Hoping to legalize and regulate marijuana like alcohol in the Grand Canyon State on Tuesday, November 8, the passage of Arizona’s Proposition 205 is currently leading by the narrowest of margins, according to online polls.

“Conducted from Oct. 10 to Oct. 15, 50.4% of the 811 voters polled were in favor of recreational marijuana legalization in Arizona. The same poll found that 41.6% of the voters were opposed to Prop 205, and 8% were still undecided.”

First legalized by the passage of Proposition 200 in the mid-90s, then modified by the narrow passage of Proposition 203 in 2010, legal access to the medicinal herb has been a hot button topic for decades in Arizona.

While the smart money is betting on the proposition’s passage, Arizona’s chairman of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol believes this initiative could ultimately be decided by just a few thousand votes.

If Proposition 205 Passes

Provided Arizona’s constituents pass Proposition 205, the legislation would provide similar safeguards and regulatory oversights to monitor and oversee the recreational marijuana industry. Adults 21 and over would be allowed to personally possess no more than one ounce of state-sanctioned flower while authorizing the personal cultivation of no more than six mature plants in the privacy of their own residence.

Those qualified medical marijuana patients, caregivers, or dispensary agents acting within the scope of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act would continue to enjoy the Act’s protections
The passage of Proposition 205 would not alter the current penalties for operating a motor vehicle or machinery while impaired by marijuana
Any landlord or landowner could prohibit the smoking or cultivation marijuana on their property

Cultivating and controlling Arizona’s legal marijuana market, the passage of Prop 205 would create the Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control. Tasked with overseeing Arizona’s newest commodity, the department would standardize and regulate all recreational marijuana activity, including all mandated testing.

Arizona’s Proposition 205 would also levy a 15% sales tax on all recreational marijuana transactions, with that revenue deposited in a “Marijuana Fund.” Estimating $113 million in annual cash flow, Prop 205 would then allocate 40% of their general Marijuana Fund to K-12 education and another 20% to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

While individuals caught firing up in public would still be subject to a fine for their transgression, Prop 205’s passage would eliminate the felony charge currently awaiting any non-MMJ patient caught with pot in Arizona.

Organizations Supporting Proposition 205

Arizona Democratic Party, La Paz County Republican Committee, Arizona Liberty Caucus, ACLU of Arizona, Las Adelitas Arizona, MomForce AZ, Arizona NORML, Clergy for a New Drug Policy, Drug Policy Alliance, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, Marijuana Policy Project, National Organization for the, Reform of Marijuana Laws, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Individual Endorsements of Proposition 205

Congressman Ruben Gallego – U.S. House of Representatives
Congressman Raul Grijalva – U.S. House of Representatives
Sen. Martin Quezada – Arizona State Senate, Pendergast Elementary School District Governing Board
Rep. Richard C. Andrade – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Reginald Bolding Jr. – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Mark Cardenas – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Ken Clark – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Charlene Fernandez – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Matthew Kopec – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Jonathan R. Larkin – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Stefanie Mach – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Juan Mendez – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Celeste Plumlee – Arizona House of Representatives
Rep. Bruce Wheeler – Arizona House of Representatives
Paul Cunningham – Tucson City Council
Karin Uhlich – Tucson City Council
Regina Romero – Tucson City Council
Randy Keating – Tempe City Council
Lauren Kuby – Tempe City Council
Henry Wade – Maricopa City Council
Buck Crouch – President, Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board
Devin Del Palacio – Vice President, Tolleson Union High School District Governing Board
Ian Danley – Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board
Daniel Hernandez – Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board
Channel Powe – Balsz School District Governing Board
Stanford Prescott – Phoenix Union High School District Governing Board
Ben Smith – Mesa Public Schools Governing Board
Dr. Tom Patterson – Arizona Senate Majority Leader (1993-1995), Chair of the Goldwater Institute (2000-2015), Past President of the Arizona Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians
Woody Thomas – Past Mayor of Litchfield Park
Alexis Tameorn – Chair, Arizona Democratic Party
Michael Kielsky – Chair, Arizona Libertarian Party
Dan O’Neil – State Coordinator, Progressive Democrats of America
Sonia Martinez – Past President of the Native American Bar Association of Arizona
Michael Capasso – Former Special Agent and Financial Crimes Unit Chief for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Finn Sealander – Former Special Agent and Marijuana Coordinator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Rev. Sherman Fort – Senior Pastor, Canaan Missionary Baptist Church (Mesa)
Rev. Terry Sims – Minister, Unitarian Universalist Church of Sunrise
Rev. Bart Smith – Pastor, St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church (Tucson)
Rev. Warren Stewart, Jr. – Lead Pastor, Church of the Remnant (Phoenix)
Rabbi Dr. Schmuly Yanklowitz – President and Dean, Valley Beit Midrash (Phoenix)
Rev. Jim Wiltbank – Pastor, St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church (Tucson)
Rev. Alexander E. Sharp – Executive Director, Clergy for a New Drug Policy