Legalized recreational marijuana draws closer to public vote in Arizona

Backers of legal recreational marijuana took the first steps Friday to putting the issue on the 2020 ballot.

The initiative crafted by supporters and financed by the current and would-be seller would allow anyone age 21 and up to buy and possess up to an ounce of marijuana or up to 12 plants for a household. It also would provide an opportunity for anyone already previously found guilty of having that much of the drug to have the conviction expunged from the record.

As an incentive to get people to sign the petition, and approve it if it makes the ballot, the measure would impose a 16 percent tax on sales. Proponents say that would generate $300 million a year in new revenues to fund community colleges, public safety, health programs and for construction and repair of roads.

Backers also built in provisions designed to blunt criticism, particularly from the business community that helped quash a 2016 measure. That specifically includes allowing companies to prohibit the use and possession of the drugs on the jobs, even to the point of being able to maintain policies that allow them to fire people if they show any signs of impairment. [Read More @ Arizona Capitol Times]