2010 Arizona Proposition 203 Explained

Proposition 203, or the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, was an Arizona ballot measure to legalize the use of medical marijuana without the normal Food and Drug Administration testing for safety and efficacy. Proposition 203 passed by a narrow margin, with 50.13% of the vote.^[1]

Background

Proposition 203 was the fourth time that medical marijuana was on the ballot in Arizona. Arizona voters passed medical marijuana initiatives twice in the state, in 1996 and 1998. Due to a technical error, however, in the wording of these laws, they failed to effectively protect medical marijuana patients from arrest. A third initiative in 2002 to legalize small amounts of marijuana was rejected.^[2]

Arizona's medical marijuana initiative does the following:

• Allows terminally and seriously ill patients who find relief from marijuana to use it with their doctors’ approval.
• Protects seriously ill patients from arrest and prosecution for the act of taking their doctor-recommended medicine.
• Permits qualifying patients or their caregivers to legally purchase their medicine from tightly regulated clinics, as they would any other medicine—so they need not purchase it from the criminal market.
• Permits qualifying patients or their caregivers to cultivate their own marijuana for medical use if a regulated medical marijuana clinic is not located within 25 miles (40 km) of the qualifying patient.
• Creates registry identification cards, so that law enforcement officials could easily tell who was a registered patient, and establish penalties for false statements and fraudulent ID cards.
• Allows patients and their caregivers who are arrested to discuss their medical use in court.
• Keeps commonsense restrictions on the medical use of marijuana, including prohibitions on public use of marijuana and driving under the influence of marijuana.

Media endorsements

Support

• The Arizona Daily Star^[3]
• The Desert Lamp^[4]
• Goldwater State^[5]

Opposition

• The Arizona Republic^[6]
• The East Valley Tribune^[7]
• The Yuma Sun^[8]

Results

Proposition 203 passed by a narrow margin, making Arizona the fifteenth state to legalize medical marijuana.^{[9] [10]} The passage was announced on November 14, twelve days after the election.

The count had remained at a virtual standstill, with the proposition failing by several thousand votes^[11] until the evening of Friday, November 12, 2010, when it surged ahead with 4,421 votes ahead at 5:35 pm MT as the remaining provisional and early ballots were being counted. The Phoenix New Times declared, "Proposition 203, which had trailed until this afternoon, is now leading by about 4,400 votes."^[12]

Limitations

There is an exception to Proposition 203, and it comes in the form of House Bill 2349, which was passed by the House Education Committee in February 2012. This new law states that medical marijuana cannot be possessed or used at educational institutions. HB 2349 defines an educational institution as “any public or private university, college, community college, postsecondary educational institution, high school, junior high school, middle school, common school or preschool.” ^[13] The Bill has many purposes one of which is to protect students and children from the harmful effects of marijuana. However, a more evident purpose is to keep federal funding. Under the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 and the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, a state or school cannot receive any federal aid if they have legalized a drug that has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).^[14] Thus, by extending the marijuana ban to educational institutions, Arizona lawmakers are guaranteeing that the state will receive grants and loans. This has led to much opposition from the public, especially students, who believe they have a right to use medical marijuana if they need it to ease certain symptoms.

See also

• Cannabis in Arizona

External links

• Text of AZ Proposition 203 (www.azsos.gov)
• Arizona Medical Marijuana Question, Proposition 203, 2010 (www.ballotpedia.org)

Notes and References

1. News: Arizona voters approve medical marijuana measure. Valencia. Nick. November 14, 2010. November 15, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20190504230544/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/14/arizona.medical.marijuana/. May 4, 2019. live. CNN Wire.
2. News: Prop. 203: Legalization of medical marijuana. Ye Hee Lee. Michelle. September 26, 2010. The Arizona Republic. October 29, 2010. https://archive.today/20190602080652/http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/09/26/20100926arizona-medical-marijuana-prop-203.html. June 2, 2019. live.
3. News: The Star's recommendations on state, local propositions. October 28, 2010. Arizona Daily Star. https://web.archive.org/web/20160321045538/https://tucson.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_cb4ba435-3080-5e66-8859-b38170d64573.html. March 21, 2016. live.
4. http://www.desertlamp.com/?p=8196 Desert Lamp, "The Desert Lamp's Ballot Proposition Endorsements", October 20, 2010
5. Web site: Goldwater State: For decency's sake, vote "yes" on Prop. 203. B.. Kalafut. November 2, 2010.
6. News: Voters should reject push for 'medical' pot. October 14, 2010. The Arizona Republic. https://archive.today/20190602081244/http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2010/10/14/20101014thur1-14.html. June 2, 2019. live. June 2, 2019.
7. News: Endorsements: Ballot propositions. October 24, 2010. East Valley Tribune. https://web.archive.org/web/20190504230528/http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/opinion/article_88acf684-de30-11df-ac94-001cc4c002e0.html. May 4, 2019. live.
8. News: Marijuana prop has flaw which prevents support. October 14, 2010. Yuma Sun. https://web.archive.org/web/20120427022230/http://www.yumasun.com/opinion/marijuana-64666-use-medical.html. April 27, 2012. dead.
9. News: Proposition 203 passes; medical marijuana approved. Ye Hee Lee. Michelle. November 13, 2010. The Arizona Republic. November 14, 2010. https://archive.today/20120731201314/http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/PoliticalInsider/106835. July 31, 2012. dead.
10. News: Voters approve Arizona medical marijuana measure. Christie. Bob. November 14, 2010. Yahoo! News. November 19, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101117184721/https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_arizona_medical_marijuana. November 17, 2010. dead. Associated Press.
11. News: Prop. 203 for medical marijuana: 'No' votes lead by 4,600. Sunnucks. Mike. November 5, 2010. Phoenix Business Journal. June 2, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20101108005850/https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2010/11/05/Prop-203-No-votes-lead-by-4600.html. November 8, 2010. live.
12. News: Prop 203 Appears to Have Won; Remaining Ballots Unlikely to Reverse Trend. Stern. Ray. November 12, 2010. Phoenix New Times. November 12, 2010. https://archive.today/20120708160035/http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2010/11/prop_203_appears_to_have_won_r.php. July 8, 2012. dead.
13. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/50leg/2r/bills/hb2349p.pdf Act Amending title 15
14. Gamachi, Cheryl (February 8, 2012). “Arizona's Bill Banning Marijuana in Schools Needed for Funding” Arizona Daily Wildcat. Retrieved March 20, 2012