Arizona county judge tosses lawsuit targeting rec MJ initiative

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A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has thrown out a lawsuit aimed at keeping a recreational marijuana legalization initiative off the Arizona ballot this November.

The plaintiffs behind the suit promised to appeal their case to the Arizona Supreme Court, the Eastern Arizona Courier reported, signaling the legal battle over recreational legalization isn’t over.

Seth Leibsohn, chairman for Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, which is behind the suit, said the legalization initiative “perpetrates a fraud on the electorate.”

But J.P. Holyoak, chairman of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Campaign – which is behind Proposition 205 – called the lawsuit “frivolous and politically motivated.”

The initiative qualified for the Arizona ballot on August 10 after supporters submitted the requisite number of signatures to the secretary of state’s office.

The measure faces an uphill battle. Proposition 205 hasn’t been polling well over the summer, and a cannabis consumer group that’s dedicated to defeating the initiative is also promising to do everything it can to fight the measure so it can return in 2018 with a different version of legalization.