Pubdate: Tue, 23 Aug 2016
Source: Sun, The (Yuma, AZ)
Copyright: 2016 The Sun
Contact: http://www.yumasun.com/sections/opinion/submit-letters/
Website: http://www.yumasun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1258
Author: Blake Herzog

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.
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