Arizona

News

PHOENIX - When Arizonans voted to legalize recreational cannabis in November, it seemed plausible that sales would begin sometime in the spring.

PHOENIX - Foes of legalizing adult recreational use of marijuana in Arizona are trying to keep the issue from going to voters in November.

Your meds are safe for a little while longer. Congressional lawmakers bought a little more time for the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment by extending the current federal budget with a disaster relief bill signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month. The clause is set to expire with the rest of the bill on Dec. 8.

It looks like Attorney General Jeff Sessions has run into some problems in his crusade against the marijuana. While the new Department of Justice administration has long been mounting pressure against the marijuana industry, the latest suggestion from the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety is to, well, do nothing.

Letters

Thanks for publishing Kathy Inman's outstanding letter: "Marijuana Solution" (Feb. 11). I'd like to add that about seven years ago before and after my hip-replacement surgery, I was taking about six Vicodin tablets every day.Now, thanks to medical marijuana, I take no pain pills.

Editor: Thanks for publishing Rita Shyrocka'™s outstanding letter: "€œCrisis€™ is on government'€™s shoulders"€ (7-19-17).

Discussions on marijuana being less harmful than alcohol or the amount of tax money generated by legalizing pot use are irrelevant.

Re: the Nov. 2 story "Steller wrong about propositions" While I normally appreciate and enjoy Tim Steller's column on a routine basis I fully disagree with his logic regarding his choice to vote no on Prop 205. Steller's logic is that at some point the legalization of marijuana will become "commercially" more acceptable than what is currently proposed on this years ballot. His view is that once again Arizona voters will have legalization on a future ballot.

Political reporter Yvonne Wingett Sanchez moderates a debate between Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery (against) and J.P. Holyoak from the Pro Prop 205 Campaign over legalizing recreational marijuana in Arizona.

The Leibsohn/Polk Op-Ed column ("Recreational marijuana? The price is too high") states in part that under the initiative to legalize marijuana "showing up for work impaired by marijuana would be shielded from discipline until the commission of an act of negligence or malpractice" and "any driver with a blood alcohol content over 0.08 percent is legally drunk. The Arizona law would prohibit a THC limit from ever being set."

After all the police shootings, only the Libertarian Party provided a viable solution: "If we truly want to reduce situations in which police are pitted against the people they are sworn to protect, we would end the war on drugs. The constant escalation of prohibitionist policies have increasingly pitted police and citizens against each other for decades and are largely responsible for the militarization of police forces across America.

The usual suspects can't wait to subvert the people's right. Sheila Polk and her cohorts, including our own Maricopa County attorney, are going to court spending whose money to stop the will of the people. They claim the pro (legalized marijuana) ads are misleading when we haven't heard one true statement from any of them.

Opinions

Maricopa County Attorney loses legal battle with tail between his legs Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state's medical marijuana industry by quashing a long-standing legal assault by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery.

Sessions' correspondence to marijuana states is full of smoke and mirror While certain federal administration officials take to Twitter to air their grievances, those stuck in last century use more traditional means for their loosely-supported rants.

There's a great deal of fear and loathing about the legalization of marijuana, and I buy just about none of it.

I love Denver. I served as its mayor for 12 years, so it saddens me to see what has happened to my city since recreational marijuana became legal.

Papers