Tucson Health: The Grand Canyon State of Stoners?

Stephanie Innes Arizona Daily Star
October 9, 2010 12:00 am

Time Magazine has an interesting article this week about California's Proposition 19, which would decriminalize marijuana.

California was the first state in the country to decriminalize marijuana for medical use and now may become the first to decriminalize it altogether.

(San Francisco marijuana activist Dennis Peron was the impetus behind California's Prop. 215, enacted in 1996. He helped create the first medical marijuana legislation in the country in memory of his partner, Jonathan West, who had used marijuana to treat symptoms of AIDS)

California's Prop. 19, which would completely decriminalize marijuana in that state, is on the Nov. 2 election ballot.

The local impact of California's ballot measure passing has not been widely explored. That's not completely surprising given the upcoming elections and the debate over Proposition 203 in Arizona - a ballot initiative that would decriminalize marijuana for medical use here.

Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have already legalized marijuana for medical use with results that vary depending on who you ask.

But California's proximity to Arizona - a cheap plane ride or less than a day's drive away - means that if Prop. 19 passes, we'll all have easy access to all the pot we want, too.

And that's regardless of the Prop. 203 outcome and the accompanying local restrictions Arizona jurisdictions like Pima County are putting in place.

Marijuana is and will continue to be criminal for recreational use in Arizona. That could mean a rise in legally-purchased marijuana from California illegally coming into the state.

As a result, if Prop. 19 passes, Arizona law enforcement may begin searching the vehicles and other belongings of Arizonans traveling home from California.

As a side note: federal law still prohibits marijuana for any use. So far, the Obama administration has not been prosecuting its medical use in states where marijuana has been decriminalized for that purpose. The federal government always has the power to change its mind, of course.

On the other hand, passage of California's Prop. 19 may merely increase Arizona travel to that state. There's already talk of California cafés selling marijuana brownies and other pot-infused goodies, similar to those that exist in Holland.

And as Time's Maia Szalavitz notes, neither Holland nor Portugal (where marijuana is also legal) have experienced social disasters because of their drug laws. In fact, they have benefited from reduced enforcement costs and increased access to addiction treatment, Szalavitz reports.

http://azstarnet.com/news/blogs/health/ ... 03286.html