Recreational marijuana: Arizona voters may get say this November

To bring recreational marijuana to November's ballot, The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol needs only 150,642 signatures to be valid out of the 258,582 signatures they submitted to the Arizona Secretary of State this week. With numbers on their side, marijuana activists are sure the initiative will make the ballot, but the question remains if Arizona voters will be able to legalize the drug. If the initiative passes, adults over 21 in Arizona will be able to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana purchased from a licensed distributor, or grow up to 6 plants at home. The initiative would also introduce a Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control to regulate program, and a 15% tax on retail marijuana sales with revenue funding education and public health.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol needs 150,642 valid signatures from registered voters to qualify, and they have likely submitted enough signatures to account for any that may be thrown out. The measure almost certainly will make the ballot[.]

The proposition would ask Arizona voters to legalize marijuana for recreational use and establish a network of licensed cannabis shops that would tax sales of the drug, similar to the model established in Colorado.

By 2020, according to a new analysis by the Joint Budget Legislative Committee, $27.8 million in tax revenues would go to K-12 public schools for operating costs and another $27.8 million would go to schools to help pay for full-day kindergarte