Prop. 205 is Arizona’s 2016 Marijuana Regulation Initiative, often referred to as the “Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol” Initiative.

Prop. 205 is being paid for by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and the Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensary owners.

They’ve already spent MILLIONS of dollars on this Campaign, and they have pledged to spend “as much as it takes” to get this Initiative passed in Arizona. (Gee, I wonder why…)

Because we aren’t all fighting for the same thing.

“Big Marijuana” only cares about making MONEY!

Arizona’s Marijuana Consumers care about things like DECRIMINALIZATION (NO FELONIES!), GROW RIGHTS, DUI PROTECTIONS, WORKPLACE PROTECTIONS, PARENTAL PROTECTIONS, POST-CONVICTION RELIEF, etc.

Prop. 205 giving the Arizona MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensaries the “Oligopoly” on the entire Arizona Marijuana Market will ultimately cause the Black Market to thrive due to HIGH PRICES, LOW QUALITY, and LIMITED QUANTITIES!

Sadly, Prop. 205 does NOT remove the FELONY penalties for the vast majority of low-level Marijuana offenses. Any type of “Black Market” Marijuana activity is punishable by a FELONY, often times with a MANDATORY PRISON SENTENCE.

Due to the ambiguous language in Prop. 205, many people will mistakenly violate the Marijuana law without even knowing it and find themselves charged with a FELONY.

Prop. 205 creates a new Marijuana POLICE Agency in Arizona, which will result in even MORE Marijuana Consumers being arrested on FELONY Marijuana charges than ever before!

Prop. 205 takes the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program away from the AZDHS (Arizona Department of Health Services) and gives it to the new “Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control.”

That new “Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control” would be run, in part, by the existing MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY OWNERS!

Allowing the people who make the MONEY to also make the RULES is a serious CONFLICT OF INTEREST!

If the Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owners control the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program, it could result in Medical Marijuana Patient rights’ being sacrificed in order to generate more profits for the Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owners!

There are currently more than 100,000* Medical Marijuana Patients and Caregivers in Arizona who rely on the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program to keep them safe!!

Arizona also recognizes Medical Marijuana Recommendations from OTHER STATES as well, which allows visiting Medical Marijuana Patients to be protected when coming to Arizona.

* Statistics are according to the Arizona Department of Health Services April 2016 Medical Marijuana Report. (AZDHS.gov)

“Marijuana Decriminalization” is defined as “the lessening of criminal penalties with relation to Marijuana crimes.”

Put Simply;

“Marijuana Decriminalization” means removing the FELONY penalties for low-level (consumer level) Marijuana crimes and replacing those FELONY penalties with MISDEMEANORS.

The Sponsors of Prop. 205 want us to believe that Marijuana is somehow SAFE enough to sell to all adults in a retail setting, but still DANGEROUS enough to justify sending adults to PRISON for breaking the Marijuana laws…

WE AREN’T BUYING IT!

The sad truth is, Prop. 205 does NOT include “Marijuana Decriminalization” because Marijuana FELONIES keep the retail price of Marijuana higher and drive more customers to the Retail Dispensaries, which benefits the Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensaries who are paying for Prop. 205.

Clearly, anyone who supports a “Marijuana Legalization” bill will support a “Marijuana Decriminalization” bill!

Based on Polling from across the entire United States, we already know that the vast majority of Voters support “Marijuana Decriminalization.”

In other words, if you think Marijuana should be made LEGAL, then you probably don’t think that people should be given a FELONY and sent to PRISON for breaking Marijuana laws.

And if you do believe that people should be given a FELONY and sent to PRISON for breaking Marijuana laws, then you wouldn’t support “Marijuana Legalization” in the first place.

No.

Arizona would be the very FIRST State to try to “Legalize Marijuana” while still leaving the FELONY penalties in place for low-level Marijuana crimes!

Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Washington D.C. all passed “Marijuana Decriminalization” bills before trying to pass a “Marijuana Legalization” bill.

Arizona’s Prop. 205 has the potential to completely DESTROY Arizona’s SMOKE SHOPS!

Prop. 205 is being sponsored by a group of Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owners who are trying to get a Monopoly on the “Marijuana Accessories” Market!

Prop. 205 creates a new “Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control” and says that this new Marijuana Department would be run, in part, by the Marijuana Dispensary Owners.

Prop. 205 also says that this new Marijuana Department must enact rules and regulations for ANY businesses that THEY BELIEVE are selling “Marijuana Accessories.” (The “Marijuana  Department” gets to decide whether Smoke Shops are selling “Marijuana Accessories” or not!)

Arizona’s Smoke Shop Owners are all worried that the new Marijuana Department will say that ONLY the “Licensed Marijuana Dispensaries” can sell “Marijuana Accessories” to Adults if Prop. 205 passes!

