Some members of the Arizona Legislature apparently think the people of the state can’t handle the responsibility of direct democracy, especially when it comes to legalizing marijuana. Four new measures, authored primarily by Republican state representatives Bob Thorpe and J.D. Mesnard, chisel away at the power of the people to…
If Arizona voters approve adult-use marijuana legalization this year, it won’t hurt tourism, using Colorado’s experience as an example. Tourism could even improve because of legalization, especially while cannabis freedom still is a novelty in most of the country. Yet the Arizona Lodging and Tourism Association, (AzLTA), an influential group…
New reports show the finances of an anti-marijuana group lag well behind a pro-legalization campaign. Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy (ARDP), led by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, collected $90,095 in contributions from November 25, 2014, to December 31, 2015, according to campaign-finance reports released last week. After spending $19,000…
Facebook shut down the pages of state-authorized medical-marijuana dispensaries this week in Colorado and elsewhere, including today in Arizona. “I don’t fully understand it, and I can’t explain it,” says J.P. Holyoak, principal of Arizona Natural Selections in Phoenix. “We got a notice this morning saying our account had been…
A new pro-marijuana billboard that plays off the slogan promoting the Waste Management Phoenix Open was unveiled in Phoenix on Monday by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. “If beer and golf make for the ‘greatest party on grass’…Why can’t adults enjoy a safer party on grass?” reads the…
Cannabis supporters were out in force at the state capitol today to celebrate a victory for Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Program. Supporters of medical pot were jubilant because state legislation,, HCR 2019, sponsored by Arizona Representative Jay Lawrence (R-Fountain Hills), would have prohibited naturopaths and homeopaths from writing medical-marijuana prescriptions. J.P…
The former CEO of a nonprofit drug-treatment firm that contracts with Maricopa County has made a fortune off of Arizona marijuana offenders, records show. Barabara Zugor, who retired in 2014, reported earnings from TASC of $360,000 to $476,000 a year since at least 2008, online records show. In Maricopa County,…
A Maricopa County nonprofit that makes much of its money off low-level marijuana offenders would take a big financial hit if Arizona voters legalize marijuana in November. The Treatment Assessment Screening Center, better known as TASC, contracts with the county to provide six months of mandatory drug-treatment services for first-…
A lawmaker’s attempt to destroy Arizona’s successful medical-marijuana program will be met with stiff resistance, including a planned protest on Wednesday at the State Capitol. A group of about 175 industry professionals, including owners of some of the state’s 87 dispensaries, met on Thursday night and agreed to encourage their…
The dream was vivid, like several she’d experienced after she was forced to quit cannabis cold turkey by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office: Her sister bursts into her room holding a burning spliff and yelling urgently, “Here, hit this!” And she reaches out . . . But this was what…
Qualified Arizonans legally bought and consumed more than 19 tons of medical-marijuana products in 2015, spending about $215 million. The Arizona Department of Health Services keeps a running total of dispensary sales and released its December report this week, allowing New Times to calculate last year’s totals. The DHS released…
The smell of marijuana was ubiquitous at The Errl Cup over the weekend in Tempe. Patients came to Tempe from around the state to sample flower and concentrates from local dispensaries and caregivers, to enjoy live music and an onsite glass-blowing demonstration, and to see awards presented for best products…
Mikel Weisser, new National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws state director, plans to rebuild Arizona’s fractured NORML in anticipation of a vote to legalize pot for adult use in November. “I’m committed to making marijuana legalization my life’s work,” Weisser said. A former high school history teacher, Weisser…
In Colorado, the past 16 weeks have seen 15 recalls of cannabis products because of pesticides, including the largest such recall last week. The state’s one of several that now mandate or encourage testing of recreational marijuana for contaminants. But in Arizona, the products of medical-marijuana sellers and cultivators never have…
The Errl Cup is testing pot concentrates so that medical-marijuana customers know where they’re getting the best products and where they’re getting ripped off. Free to all medical-marijuana cardholders, the event is set for January 9 in Tempe. It will feature a competition for best flower and concentrate, test results…
Once again, the facts have gotten in the way of arguments by cannabis prohibitionists. Echoing the messages of anti-pot warriors like Kevin Sabet, local cannabis critics Sheila Polk and Seth Leibsohn wrote in a widely published op-ed just last month that legalization would lead to more teen use of the…
Videos of “Stoner Sloth,” a cute-but-pathetic character created by the Australian government who can’t handle life because of marijuana, are bringing in more laughs than self-reflection by cannabis advocates. Stoner Sloth is portrayed as both male and female in the ads, which were produced by the New South Wales Department of…
Richard Anthony “Cheech” Marin, best known as Cheech in the legendary comedic duo, Cheech and Chong, and America’s most public “stoner,” says he still smokes as much as always and doesn’t differentiate between medicinal and recreational. “I don’t do it medicinally,” said Marin, “I don’t think it makes a difference…
A right-wing Sedona group is advertising what promises to be the throw-down of the year: A debate on the merits of marijuana legalization between staunch pot-prohibitionist Sheila Polk on one side and fellow anti-marijuana activist Seth Leibsohn on the other. Yes, you read that right: the group says Leibsohn will take…
Restrictive social-media policies have cut off one of the most important advertising routes for marijuana businesses and forced the creation of a new social space, MassRoots. Although social attitudes and laws surrounding marijuana have changed, social-media rules have yet to evolve. While a patchwork of states has approved forms of…
A Phoenix-based online university soon will offer cannabis classes to students looking for higher education in the marijuana industry. On Thursday, a survey course will begin at the private, for-profit online Dunlap-Stone University entitled: “The Modern Cannabis Industry.” The school also plans to implement degree programs in areas of the budding weed business,…
Arizona voters are split nearly 50-50 on adult-use marijuana legalization, according to a new poll showing the need for supporters to work together if they want to end pot prohibition next year. Overall, 49 percent of voters support and 51 percent oppose the idea of “recreational” marijuana legalization, says the poll…
