Tomorrow’s election is an extremely important one. I know you hear that all the time, but in Arizona’s case, it is very true. While this has felt like the longest election cycle in all of history, it is imperative that we give it our all leading up to tomorrow’s election. In particular, we need to do everything we can to continue to spread the word about the negative consequences that Proposition 205 and the legalization of marijuana will have on the state—especially on our children and schools.
The Arizona Chamber and its members have been at the forefront of the fight against the legalization of marijuana. Our board first broached the topic in November of 2014, before there was even a legalization campaign, with the goal of letting the pro-legalization effort know that Arizona business community was going to put up a fight if it pursued an effort to put the legalization of marijuana on the ballot. The Arizona Chamber Foundation put out a policy brief in the summer of 2015 that laid out the case about the negative impacts of legalized marijuana based on what we’d seen in other states.
The Arizona Chamber has been invested in this from the beginning. The Chamber has been one of the largest donors to the No on Prop 205, and we are proud of being the standard bearer for the business community.
The Arizona Chamber and its sister chambers around the country have always stood on the principle that we should engage legislators and the people when bad initiatives or laws are proposed. Proposition 205 is the perfect example of what bad law could look like when brought in by out-of-Arizona interests. The Chamber has rightfully utilized its precious capital and individual members have volunteered significantly in working towards Proposition 205’s defeat. We hope that this will dissuade future out-of-state interests from attempting to use Arizona as their own laboratory to conduct risky public policy experiments.
That is why the Chamber, its members, and business allies have made it their mission to educate the business community and Arizona citizens about the true implications of marijuana legalization. Everyone has done their part. I just ask that you continue your efforts in the final day to help stop Proposition 205 for the health and well-being of our businesses and our citizens.
Please remember to vote no on Proposition 205 tomorrow!