Pubdate: Thu, 20 Jun 2013
Source: Tucson Weekly (AZ)
Copyright: 2013 Tucson Weekly
Contact:  http://www.tucsonweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/462
Author: J M Smith

A SIGNATURE DRIVE AIMS TO BRING LEGALIZATION TO THE BALLOT, BUT
WILL IT WORK?

There's an elephant in the room, and he wants you to sign his
petition.

Since the dawn of medical marijuana in 1996, people have hoped the new
paradigm would lead to recreational legalization. For some cannabis
advocates, the medical veneer is thin (see my column from last week),
but there are undeniable deep connections between recreational and
medical cannabis users. The Tucson branch of NORML has voiced its
willingness to cling to medical coattails as a vehicle to
legalization.

Now in Arizona we have a new ally in the quest for legalization, the
same ally that made it possible in Washington and Colorado-us.

Last week, the political action committee Safer Arizona filed
paperwork with the state declaring its intent to legalize marijuana
here via voter initiative. If they can collect 259,213 signatures on
petitions by next July, the change to the state Constitution will go
on the ballot in November.

Medical cannabis is important to the effort, because the medical world
has emerged as the connective tissue among cannabis users of all
stripes in Arizona. There are dozens of Facebook pages linking us
together in open collaboration, something few were willing to do as
recreational users.

The petition drive was sparked by Dennis Bohlke of Phoenix, who was
spurred by a DUI conviction for cannabis. His urine tested positive
for cannabis metabolites, and he was convicted and later appealed. He
is still fighting the conviction, he said.

Meanwhile, Bohlke decided to head off the problem for others. He
thinks Arizonans are weary of ruining young people's lives with felony
convictions for minor, victimless offenses and wasting millions of
dollars annually on investigation and prosecution.

"I don't believe they want to do that anymore," he
said.

So he wrote a new amendment to the state Constitution and created
Safer Arizona to push not only for legalization, but also to change
state DUI laws so people with cannabis metabolites in their
blood-which can remain weeks after you use cannabis-can't be convicted.

I agree in spirit with what Bohlke and his colleagues are doing, but I
have reservations. Actually, I see almost no hope it will pass,
despite one poll (http://www.brcpolls.com/13/RMP%202013-II-08.pdf)
showing 56 percent support for legalization and another showing 59
percent support (http://thecannabisindustry.org/AZ-survey-011113.pdf).
My belief it will fail boils down to two words-voting age. The Safer
Arizona amendment would legalize cannabis for anyone 18 or older,

Legalization for adults of drinking age is one thing, but I'm not 100
percent sure it's a good idea for 18-year-olds to use cannabis. If I
have reservations, it's a safe bet that the general population will
scoff. It's highly unlikely Safer Arizona will convince a majority of
our oh-so-red state to let high school seniors possess, use, display,
purchase, or transport marijuana accessories or two and a half (2.5)
ounces or less of marijuana.

So I am sad to say that this effort seems doomed from the start.
Frankly, it makes me wonder about the motivations behind it. Why would
anyone with realistic intentions to make cannabis legal try to include
teens? It seems either incredibly naive or incredibly devious.
Including teens in this effort seems like a reliable way to ensure it
fails.

The text of the proposed amendment is here:

http://www.super-tech.com/legalizepot.htm

For more information, go to Safer Arizona.com. The petition is available 
for download. You can sign, print and mail it from home,
but it must be notarized before you send it. For the most updated 
information on the effort, look for Safer Arizona on Facebook,
Bohlke said.
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MAP posted-by: Matt