If that does happen and a Smoke Shop doesn’t have a “Marijuana Dispensary License”, the Smoke Shop could then be shut down by the “Marijuana Department” for selling “Marijuana Accessories” without a valid license! And unfortunately, Prop. 205 says that ONLY the existing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries are guaranteed to receive any of the new “Marijuana Dispensary Licenses.”

In this way, Prop. 205 has the potential to completely DESTROY Arizona’s Smoke Shops overnight!

Prop. 205 says that “Marijuana Accessories” are defined as:

“ANY EQUIPMENT, PRODUCT OR MATERIAL OF ANY KIND THAT IS USED, INTENDED FOR USE OR DESIGNED FOR USE IN PLANTING, PROPAGATING, CULTIVATING, GROWING, HARVESTING, MANUFACTURING, COMPOUNDING, CONVERTING, PRODUCING, PROCESSING, PREPARING, TESTING, ANALYZING, PACKAGING, REPACKAGING, STORING, TRANSPORTING OR CONTAINING MARIJUANA, OR FOR INGESTING, INHALING OR OTHERWISE INTRODUCING MARIJUANA INTO THE HUMAN BODY.”

In other words, ANYTHING that is used, intended to be used, or designed to be used for CONSUMING Marijuana or GROWING Marijuana is going to be considered “Marijuana Accessories” under Prop. 205. (Pipes, bongs, vaporizers, dabbing equipment, etc.)

YES!

Based on the definition of “Marijuana Accessories” in Prop. 205, it is EXTREMELY LIKELY that Arizona’s Smoke Shops will be accused of selling “Marijuana Accessories” if Prop. 205 passes!

Yes!

Prop. 205 says that Cities or Counties can enact Zoning Ordinances to regulate ANY businesses (including Smoke Shops) who sell “Marijuana Accessories.”

(The City-Council or County-Council decides whether a business is selling “Marijuana Accessories” or not!)

Due to the social stigma attached to Marijuana use, we can reasonably expect that the Zoning Ordinances for businesses who sell “Marijuana Accessories” will be much more strict than the Zoning Ordinances that currently exist for businesses who sell “Tobacco Accessories.”

Prop. 205 also says that any of the new City or County Zoning Ordinances can NOT be imposed on an existing Marijuana Dispensary that is currently located in it’s jurisdiction.

In other words, Prop. 205 allows Cities or Counties to FORCE SMOKE SHOPS to move if they are selling “Marijuana Accessories”, but Cities and Counties can NOT force Marijuana Dispensaries to move, even if they sell “Marijuana Accessories”!

Of course, Prop. 205 allowing Cities or Counties to regulate Smoke Shops could all be a moot point if the new Marijuana Department DESTROYS Arizona’s Smoke Shops by saying that ONLY Licensed Marijuana Dispensaries can sell “Marijuana Accessories” to Adults.

MAYBE, but probably NOT.

Prop. 205 initially says that adults can legally grow 6 Marijuana Plants at their residence.

HOWEVER….

Prop. 205 also says that any CITY or COUNTY in Arizona can choose to BAN Personal Marijuana Growing throughout the entire City.

Based on numerous City Councils’ past attitudes toward MEDICAL Marijuana, we fully expect that virtually every single City and County in Arizona will choose to exercise their authority to BAN MARIJUANA GROWING under Prop. 205.

Prop. 205 also says that a person’s LANDLORD can choose to BAN Marijuana Growing at their home or property.

Yes!!

Prop. 205 says that any CITY or COUNTY in Arizona can choose to BAN Personal Marijuana Growing throughout the entire City, if the local City Council or County Council decides that Marijuana growing is a “Nuisance” to a “considerable number of people.”

What exactly is a “Nuisance” and what exactly is a “considerable number of people”?

Unfortunately, those questions will be answered by a handful of City Council-members who have repeatedly demonstrated that they HATE MARIJUANA!

We can’t say for sure which Cities and Counties will choose to BAN Marijuana Growing.

All we can say for certain is that Prop. 205 explicitly gives Cities and Counties the power to BAN Marijuana Growing if they want to.

However, we can say that NUMEROUS Cities and Counties in Arizona have already chosen to BAN MEDICAL Marijuana Patient growing, despite the fact that the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act does NOT allow them to ban Patient growing..

After the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act was implemented in 2011, we attended virtually every single City Council meeting throughout the State whenever a Medical Marijuana issue was being discussed. We quickly learned that most Arizona City Councils weren’t afraid to admit that they HATE Marijuana and Marijuana Cultivation!

Sadly, many of the Arizona Cities and Counties already have a long list of reasons why they consider Personal Marijuana growing to be a “Nuisance.”

Unfortunately, these City Councils would not actually be required to prove in Court that Marijuana growing ACTUALLY causes a real “Nuisance” in order for them to pass an Ordinance to BAN Marijuana Growing in their City.

