PHOENIX — Foes of recreational use of marijuana are conceding they can’t stop a 2016 vote on the issue.
Seth Leibsohn, chairman of Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, said he has no reason to doubt a claim by supporters that they already have gathered 50,000 signatures on petitions.
That’s about a quarter of what they’ll need, as verification is likely to eliminate a fifth or more of the 150,642 valid names needed. And supporters, who are paying circulators, have until next July to reach their goal.
Instead, Leibsohn said his group, which he organized with Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, has been doing its groundwork in hopes of softening up support for the measure to follow the lead of Colorado, Oregon and other states to regulate marijuana like alcohol: Make it legal for adults and tax it.
“We haven’t started the ad campaign yet,” he said. “But I don’t think there’s a week goes by when one of us isn’t giving one or two or three presentations.”
Foes also have been writing op-ed pieces for publications in anticipation of the pro-marijuana campaign to come.
But Leibsohn said it may make little sense to pull out all the stops — and spend a lot of money — this early in the campaign.
“I don’t think a lot of people are really paying attention to this right now,” he said. Leibsohn said the only political issue for the 2016 race that appears to be commanding the focus of voters is the presidential campaign.
Leibsohn conceded one hurdle is that with the 2010 passage of the state’s medical marijuana law many Arizona probably don’t see what the big deal is about recreational use.
His argument is, in essence, that what’s being sold out there isn’t the “ditch weed” that was so prevalent decades ago. Put simply, the content of the psychoactive element is magnitudes higher.
“It is not an inconsequential difference, the new THC strains,” he said. “That’s why you’re seeing these reports out of the medical journals on the differences it is doing now.”
But Carlos Alfaro, Arizona political director of the Marijuana Policy Project, said it’s precisely that difference that he believes makes the case for legalization and regulation.
“Because it’s in the underground market, there is no packaging, there is no restriction,” he said. “With this marijuana initiative, we’ll be able to set up a system to know the THC content, properly dose it and get it to the right hands.”
One thing is becoming clear: This is going to be an expensive campaign.
On the pro-initiative side, spokesman Barrett Marson said some of its funding is coming from the Marijuana Policy Project. That’s the organization that provided the main source of funding for the 2010 medical marijuana law.
But that entire effort took just $800,000. Marson said to look for more spending this time.
“We expect this will be a multimillion-dollar campaign,” he said. In fact, Marson said, his group expects to spend “at least $800,000 just to get the signatures, give or take,” to qualify for the ballot.
Foes, who spent just $20,000 trying to kill the 2010 law, are not going to get caught short again.
“We’re going to raise several million dollars,” said Leibsohn, who then began channeling Winston Churchill: “We’re going to fight them on the beaches, the landing grounds, the fields, the streets, the hills and never surrender on this.”
But that won’t be the only anti-marijuana message voters see.
A Prescott-based group known as Matforce has been buying up TV commercials and billboards around the state with the message of “Marijuana Harmless? Think Again.”
