use in public or for minors.

Tax revenue from marijuana sales would have been recycled to fund licensing and regulation operations, with excess revenue going to education and substance-abuse programs.

The campaigns supporting and opposing Prop. 205 each spent more than $5 million in advertising, messaging and get-out-the-vote efforts.

The Yes on 205 campaign asked voters to picture a state where money and power had been taken from drug cartels. It promised more money for Arizona schools, an end to the country’s war on drugs and a less-strained criminal justice system.

No on 205, backed by Gov. Doug Ducey and business executives, warned of lethargic employees, impaired drivers and a spike in drug use among kids. Commercials on TV repeated the possibility of children accidentally finding pot-infused edibles.

It became common for commercials from the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ campaigns to run back-to-back, creating a confusing vortex of facts and figures for voters. Advertisements from both sides focused on marijuana legalization in Colorado, which has allowed recreational use since 2012.

Arizona has allowed the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes since 2010. That measure, known as Proposition 203, was approved by just over 4,000 votes.

“Just a couple thousand votes could decide whether marijuana possession becomes legal for adults or remains a felony that can land them in jail,” read a statement from J.P. Holyoak of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol.

But with 97 percent of Arizona ballots counted early Wednesday morning, ‘No’ led by almost 80,000 votes.

More than 67 million Americans now live in states where marijuana is legal for recreational use, and 32 other states have either decriminalized possession of marijuana or legalized the drug for medical use.