Action in Arizona
Recent passage of Proposition 200 in the state of Arizona has some cannabis
activists predicting the end of marijuana prohibition in the US by the turn of
the century. While the measure only covers medically proven uses of cannabis and
other controlled substances, it is clearly a huge victory towards a complete end
to the American War on Drugs.
By Jas Tynan

    Proposition 200 (the Drug Medicalization Prevention and Control Act) was passed by 65% of Arizona voters in the November 1996 election. Although Republican Governor J Fife Symington III threatened to veto the bill, he ended up signing
the measure into law as scheduled.
    The passage of Prop 200 means probation instead of jail for minor possession and allows for medical prescribing of marijuana or any other Schedule 1 drug under state laws. Doctors must provide evidence to support the treatment and have the
prescription approved by a second doctor.
    The law also provides for the probation of currently jailed non-violent drug offenders, and the State Department of Corrections estimates that about 1,000 inmates will be eligible for release under the new law. The liberation has yet
to take place and state authorities are taking their time, but all new non-violent drug offenders in Arizona will be sent to treatment first instead of jail.

Drug Czar McCaffrey
    US government drug czar Barry McCaffrey said "any doctors prescribing any schedule one narcotics in Arizona will be arrested and charged. It is in blatant violation of federal laws and we intend to enforce those laws."

Glaucoma Jim
    "The state and federal governments need to listen to the people," says AZ4NORML board member Glaucoma Jim. Jim has a cannabis prescription from Holland and has helped seven other patients make the trip towards greater comfort with their
health problems.
    "The people of Arizona have spoken! They decided it is okay for me to keep from going blind and for people with AIDS to eat. Patients need their medicine and the politicians need to do their jobs and serve the people. I take this very
personally."
    Jim sees the new law as the beginning of re-legalization across the country. "People still can't believe that this is happening in Arizona," he said, "We're the conservative state, one of the last states to pass a Martin Luther King holiday. Well guess what, it happened and it's only just a start. The other states will be following the example set by us and California and pot will be completely legal in the US by the year 2000."

US National NORML
    US National NORML Publications Director Paul Armentano feels the momentum in the battle for legalization has made an important shift , but that the law in Arizona is more symbolic than anything else. "This is one of the first times in American history that there has been a such a clear rejection by the people of the American government's philosophy of Ôdo drugs so time,'" Armentano explained.
    "It's a radical initiative that should give a mandate to Washington Ñ that is the message. However, there are two separate issues here: the availability of medical marijuana for seriously ill people, which the California initiative addressed very well, and favoring treatment over incarceration when drug arrests are made. Both issues seem to be important to the American people, but NORML's focus has to stick with marijuana. These are two winnable issues, but should be
attacked separately."

Dr Jeffrey Singer
    Dr Jeffrey Singer, a Phoenix surgeon and the main medical proponent for Proposition 200, focuses more on the medical issue. "I think what the people are saying is that they are tired of the government regulating every aspect of their
lives, and if people want to self-medicate, that's really their own business," said Singer.
    No prescriptions have been written so far, but Singer hopes doctors will come forward and that will change. "We are setting up a legal defense fund to help protect doctors that wish to write prescriptions," he said. "We expect the law to be fought out and upheld in the courts, so we want to prepare for that. This may be just the beginning of a long battle, but it is an enormous step in a positive direction."

Peter Wilson of AZ4NORML
    Some of the people behind the proposition are moving onto other states to work on similar legislation, "but AZ4NORML is here to keep fighting the battle," president Peter Wilson said. "This is obviously a great thing, but basically our
efforts will still remain the same. We will work towards the complete legalization of marijuana use by adults, and to inform the public about what the real story is along the way."

The End of Prohibition
    What Arizona's legal situation all means to the average pot smoker in Arizona remains to be seen, but most in the cannabis community hope 1997 finally marks the beginning of the end of prohibition.
    "We just have to keep on believing," said Arizona State University student Tony Armijo, "in ourselves and in the planet. The good herb will be freed again. You just have to keep the faith. Whether the propositions or the tax stamps will really change my life directly remains to be seen, but in the least, they provide a long-awaited light at the end of the tunnel for re-legalization in
America."

For more info...
¥ To become a licensed cannabis dealer in the state of Arizona, call the Arizona
Department of Revenue (602) 542-4576.
¥ AZ4NORML can be reached by mail at PO Box 50434, Phoenix, AZ 85076; tel (602)
730-0032
az4norml@amug.org
http://www.amug.org/~az4norml