It seems as if residents of Arizona are fed up with marijuana prohibition too – recent poll conducted by the Behavior Research Center of Arizona shows that majority of Arizonans, 53% of them support legalizing marijuana for recreational use, which is almost identical to a finding released earlier this year by the Pew research center. Strongest support for legalization comes from rural areas of Arizona.
Adults shouldn’t be punished
“Arizonans are fed up with the failed policy of marijuana prohibition,” J.P. Holyoak, chairman of Arizona’s Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said in a press release. “They do not think adults should be punished just for consuming a substance that is objectively less harmful than alcohol. It’s time for a more sensible approach, and that’s what our initiative proposes.” Well, all that campaigning has been successful, it seems, particularly campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. It is supporting one of the proposed ballot initiatives that call for equal taxation of marijuana and alcohol. Since launching its petition drive couple of weeks ago, the campaign has collected more than 15,000 signatures. This is a good start, however, it is still far from the objective, which is to collect more than 150,000 valid signatures of registered Arizona voters in order to be able to qualify the initiative for the November 2016 ballot.
The streets have spoken
“The poll reflects what we’re finding out on the street while collecting signatures,” Holyoak said. “We’re finding that most voters agree it’s time for a more sensible marijuana policy in Arizona. Even those folks who are still on the fence seem to agree that our current prohibition laws aren’t working.” It is not surprising to see such a big support, as marijuana prohibition has destroyed many families and many individuals. Moreover, as the nation is getting close to marking 80 years of marijuana prohibition, the racist roots of it are as strong now as in the beginning. Take Harry Anslinger for instance, who is considered to be the father of the war on weed. The guy has literally used racism as a tool to demonize marijuana. He was the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which is a predecessor to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Needles to say, he was an asshole and a liar.
Arizona wants more research regarding medical marijuana
According to the same poll, 83% think that universities in Arizona should be allowed to conduct medical marijuana research with an emphasis on research regarding medical benefits of marijuana to treat soldiers with posttraumatic stress syndrome, children with epilepsy or people with Alzheimer’s disease. Just as a reminder – medical marijuana research is still not as available to scientists as it should be. Marijuana is still a Schedule I drug, which makes it equal as heroine and only a handful of researchers have the necessary permits. For the time being, the federal law is in conflict with the state law. Physicians are still not allowed to prescribe marijuana to their patients; they are only allowed to recommend it (under the First Amendment).
