|
Election
2002:
Arizona
10/18/02
Voters in Arizona will consider two competing initiatives with very different emphases. Proposition 203, the Drug Medicalization, Prevention, and Control Act of 2002, sponsored by The People Have Spoken, is a multifaceted reform effort that builds on successful initiatives by the same group in 1996 and 1998. The initiative would decriminalize marijuana possession, require the state Department of Public Safety to distribute medical marijuana to qualified patients, eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession, require a sentence of probation -- not jail -- for a drug possession offense, allow judges to order drug offenders to treatment but not to jail them if they fail, and require parole for everyone convicted of personal possession of any drug. While opponents, including drug czar John Walters, who was in the state to campaign against the initiative last week, have criticized every aspect of the initiative, it is the provision barring judges from jailing drug offenders for violating treatment orders that sparked an opposition initiative. Proposition 302, spearheaded by Maricopa County Prosecutor Rick Romley, who aspires to be national drug czar some day, would allow judges to impose jail time or revoke probation for persons who failed or refused drug treatment. The Arizona law enforcement establishment is solidly opposed to Prop. 203, as are both major party gubernatorial candidates, Democrat Janet Napolitano and Republican Matt Salmon, who stood flanking Walters at a news conference last week. But that doesn't seem to make much difference to Arizona voters, who appear poised to pass the reform. The $1.3 million put into the campaign by University of Phoenix founder John Sperling may have something to do with that. While opponents make generous use of their public offices to attack the initiative, in terms of real campaign contributions they have raised only $75,000. The most recent statewide poll, conducted between September 26 and 29 by the Social Research Laboratory at Northern Arizona University, showed Prop. 203 leading with 53% support. Even Romley, point man for the Arizona drug war, appears to have conceded defeat. "I strongly suspect that it will pass," he told the Arizona Daily Sun on October 1. No polling data exists for Prop 302. Prop 203 as it appears on the ballot: Decriminalizes marijuana possession for personal use; $250 civil fine; Requires state to distribute marijuana free of charge upon physician's written documentation; Increases maximum penalty for violent crimes committed under influence of drugs; Eliminates mandatory minimum sentences; Requires parole if convicted of personal possession of controlled substance unless danger to public.Proposition 302 as it appears on the ballot: Allows court to impose term of incarceration if person convicted of personal possession or use of controlled substance or drug paraphernalia violates probation by committing another drug-related offense or refusing to participate in drug treatment, or if the person refuses drug treatment or rejects probation at the time of sentencing.For complete initiative language, visit: http://www.sosaz.com/election/2002/info/pubpamphlet/english/prop203.htm
PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet is hereby granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and, where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification for our records, including physical copies where material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you. Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
