Voters in Arizona have given their approval on Proposition 203, a proposal to legalize medical marijuana for individuals with chronic or debilitating diseases. The Associated Press reports, the results of the vote makes the state the 15th in the country to adopt such a measure.
Proposition 203 is also known as the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. The Arizona Department of Health Services said in its website the measure: “will enable a ‘qualifying patient,’ who is registered with the Arizona Department of Health Services, to legally obtain an ‘allowable amount of usable marijuana’ from a ‘nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary’ and possess and use the marijuana to treat or alleviate symptoms associated with a ‘debilitating medical condition.’”
Citing unoffocial results, a CNN report said Proposition 203 received 50.1 percent “YES” votes as opposed to 49.8 percent “NO” votes. The report also said more than 1.6 million votes were cast.
Proposition 203 will allow qualified individuals with cancer, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and other “chronic or debilitating” disease to buy 2 1/2 ounces of pot every two weeks or grow marijuana.
Carolyn Short of the Keep AZ Drug Free movement said her group thinks Proposition 203 will lead to more crimes and will make more people driving while impaired. “All of the political leaders came out and warned Arizonans that this was going to have very dire effects on a number of levels. I don’t think that all Arizonans have heard those dire predictions,” Short said.
For its part, the Marijuana Policy Project heralded the vote. The project’s director Rob Kampia said, “Voters in Arizona have sided with science and compassion while dealing yet another blow to our nation’s cruel and irrational prohibition on marijuana.” Kampia added: “Arizona’s law now reflects the mainstream public opinion that seriously ill people should not be treated like criminals if marijuana can provide them relief, and that doctors should be able to recommend marijuana to patients if they believe it can help alleviate their suffering.”
For his part, Project campaign manager Andrew Myers said: “We really believe that we have an opportunity to set an example to the rest of the country on what a good medical marijuana program looks like.“
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