Second Arizona MJ legalization initiative floated

Did you miss the webinar “Women Leaders in Cannabis: Shattering the Grass Ceiling?” Head to MJBiz YouTube to watch it now!


Although stakeholders in Arizona’s marijuana industry had hoped to unify behind a single legalization ballot measure for this November, it looks like the mainstream establishment will have at least one competitor. The question is whether or not the new grassroots campaign will have enough resources to make the ballot, according to the Phoenix New Times.

While the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which is supported by the Marijuana Policy Project, would legalize roughly about 150 rec shops in the state, newcomer campaign Arizonans for Mindful Regulation is pushing a measure to allow for upwards of 1,500 storefronts.

Both campaigns need to gather about 150,000 signatures by July 7 in order to make the November ballot, and the newcomer campaign claims to have collected more than 100,000 already, while the MPP-backed organization is paying petition circulators.

The New Times suggested that according to polling, MPP’s initiative would likely have an easier time getting support from a majority of voters than the less-restrictive measure by Arizonans for Mindful Regulation.

The specter of two competing initiatives was also a possibility a year ago, when MPP and other factions in the Arizona cannabis community seemed split on which legalization route to take. But many of the stakeholders were able to resolve their differences and unite.