People inside the marijuana movement believe that 2016 will be the key year for marijuana legalization in Arizona. There is an open ballot initiative that seeks to make marijuana legal for adults over the age of 18 to purchase and possess marijuana. This is the same process by which the law was passed in Colorado and has been a proven method in many states. There is also an initiative to put the marijuana up for vote in the EU.
Creating a constitutional amendment in a state takes a lot of time and money, especially when or not an initiative and referendum process is used. The current ballot initiative has only 10,000 votes of the requisite 300,000 to put a referendum on the November midterm elections. The set back is one of funding, as cannabis activists make strategic plays in states where they will have the most success. As some people love to say, it’s a cost benefit analysis situation.
An Idea Whose Time Will Come
Pushing back Arizona’s legalization movement makes way for funding in Oregon, where a referendum failed two years ago by a close margin. Having Colorado’s market stabilize and connecting the whole west coast with medical marijuana laws will significantly decrease trafficking penalties across state lines and further reduce otherwise excessive incarcerations.
Illicit drug trafficking is an ever present problem in Arizona. Marijuana coming from Mexico and California headed for thriving black markets produced by an uncontrollable prohibition policy. Trucks filled with thousands of pounds attempt to cross the border regularly in an always high stakes game of securing a piece of the drug money pie.
Tax Revenue to Solve More Important Issues
The money raised from the sail of marijuana in Arizona will free officers to fight funding for ruthless drug cartels that have such a strong hold on the government and people of Mexico. Legalization of marijuana in the United States allows competition for with the cartels, whose cash flow will decrease and make it harder for them to fund their corruption and violence.
By the end of 2016 Activists suspect that the entire west coast will have decriminalization laws in place, with new strong holds on the east coast, in Florida’s medical law and Washington DC’s consideration of recreational marijuana. The deep south has been the slowest to react to the Marijuana movement, but some states have at least warmed up to the benefits of CBD. Perhaps soon we will all be growing Green House Seed Co seeds.
