Arizona
Initiative
Hits
Bumpy
Ground
6/9/00
The latest in the series of groundbreaking Arizona drug reform initiatives has hit an unexpected rough patch. The original sponsoring organization, The People Have Spoken (TPHS), has pulled out of the effort, as has its most prominent funder, University of Phoenix founder John Sperling. But despite tactical reservations expressed by the original backers, another group has taken up the effort. Plants Are Medicine, led by Phoenix medical marijuana attorney Michael Walz, is now in custody of the more than 100,000 signatures collected by TPHS to meet a July 6 deadline for placing the initiative on the ballot. The group says it will carry the initiative drive on to the November elections. The tactical dispute arose after opponents, most prominently Maricopa County (Phoenix) Attorney Rick Romley, seized on legally ambiguous language in one section of the Drug Medicalization, Prevention and Control Act of 2000, the initiative's official title. The initiative is intended to implement a medical marijuana immunity from prosecution, establish a method of medical marijuana distribution, parole from prison nonviolent drug possession offenders, enact sentencing reforms, and substantially shift the booty from asset forfeitures from law enforcement agencies to drug treatment organizations. The problem language lies in Section 4, Paragraph E, dealing with protections for medical marijuana users. It states that, "The provisions of [Arizona revised statutes dealing with controlled substances] shall not apply to any qualified patient..." Opponents such as Romley jumped on the language, telling the Arizona Republic and anyone else who would listen that it would grant legal immunity to people who sell drugs to children or operate methamphetamine labs. That was ambiguity enough for Sam Vagenas, spokesman for TPHS. Vagenas told DRCNet that with the meaning of the language in dispute and vulnerable to attack, to carry on the initiative now would be "an unnecessary risk." "We would have preferred to not file the signatures this year and instead come back in 2002," he said. "We think that language has vulnerabilities that could create problems and credibility issues for the drug reform movement," he added. But, Vagenas explained, under Arizona law, anyone who signs an initiative petition has the legal right to demand that the petition be filed. Walz and his group did just that, said Vagenas. In order to settle the dispute, "We gave them the petitions and let them file and washed our hands of this initiative." According to Vagenas, meetings with representatives of the big funders resulted in agreement to pull further funding. Now, he says, "TPHS neither supports or opposes the initiative. We are not funding Plants Are Medicine. It's in the hands of the voters." Plants Are Medicine spokesman Walz generally concurs with Vagenas' account, but not his analysis of the situation. "Some medical marijuana patients literally can't wait another two years," he told DRCNet. Although when opponents seized on the language it was enough for TPHS to reconsider, Walz is not greatly concerned. "The opposition is using scare tactics," he argued. "I can't imagine an Arizona judge ruling that a medical marijuana patient has the right to set up a meth lab." For Walz, the fundamental question is simple: "Should sick and suffering people be able to use the best available medicine?" He brushes aside questions about whether the reform effort has been hurt, deciding instead to concentrate on passing the initiative. He is now preparing a press conference for July 6 to celebrate the turning in of the required signatures and to announce the creation of a new web site (http://www.plantsaremedicine.org) to support the fall effort. Although Vagenas is sitting this one out, he will be back, and he remains a believer in the power of the grassroots initiative. "The success of the initiatives represents a turning point in the war on drugs," he says, warming to his subject. "People like David Broder (a Washington Post columnist who has written a book critical of citizen initiatives) are arrogant to believe the voters are stupid. Our premise is voters know what they're doing." And, for Vagenas, the initiatives are crucial: "People can issue white papers and go to conferences until they're blue in the face. All that pales in comparison to winning these initiatives."
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