PHOENIX — On Friday, the Smart and Safe Arizona Initiative filed with the Arizona Secretary of State to legalize the sale, possession, and consummation of one ounce of marijuana.
The initiative hopes to let the voters decide on the November 2020 ballot.
Stacy Pearson is the campaign's manager and says this initiative is good for Arizona in a number of ways. One of the most notable, generating $300 million in new revenue for the state.
"This initiative will help Arizona in a number of ways, funding being just one of them, another being to unclog the justice system," said Pearson.
Not everyone is on board, Arizonans For Responsible Drug Policy sending out a statement saying, "Once again pot rolls out risky proposition."
Yavapai County Attorney Shelia Polk and chair of Arizonans For Responsible Drug Policy said in a statement to ABC15:
"The only promise they've ever kept is to rake in as much profit as possible. When you look at the promises they've broken, you have to wonder how this initiative would be any different."
The initiative to legalize marijuana will still need to collect 240,000 signatures from registered Arizona voters before the issue is eligible for the November 2020 ballot.
Organizers say they'll start collecting those signatures in September.
