Homeless in Arizona

But despite the fact that Sheila Polk is a lying drug war nut job doesn't make Prop 205 a good law. After the article I included some reasons you should vote to shoot it down.

And even if you don't please support the Safer Arizona 2018 initiative that will legalize marijuana the RIGHT way. We will be circulating petitions to get it on the ballot starting Nov 9, 2016 which is less then 3 months away.

Source

Montini: About those 62 kids supposedly killed by marijuana

EJ Montini, The Republic | azcentral.com 1:18 p.m. MST August 19, 2016

Now that a judge has tossed the lawsuit attempting to keep us from voting on the Proposition 205 (The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol), I suspect that opponents of the initiative will escalate the fear tactics.

For example, the claim last summer linking marijuana to the deaths of 62 Arizona children.

Here’s how Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk put it in a guest editorial for The Arizona Republic.

She wrote, "In 2013, marijuana use was associated with the tragic and needless deaths of 62 children in Arizona."

It’s horrifying, don’t you think?

It certainly would lead you to wonder what the heck is wrong with the news media. If marijuana killed 62 kids don't you think that might have made BIG NEWS?

The report they cited shows no direct link

After the essay appeared I looked at the report Polk used as a reference.

It was done by the Arizona Child Fatality Review Program and said that 811 children under 18 died in Arizona in 2013. How they died is then broken down into things like: Mistreatment. Prematurity. Drowning. Firearms. Motor Vehicles. And so on. The report also notes the number of kids whose deaths had some relation to drugs.

I noted at the time that the report says, "The CFR program defines substance use as associated with a child's death if the child, the child's parent, caretaker and/or if the person responsible for the death, during or about the time of the incident leading to the death, used or abused substances, including illegal drugs, prescription drugs, and/or alcohol."

So, it's not necessarily a child who is using the drugs. And it's often a combination of substances. That's why Polk says marijuana is "associated" with 62 deaths.

What does "associated" mean?

According to the report, "Although substance use is a known risk factor in child fatalities, it is important to remember the term associated is used because it is not always clear if or how the substance use had a direct or contributing effect on the fatality incident."

So, “associated” means no clear direct link.

As a seasoned prosecutor I’d guess that Polk would not consider that to be courtroom-worthy evidence.

Government can't solve the drug problem

I respect the beliefs of those who are against the initiative.

Some people simply don’t like the idea of legalizing the drug in this limited form.

For me, making the use of marijuana a crime has cost us billions in legal, court and prison expenses and only lined the pockets of cartels. Taxing it, like alcohol, makes more sense.

Will there still be a drug problem in America? Sure.

But we’ve had our current system in place for decades and it’s gotten us nowhere. Or made things worse.

This week I received an email from a person with a lot of experience in this area. I’ll let him have the last word. He wrote:

“I am a conservative, and do not always agree with your viewpoints, but as a 31 year veteran of law enforcement, I couldn't agree more with your viewpoint on legalizing marijuana.

There is a direct parallel between prohibition in the criminalization of marijuana. In the end, all that's accomplished is the creation of a thriving black market, with accompanying violence that is worse than the original problem. The abuse of mind altering substances is an issue that lies within the heart of the user, and cannot be remedied by government intervention, no matter how well intentioned.”

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As of Thursday, August 11, 2016 Proposition 205 or Prop 205 will be the official name given to the MPP or Marijuana Policy Project initiative to legalize marijuana.

I'm 100% for legalizing not only marijuana, but all drugs.

But I'm against Prop 205, which is the phoney baloney MPP or Marijuana Policy Project initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona because it's 99% about creating a monopoly on growing and selling recreational marijuana for the existing 85 medical marijuana dispensaries, by giving them a monopoly on recreational marijuana.

Yea, those are the same 85 or so medical marijuana dispensaries that financed the initiative with about $2.5 million dollars of their money.

Prop 205 or Proposition 205 is called the "Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol" or "CRMLA".

Prop 205 still allows people to be charged with felonies for numerous victimless marijuana crimes.

Prop 205 creates a new "marijuana police force" to arrest people for victimless marijuana crimes. And the folks at MPP want us to think they are "legalizing marijuana". What rubbish!!!

Under Prop 205 it is still a felony to possess more then 2.5 ounces of marijuana. It will be a misdemeanor to possess over 1 ounce of marijuana but less then 2.5 ounces.

