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FORUM TO ADDRESS MARIJUANA BALLOT ISSUE

Advocates and opponents of this November's state ballot initiative to legalize non-medical marijuana use will present what they see as the pros and cons of Prop 205 at a forum today in Yuma.

The event will be from 3 to 5 p.m.  in the auditorium at the Yuma Heritage Library, 350 S.  3rd Ave.  Admission is free for the event, sponsored by the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce.  Seating is restricted to the first 100 attendees.  Chamber Executive Director John Courtis said he was contacted by representatives of Arizonans for a Responsible Drug Policy, which is against the legalization measure, a couple of weeks ago about the possibility of hosting a presentation of its platform.  Chamber board members advised him to find someone to represent legalization proponents.

Proponents are being represented by the Marijuana Policy Project, a nationwide organization also supporting ballot measures in Nevada, Massachusetts and Maine, all through political action committees called the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.

Courtis said it's part of the chamber's job to inform its members and the public about policy issues to help voters make an informed decision, even if many people know how they're going to vote.  "I don't think this is going to change anybody's mind for or against this, but at least people can clear up the misinformation that's out there," he said.

This measure would permit any adult over age 21 to have up to one ounce of the drug or six plants without fear of prosecution under state law.  It also sets up a new state agency to regulate sales, imposes new taxes and enacts various provisions that have ripple effects through state law.  Medical use of marijuana was approved by state voters in 2010.

Carlos Alfaro, deputy campaign manager for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said the measure's supporters will be represented by Adam Kinsey, Arizona campaign director, and will argue that the new law would make it easier to control minors' access to the drug through its licensing and buyer ID requirements.

"Marijuana is in every high school in the state, so definitely prohibition is a failure at keeping marijuana from our kids.  With this law we would know who is buying it and who is selling it," he said, noting teen use has either been stable or gone down a little in states where recreational use of the drug is legal.

Arizonans for a Responsible Drug Policy is fighting the inclusion of the measure on the state ballot in court and says on its website that legalization of the drug in Colorado has "harmed the safety and well-being of Coloradans."

The group says the number of traffic fatalities involving marijuana users increased 32 percent after the first year of legalization, citing a study by the Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a federally funded office coordinating drug control efforts in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.