Arizona has joined other states across the nation that have legalized recreational marijuana.
Voters approved Proposition 207 on Tuesday. It will allow people 21 and older to possess up to an ounce (28 grams) of marijuana. Recreational marijuana sales will be permitted and people can grow their own plants.
Approval came after voters narrowly defeated a marijuana legalization proposal in 2016. Voters in New Jersey, South Dakota and Montana also have pot legalization measures on their ballots.
The Arizona measure levies a 16% excise tax on pot sales, on top of the standard state and local sales taxes. Possession becomes legal when the election results are certified in about a month and sales should begin in May.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story is below:
Arizona voters were deciding Tuesday whether to levy a new tax on the wealthy to boost funding for K-12 schools and to join the ranks of states that have legalized recreational marijuana.
If one or both pass, it will be a repudiation of Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and GOP conservatives who control the Legislature.
They have refused to change the state’s tough marijuana laws and haven’t fully restored education funding after the Great Recession.
Proposition 207 would let people 21 and older possess up to an ounce (28 grams) of marijuana or a smaller quantity of “concentrates” such as hashish, allow recreational marijuana sales at licensed retailers and let people grow their own plants.
The Smart and Safe Arizona Act also would levy a 16% excise tax on pot above the standard sales tax that goes to state and local governments.
The new tax could bring in $166 million a year. It would fund community colleges, local police and fire agencies, local and state transportation projects and public health and criminal justice programs. Combined with sales tax, legislative analysts estimate $255 million in new revenue annually.
The measure is backed by the legal marijuana industry. Supporters argue it’s time to rescind Arizona’s punitive penalties on marijuana, ensure quality control through state testing, and decrease crime associated with smuggling and illicit sales.
Opponents have said that legalizing pot will make workplaces less safe, increase teen drug use and fill the state’s roads with stoned drivers. They include social conservative groups, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and many Republican elected officials, including Ducey.
If Proposition 207 passes, marijuana will become legal when election results are certified in about a month. Retail sales could start in May.
Flagstaff resident Chris Nylen, 50, said her support for the measure evolved as she saw her dog’s arthritis and anxiety ease because of CBD pills prescribed by a veterinarian.
“I’m so old school,” she said. “I personally don’t have a desire for it, but (I’m) seeing the benefits for my dog.”
Page resident Adrian Augustine, 40, fears more widespread and legal use of marijuana would lead to social ills like those tied to alcohol abuse on the Navajo Nation where he grew up.
“For recreational use, I don’t see it as a good thing,” said Augustine, a pawn broker. “Alcohol is already rampant. Marijuana is going to have the same effect, if not worse.”
The second measure, Proposition 208, is designed to boost pay for teachers and support staff, fund teacher training and education, and increase career and technical education.
The additional 3.5% tax would be levied on income above $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for married couples.
Those taxpayers currently pay a 4.5% rate on money earned above those amounts. Analysts have said the new tax would cost the average taxpayer earning between $500,000 and $1 million an extra $5,459 yearly.
The Invest in Education Act is the latest outgrowth from a statewide teacher strike two years ago that highlighted low wages for educators and a slow rebound from budget cuts enacted after the Great Recession. The walkout secured higher wages for teachers, but many education interest groups said it fell short.
Opponents have said Proposition 208 will bring only partial relief for cash-strapped schools and hurt the economy, particularly small businesses that largely pay taxes at the individual level. Business groups have spent millions trying to persuade voters to reject it.
Mike Bright, who lives in Waddell northwest of Phoenix, and his wife home school their eight children. He said he doesn’t see a reason to raise taxes for a system that he believes is indoctrinating.
“The best thing we can do — and I know everyone can’t do it — is to teach our children ourselves,” said the 44-year-old mechanical designer.
Supporters have said it could raise about $940 million a year for schools, although the Legislature’s budget analysts estimated it would bring in $827 million a year.
Georgianne Weiss, a 70-year-old early childhood education teacher in Phoenix, voted for it and said she hopes more funding goes directly to school districts that will be accountable for the spending.
“I know I’ve spent quite a bit of money on my own to put the features I want in my classroom to teach, the tools and things I know my children would be engaged with,” Weiss said.
The Legislature has pumped significant cash into schools in recent years, including a 20% percent pay raise over three years that was prompted by the strike.
But schools were never repaid billions they lost in cuts over the past decade and Arizona’s teachers remain among the lowest-paid in the nation.
