The 2020 election season contained a multitude of groundbreaking elections – in addition to the primary presidential election, which has been the focus of media outlets nationwide, this November also brought about the rulings on several proposals related to the recreational use of marijuana.eople think of shoplifting as a harmless prank, it is actually a crime in the U.S. that can have serious and far reaching consequences.

Following other states who have previously legalized the herb, Arizona and four other states elected to legalize recreational marijuana in the 2020 elections. Arizona follows ten other states that already had legal avenues for recreational use, and joins the complete list which includes:

*The District of Columbia is not a state, but has decriminalized marijuana and allowed use for both medicinal and recreational purposes.

Arizona’s marijuana election

In the long process of decriminalizing marijuana and legalizing recreational use, the state of Arizona proposed a measure that would move the state forward to join the ranks of other states who had previously legalized the herb.

Earlier this year, Arizona put forth Proposition 207, which concerned the legalized recreational use of marijuana. This proposition came to a vote during the 2020 election cycle. During this time, Arizona citizens stepped forward to cast their ballots either in favor of, or against, Proposition 207, or Prop207 as it is colloquially known.

The people’s vote passed the bill with almost sixty percent of votes (59.9%) in favor of the proposition, thus recommending the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana for both recreational and medicinal purposes. The New York Times covered the breakdown on its website, which details both the overall vote percentage and count.

The geographic breakdown of votes

In looking at the breakdown of votes in Arizona, it’s very clear that the state was divided geographically on the issue of marijuana legalization and decriminalization. The northeastern region of Arizona was largely against the proposition, whereas the rest of the state largely voted in favor of Prop207.

In total, twelve counties of Arizona voted in favor of legalization, whereas the remaining three counties voted against it. Counties that voted in favor of legalization were:

In contrast, the three counties that voted against the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana were:

• Navajo
• Apache
• Graham

It’s worth noting that the three counties that voted against Prop207 are of the smaller counties in Arizona. The total votes in these three counties combined came in at 86,203, which represents less than 5% of voters. In contrast, the other twelve counties totaled 1,770,473 people.

Has Arizona tried to make Marijuana legal before?

The legalization and decriminalization process voted into action this November was not the first attempt at full legalizing marijuana for Arizonians. Arizona first attempted to make marijuana legal in 2016 with a previous proposition during the last presidential election cycle.

Proposition 205, or Prop205 as it was known to most people, almost passed that year. However, it was just under the number of votes that it needed to be enacted. It was only passed in two of the state’s 15 counties, which is a strong contrast to the twelve county support that Prop 207 received this year.

Prop 205 was only supported in Coconino and Pima counties, however, accounted for 48.7% of the entire population. Thus, even though the state’s counties were overwhelmingly against Prop205, the vote count was very close. This New York Times article details the vote breakdown for Prop 205. And for more information on voter statistics for both Prop 207 and Prop 205, the Hill offers quite a bit of context.

What are the new laws around Marijuana use?

With new laws around the recreational use of marijuana in Arizona come a new set of rules. In Arizona, people of the age of twenty-one and older can buy, sell, and possess marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes.

However, this law is not without conditions. The law states that the amount of marijuana that anyone can possess at a single time is up to one ounce of flower, and 100mg of edible THC (with a limit of 10mg doses).

Additionally, Prop 207 makes it clear that "driving, flying or boating while impaired to the slightest degree by marijuana” is still illegal, and will come with a set of consequences for those that violate the law.

However, enforcing “driving while under the influence” is difficult when it comes to marijuana use. According to Prop 207, a person can only be charged with the crime if they are inebriated by the herb. This is difficult to prove, as even a blood test will show metabolites in a person’s bloodstream long after they are no longer under the influence of marijuana.

Finally, Prop 207 allows companies to continue drug testing their employees, and does not protect the public against penalties from companies that prefer to maintain a marijuana-free workplace.

Can a person grow marijuana plants in Arizona now?

With the new proposition 207 enacted in the state of Arizona, regulations around individuals growing their marijuana plants have changed. Individuals can now grow up to six different plants within the confines of their residences.

To grow marijuana plants in Arizona, the plants have to be stored in a lockable area. The other factor that plant owners should consider where that lockable area is located. The area must be out of sight from public view. To find out more, you can check this article from Ballotpedia.

What happens to those convicted of Marijuana crimes?

Arizona will release all those convicted of marijuana crimes, including felony possessions. Those that are released will have all marijuana-based crimes removed from their criminal record.

For more information about Arizona’s new marijuana laws, you can read this article from the New York Post.

Who is responsible for enforcing Marijuana laws in Arizona?

The duty of ensuring the laws of recreation use falls to the Arizona Department of Health Services. They are responsible for adopting regulations for marijuana use. Some of the regulations that they are in charge of include licensing, production factories, and cultivation factories.

Proposition 207 adopted the Social Equity Ownership Program (SEOP) as a way to process applications for business owners to own more marijuana plants and to sell large amounts of marijuana legally.

How does the state government gain from proposition 207?

The Arizona state government has imposed a sixteen percent tax on any marijuana products. The projected revenue is estimated to yield three hundred million dollars a year for Arizona. The state plans to use that income for improving community colleges, public safety, health, and roads.

According to Reuters, Arizona also passed another proposal to help the state gain revenue. Arizona is increasing taxes by 3.5% on wealthy individuals to help fund Arizona schools. With that proposal and proposition 207, Arizona plans to use its new funding to increase the conditions within the state.

Conclusion

Marijuana in Arizona can be used medicinally and recreationally. Arizona is the second state to have marijuana legalized by ballot, the first being New Jersey. Arizona is now one of the sixteen states that have legalized recreational use of marijuana. As for medicinal use, Arizona is one of the thirty-three states that have it legalized.