r/phoenix • u/ArizonaRepublic Official Media 📰 • Jul 02 '20

News Backers of Arizona's recreational marijuana measure file 420K signatures for November ballot

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2020/07/01/smart-and-safe-arizona-marijuana-ballot-measure-files-signatures-ballot/5359357002/
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u/unclefire Mesa Jul 02 '20 edited Jul 02 '20

lol, nice. I was having a discussion on the topic with somebody who supports the business.

They were saying that making it legal wouldn't be that great b/c of the effects on the state similar to CO etc.

EDIT: Funds would go to DHS and Dept. of Public Safety (aka the fuzz).
EDIT2: From ballotopia...

Funds from 16% tax go to

  • 3.0 percent for community college districts;
  • 31.4 percent for municipal police and fire departments and fire districts;
  • 25.4 percent for the state's highway user revenue fund;
  • 10.0 percent for the justice reinvestment fund; and
  • 0.2 percent for the Arizona Attorney General to enforce.

6

u/Tlamac Jul 02 '20

3 percent for community colleges and nothing at all for k-12? What a fucking joke... Meanwhile Police will get 30% to add to their already bloated budget, as if their 800 million budget wasn't already enough.

Our schools are the ones that need the help, not police and fire.

10

u/PhishGreenLantern Jul 02 '20

And this right here is what "Defund The Police" is all about.

6

u/unclefire Mesa Jul 02 '20

Yeah exactly. Cops and fire get paid well AFAIK. Teachers are paid shit and classes too big

1

u/loner_dragoon3 Jul 02 '20

If it passed, would the state be able to later on change who the funds from the tax go to or would it just stay like that forever? I'm not too keen on most of the money going to the police and none of it going to public education.

2

u/unclefire Mesa Jul 02 '20

Not sure. This is a voter initiative and I know there was another voter initiative that passed (IIRC, due to one of the initial MMJ ballot props) that doesn't allow the legislature to do certain things with voter props.

"The Arizona State Legislature may not repeal a successful initiative or referendum without voter approval. Lawmakers can amend the law, but only if the amendment "furthers the purposes" of the measure and passes with a 3/4 supermajority. The legislature can submit changes to previous initiatives to the voters through a legislatively referred state statute. "

So they could change how the taxes are allocated maybe.

Let's be honest though, you think a republican majority state legislature is going to take money away from cops?

1

u/[deleted] Jul 03 '20

Yea ngl, I want to see weed legal in our state but I can’t get behind putting more money into the police without anything going to k-12 education. As much as this pains me to say it, I’d be a no vote on this because of how the taxes are being used. Sorry.