A City or County Ordinance to BAN Marijuana Growing would only need to be passed by a majority vote of the HANDFUL of City or County Council-members!

If an Adult grows 6 Marijuana plants in a City or County that has BANNED Marijuana Growing, they will be charged with at LEAST a CLASS 4 FELONY for “Illegal Cultivation of Marijuana”, which likely includes a MANDATORY PRISON SENTENCE, in addition to receiving a FINE for violating a City or County Ordinance.

Prop. 205 allows adults to grow 6 Marijuana plants, but ONLY if it is done; “In compliance with Prop. 205 and any Rules and Regulations enacted pursuant to Prop. 205.”

In other words, Prop. 205 only allows adults to grow 6 Marijuana plants as long as they follow the Marijuana law and any of the other Marijuana regulations. If an adult breaks the law while growing Marijuana, it reverts back to the old FELONY Penalties for growing Marijuana.

Prop. 205 specifically allows Cities and Counties to pass Ordinances (Rules and Regulations) to BAN Marijuana Growing in their City or County.

Therefore, if an Adult were to grow 6 Marijuana Plants in a City or County that has BANNED growing, they would no longer be growing the plants “In compliance with Prop. 205 or any Rules and Regulations enacted pursuant to Prop. 205.” (Because a City or County Ordinance that BANS Marijuana Growing is a “Rule or Regulation enacted pursuant to Prop. 205.”)

So if an Adult grows 6 Marijuana plants in a City or County that has BANNED Marijuana Growing, they will be charged with at LEAST a CLASS 4 FELONY for “Illegal Cultivation of Marijuana” in addition to receiving a FINE for violating a City or County Ordinance.

Yes!

Prop. 205 says that a person’s LANDLORD can choose to BAN Marijuana Growing at their home or property.

If a person grows Marijuana Plants at a residence where the Landlord has BANNED Marijuana Growing, Prop. 205 explicitly makes that a CLASS 1 MISDEMEANOR instead of just making it a violation of the Lease agreement!

Prop. 205 only allows adults to grow 6 Marijuana plants as long as they follow the Marijuana law and any of the other Marijuana regulations. If an adult breaks the law while growing Marijuana, it reverts back to the old FELONY Penalties for growing Marijuana.

Prop. 205 specifically allows Landlords to BAN Marijuana Growing. So if an Adult were to grow Marijuana Plants in a residence where the Landlord has BANNED growing, they would no longer be growing the Marijuana Plants “In compliance with Prop. 205.”

Therefore, a person who grows 6 Marijuana Plants in a residence where the Landlord has BANNED Marijuana Growing, could actually be charged with BOTH a Class 1 Misdemeanor for “Growing Marijuana in a Prohibited Location” AND a Class 4 FELONY for “Illegal Cultivation of Marijuana.”

Under Prop. 205, if an Adult breaks the law by growing more than 6 Marijuana plants, they would then be charged with at least a CLASS 4 FELONY for “Illegal Cultivation of Marijuana”, which likely includes a Mandatory PRISON Sentence!

(If the Adult also possesses actual “Marijuana” while found to be growing too many Marijuana Plants, they would also receive an additional FELONY for the “Illegal Possession of Marijuana” too!)

Nobody really knows!

Prop. 205 does not define what a “Marijuana Plant” actually is…

Is a “Marijuana Seed” considered to be a “Marijuana Plant” under Prop. 205?

Is a “Marijuana Cutting” considered to be a “Marijuana Plant” under Prop. 205?

If the Police break 10 branches off of 1 large “Marijuana Plant,” is that considered to be 1 “Marijuana Plant” (Legal) or is that considered to be 11 “Marijuana Plants” (Illegal) under Prop. 205?

Unfortunately, Law Enforcement will be answering these questions for us, because Prop. 205 does not define what a “Marijuana Plant” actually is.

An “Oligopoly” is defined as: “a state of limited competition, in which a product or market is controlled by a small number of producers and/or sellers, each of whom is able to influence prices and thus directly affect the position of competitors.”

In other words, an “Oligopoly” allows a few select companies to completely control the Production and/or Sale of a product.

An “Oligopoly” is very similar to a “Monopoly,” except that rather than one company controlling the market, two or more companies control the market.

YES!

Prop. 205 says that ONLY the existing Arizona MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensaries are guaranteed to receive any of the new Marijuana Retail Licenses, Marijuana Cultivation Licenses, and Marijuana Product Manufacturer Licenses!

Prop. 205 seeks to give the existing Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensaries an “Oligopoly” on the entire Arizona Marijuana Market!

The authors of Prop. 205 did a VERY good job writing deceitful language into their Initiative in an effort to try and fool Arizona voters..

