Arizona Chamber of Commerce fighting legalization

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Arizona marijuana advocates who believe that opponents to their legalization efforts won’t put up a fight better think again.

The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and two prominent prohibitionist lawyers in the state are putting on a March 2 workshop on how to defeat proposed legalization ballot measures, according to the Phoenix New Times. One measure is by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which is backed by the Marijuana Policy Project, and the other is from Arizonans for Mindful Regulation. Both groups are still collecting signatures to get their measures on the November ballot.

The Arizona Chamber of Commerce donated $10,000 in December to a group that is opposed to legalization, according to the paper.

The class is by invitation only, but is seeking to bring in “corporate legal advisers, human-resources professionals, risk managers, and compliance officers,” the paper reported.

The workshop will include county attorneys Bill Montgomery and Sheila Polk who tried, unsuccessfully, to get permission to spend public funds to fight legalization efforts. Montgomery has failed at other anti-marijuana measures as well, including overturning Arizona’s 2010 medical marijuana law, shutting down a legally operating dispensary, and prohibiting the manufacture of tinctures and edibles.

According to the most recent polls, Arizonans are split about 50-50 on adult use legalization.