It is still a felony under Prop 205 to possess more then 5 grams or a fifth of an ounce of concentrated marijuana.

Under Prop 205 it is still a felony to grow 7 marijuana plants for a single person.

It is still a felony under Prop 205 to grow 13 marijuana plants for a household.

Under Prop 205 city and county governments are allowed to ban growing of marijuana. And if city and county governments treat recreational marijuana with the same "Reefer Madness" attitude they have treated medical marijuana you can expect it to be illegal in most cities and counties in Arizona to grow recreational marijuana.

Marijuana lawyer Tom Dean says he thinks it should be a misdemeanor to illegally grow marijuana plants if they are banned. But I think he has also said that prosecutors may try to charge people will felonies for violating the ban.

Under Proposition 205 it's a felony to sell that unused marijuana you paid $300 an ounce for to a friend.

Proposition 205 slaps an outrageous 15% tax on marijuana sales. That is in addition to the current 8% or more sales tax you will pay on marijuana purchases. Remember the Boston Tea Party was over a lousy 1.75% tax on tea. [I have also seen a 3% figure for the Boston Tea Party tax]. Marijuana users will be paying around a 23% tax on marijuana when you combine the 15% marijuana tax, and the current sales tax of 8%.

If recreational marijuana sells for around $300 an ounce like medical marijuana does, you will be paying a tax of $70 for each ounce of marijuana you buy, bringing the total cost of an ounce of marijuana to around $370 an ounce.

Remember illegal black market marijuana sells for around around $50 to $100 an ounce. If legal recreational marijuana sells for $370 an ounce after taxes, the law will not end the crime associated with black market marijuana. In fact the law will allow illegal black market marijuana sellers to raise their prices, because legal marijuana will cost around 4 to 8 times what illegal black market marijuana costs.

Proposition 205 creates a new government bureaucracy to regulate marijuana, which is the "Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control". We don't need more government bureaucrats in Arizona.

Proposition 205 allows the owners of medical marijuana dispensaries to modify Prop 203 or Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act. Half of the members of the board will be owners of medical marijuana dispensaries, and half will be appointed government bureaucrats. Many people suspect that Prop 203 will be gutted to increase profits for the dispensaries. Like it is now being done in Washington and other states that have passed similar MPP laws.

The number of recreational marijuana stores in Arizona will be limited to a maximum of 160. That's one store for almost every 40,000 Arizona residents. That number is based on 10 percent of the series 9 liquor licenses. BUT the department doesn't have to issue all 160 licenses. They only have to give the existing 85 or so stores with medical marijuana licenses a recreational marijuana license. And I expect that is what will happen. If that is true there will be one marijuana store for every 80,000 Arizona residents.

Proposition 205 allows "Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control" to control "head shops" or "smoke shop", which means all the current "head shops" or "smoke shops" probably will be made illegal, and only the 85 or so stores which will be given a monopoly on selling recreational marijuana will be allowed to sell marijuana smoking accessories. If you own a "head shop" or "smoke shop" Prop 205 could drive you out of business.

Proposition 205 does NOT give automatic pardons to anyone convicted in the past of marijuana crimes, which would be legal under the law.

If you want to legalize marijuana the right way, sign the Safer Arizona 2018 petition to legalize marijuana when it comes out on November 9, 2016 and vote for it in the 2018 election.

And please vote no on the phoney baloney MPP initiative and tell these corporate whores they are not welcome in Arizona and send them back to Washington D.C. where they belong with all the other government crooks.

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Kc Palos made this interesting comment:

"Everybody crying that they can't afford a medical card but can afford 23% tax on all their medicine blows my mind"

Let's see, if you buy an ounce of that rip off $300 an ounce recreational marijuana you are going to be paying $69 in taxes.

If you get a new medical marijuana card at Dr. Reeferalz it will cost your $50. When you add in the $150 the state of Arizona rips you off for your medical marijuana card it will cost you a total of $200.

You can pay that off that $200 doctor visit and medical marijuana card in under 3 months of the taxes you pay on the recreational marijuana.

So if you smoke more then 3 ounces of marijuana a year, its cost effective to vote down the MPP initiative and get a medical marijuana card.

One more reason to vote NO on Prop 205.