Prop. 205 does say that the new “Marijuana Department” may issue an amount of Marijuana Retail Dispensary Licenses equal to 10% of the number of Series 9 Liquor Licenses in Arizona. (This equals about 147 Marijuana Retail Dispensary Licenses that would “potentially” be available.)

HOWEVER, Prop. 205 also says that any CITY or COUNTY can limit the amount of any type of Marijuana Business in their jurisdiction, EXCEPT that the City or County can’t impose a limit on any Marijuana Businesses that are also owned by a MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY!

So in other words, Prop. 205 says that ONLY the existing Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensaries are guaranteed to receive any of the new Marijuana Retail Licenses, Marijuana Cultivation Licenses, and Marijuana Product Manufacturer Licenses!

Anyone who doesn’t own an Arizona MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensary who wants to obtain any of the new Marijuana Retail Licenses, Marijuana Cultivation Licenses, and Marijuana Product Manufacturer Licenses is at the mercy of their local City and County.

Yes! We fully expect that the majority of Arizona’s Cities and Counties will choose to say that ONLY the existing MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensaries will be allowed to receive any of the new Marijuana Retail Licenses, Marijuana Cultivation Licenses, and Marijuana Product Manufacturer Licenses.

For Example;

At the Phoenix City Council Meeting held on April 20th, 2016, the City of Phoenix passed an Emergency Ordinance to prevent any new MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensaries from moving to Phoenix.

At this very same Phoenix City Council Meeting, the Phoenix City Council-members all agreed that: “The City of Phoenix doesn’t want the number of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries that we currently have, so we definitely don’t want more of these Medical Marijuana Dispensaries coming to Phoenix.”

If the City of Phoenix doesn’t want the 15 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries that they CURRENTLY have, how many more RECREATIONAL Marijuana Dispensaries will the City of Phoenix want if Prop. 205 passes?

Since Prop. 205 allows it, we firmly believe that the City of Phoenix, along with numerous other Cities, will say that ONLY the existing MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensaries can grow and sell “Recreational” Marijuana.

Prop. 205 giving the Arizona MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensaries the “Oligopoly” on the entire Arizona Marijuana Market will ultimately cause the Black Market to thrive due to HIGH PRICES, LOW QUALITY, and LIMITED QUANTITIES!

According to the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s report, there are an estimated 587,100 Marijuana Consumers in Arizona.

If Prop. 205 ONLY allows the existing Arizona MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensary Owners to grow and sell Recreational Marijuana in Arizona, but those Medical Marijuana Dispensaries are having to buy Marijuana illegally in order to keep up with the current demand of 100,000+ Medical Marijuana Patients, then obviously those very same MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensaries won’t be able to supply the demand of an estimated 587,100 Marijuana consumers in Arizona.

When these 94 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries can’t supply the demand of 587,100 recreational Marijuana consumers, those Marijuana consumers will have no choice but to purchase Marijuana from the BLACK MARKET instead.

In Prop. 205, any type of Black Market Marijuana activity is punishable by a FELONY penalty, often times with a “Mandatory Minimum PRISON Sentence.”

In other words, the MEDICAL Marijuana Dispensaries will have no choice but to ONLY grow the top-yielding strains in order to “try” and keep up with the demand of 587,100 Marijuana Consumers…

This means that many of the special “boutique” strains (OG’s, Cookies, etc.) will not be available for purchase in a retail Marijuana Dispensary because they are not big yielders. If you want one of those special “boutique” strains, you’ll be forced to buy Marijuana from the BLACK MARKET.

Put simply; If Prop. 205 does pass, we’ll have 94 Marijuana Dispensaries that Marijuana Consumers won’t want to shop at…

Yes!

Prop. 205 says that your Employer can choose to FIRE YOU if you test positive for Marijuana, even if you used the Marijuana legally when you were NOT at work!

Prop. 205 allows an adult to consume Marijuana legally at their home on Saturday and then allows them to be FIRED from their job for testing positive for Marijuana on Monday morning. (Marijuana metabolites can remain in the bloodstream for 30 days or more!)

Most of us would probably agree that an Employee should NOT be using Marijuana AT WORK, even if Marijuana is made legal in Arizona.

Most of us would also agree that an Employee should NOT be FIRED simply for using Marijuana legally in the privacy of their own home if Marijuana is made legal in Arizona.

Making Marijuana “legal”, but allowing your Employer to FIRE YOU for using it legally in your own home, is completely contradictory to the whole purpose of making Marijuana legal.

Yes!

Prop. 205 creates a new Marijuana POLICE in Arizona, while leaving the harsh FELONY Penalties in place for most Marijuana Offenses!

This will ultimately result in even MORE Marijuana Consumers being arrested on FELONY Marijuana charges than ever before!

Creating a new Marijuana Police completely contradicts the whole point of Legalizing Marijuana in order to allow Law Enforcement to focus on REAL CRIME.