The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol

Today on State of Cannabis Dave Inman is joined by J.P. Holyoak, Chair of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol,-Arizona. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol allows adults 21 years of age and older to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and consume marijuana in private. It allows adults to grow up to six marijuana plants in an enclosed, locked space within their residences and possess the marijuana produced by those plants in the location where it was grown. No more than 12 total marijuana plants can be grown in a single residence. Property owners and landlords will have the right to prohibit marijuana from being grown on their property.

It establishes the Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control to oversee a tightly controlled system of licensed marijuana retail stores, licensed cultivation facilities, licensed product manufacturing facilities, and licensed testing facilities. The department will include a law enforcement unit that will be responsible for enforcing regulations, conducting compliance checks, and investigating violations. It allows a limited number of licensed marijuana retail stores to sell marijuana to adults 21 years of age and older. The number of retail stores will be capped at 10 percent of the number of liquor store licenses, which is currently fewer than 180.

It allows localities to impose limits on where and when marijuana businesses are allowed to operate, and requires businesses to test marijuana products and adhere to strict packaging and labeling guidelines. The Campaign also enacts a 15% excise tax on retail marijuana sales, which will be used to fund the implementation and enforcement of regulations. Any additional marijuana tax revenue will be allocated as follows: 40% to the Department of Education for school construction, maintenance, and operating costs; 40% to the Department of Education for full-day kindergarten programs; and 20% to the Department of Health Services for public education regarding the relative harms of alcohol, marijuana, and other substances.