As the election in November is creeping up, voting on ballot measures is becoming heatedly debated as this year’s ballot measure included that of legalization of Marijuana in Arizona. Opponents now in a desperate act to stop the legalization of Marijuana have gone so far to file a lawsuit in which would question the ballot’s description accuracy and doing so would hopefully stop the ballot measure from going to be on the ballot’s in November.
From AZ Central News the lawsuit, by Arizonans for Health and Public Safety which is a conservative advocacy and lobbying group that has donated $100,000 this year, has argue that the initiative’s backers did not accurately describe the measure in a 100-word summary including that of the petitions that voters signed for it to qualify for the general election. Former Congressman John Shadegg, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit quoted on saying “The proponent’s summary of the initiative is confusing and deceptive in numerous ways, beginning with the very definition of marijuana,”. The group contends that the summary should have included or at least expanded on a range of details in a 16-page initiative. Firstly it needs to be more accurate on if Marijuana was legalized it must include the description of Marijuana concentrate. Secondly the summary’s initiative is misleading when it comes to describing “ The protection of the employer and property owner rights” and not explaining well why the government can’t tax the Marijuana on top of the proposed 16%. Lastly, it needs to do better explaining how carrying marijuana under the age of 21 criminal offense will be changed to a civilian penalty, not a felony.
Stacy Pearson, a spokeswoman for the initiative campaign Smart and Safe Arizona believes that there is no way to incorporate a 15-page document or even a 12-page document into a 100-word summary and is confident that the 100-word summary has included the principal provisions of the ballot measure. One ballot measure that was voted out that was similar in nature of the 100 word summary complication was in 2018. The Arizona’s Supreme Court said that 100-word summary of that initiative did not show the facts in the “principal provisions” when it came understanding the structuring when it came to funding education but there was no issue of it not being impartial and not needing to detail every provision of a ballot measure. The 100-word summaries required for each initiative are at the heart of lawsuits challenging the other three ballot measures as well that have been proposed for this year’s election. The other ballot measures proposals are changing the state’s criminal sentencing laws, raising pay for health care workers, and increasing taxes on higher income tax filers to boost funding for public schools.
Arizonians have as well changed their opinion on the legalization of Marijuana this year than the last couple of years. This year, backers turned in around 420,000 signatures for the measure to qualify for the ballot, far more than the 237,645 required and more than were gathered by any other initiative campaign this year. As well, there was a poll released by the firm OH Predictive Insights in which showed 62% of Arizona voters support legalizing marijuana, up from 51% in December. Only 32% of voters surveyed said they oppose legalizing marijuana, down from 42% at the end of last year. Surprisingly this year that was different then the other years of voting for the legalization of Marijuana is that the demographics were more well-rounded support by suburbanites and parents with young children who before opposed legalization.
This election year has been probably one of the craziest of all time and as a well key election year for ballot measures that have not to gain much support in Arizona until recently. CIMA Law Group will keep track to see if this lawsuit will be successful or have the ballot measure to keep its journey towards election day, in which Arizonians will decide the fate of legalization of Marijuana in this year election.
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