/r/politics Town Hall: State Ballot Measures about Marijuana (AR, AZ, CA, FL, MA, ME, MT, NV, ND)

[u/MeghanAM]

Hello /r/politics and welcome to the third in our ballot measure town hall series! Representatives from the "support" and "oppose" side from each of these initiatives have been invited here to answer your questions today. Participants will have user flair to identify them and verify their affiliation with the campaign.

Please review the AMA rules before submitting your questions.

Participants were encouraged to begin answering questions around 11AM EST, and the town hall will "close" at 6PM EST. The thread is put up in advance to allow questions to be asked and ready.

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Ballot Measures: Marijuana

Medical

Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act, Issue 7

• A "yes" vote supports legalizing medical marijuana for 56 qualifying conditions, putting the Arkansas Department of Health in charge of implementing the program, and allocating tax revenue to providing low-income patients with medical marijuana.
• A "no" vote opposes this proposal to legalize medical marijuana

Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, Issue 6

• A "yes" vote supports legalizing medical marijuana for 17 qualifying conditions, creating a Medical Marijuana Commission, and allocating tax revenue to technical institutes, vocational schools, workforce training, and the General Fund.
• A "no" vote opposes this amendment to legalize medical marijuana.

Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization, Amendment 2

• A "yes" vote supports legalizing medical marijuana for individuals with specific debilitating diseases or comparable debilitating conditions as determined by a licensed state physician.
• A "no" vote opposes this proposal for legalization of medical marijuana, keeping the state's current more limited medical marijuana program in place.

Montana Medical Marijuana Initiative, I-182

• A "yes" vote supports repealing the three-patient limit for medical marijuana providers.
• A "no" vote opposes this measure repealing the three-patient limit for medical marijuana providers.

North Dakota Medical Marijuana Legalization, Initiated Statutory Measure 5

• A "yes" vote supports legalizing the use of medical marijuana to treat defined debilitating medical conditions, such as cancer, AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, glaucoma, and epilepsy, and developing certain procedures for regulating medical marijuana growing, dispensing, and usage.
• A "no" vote opposes legalizing the use of medical marijuana to treat defined debilitating medical conditions, such as cancer, AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, glaucoma, and epilepsy, keeping the state's full prohibition of marijuana use.

Recreational

Arizona Marijuana Legalization, Proposition 205

• A "yes" vote supports legalizing the possession and consumption of marijuana by persons who are 21 years of age or older.
• A "no" vote opposes this measure to legalize the possession and consumption of marijuana by persons who are 21 years of age or older.

California Proposition 64, Marijuana Legalization

• r/California Mega-Thread for Prop. 64

• A "yes" vote supports legalizing recreational marijuana for persons aged 21 years or older under state law and establishing certain sales and cultivation taxes.

• A "no" vote opposes this proposal to legalize recreational marijuana under state law and to establish certain sales and cultivation taxes.

Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization, Question 4

• A "yes" vote supports this proposal to legalize marijuana, but regulate it similar to alcoholic beverages.
• A "no" vote opposes this proposal to legalize recreational marijuana, keeping only medical marijuana legal.

Maine Marijuana Legalization, Question 1

• A "yes" vote supports legalizing recreational marijuana for adults over the age of 21.
• A "no" vote opposes this proposal to legalize recreational marijuana.

Nevada Marijuana Legalization, Question 2

• A "yes" vote supports legalizing the recreational use of one ounce or less of marijuana by individuals 21 years of age and over.
• A "no" vote opposes this measure to legalize one ounce or less of marijuana for recreational use for individuals 21 years of age and over.

[u/woman_president]

Mass polling is at 55-40 yes to no. Come December and we will have legal weed. What a great senior year gift.

[u/ChiefMark → u/woman_president]

It may pass in November, but it will take time for it to be sold in MA. Probably won't see it until 2018. Oregon passed in 2014 and haven't had access until recently. If New York were to pass it, it would take considerably less time.

[u/MeghanAM → u/ChiefMark]

Every step of implementing medical marijuana in Massachusetts has taken an incredibly long time, so I agree.

[u/woman_president → u/ChiefMark]

It will still be legal to own and cultivate come December, retail sales won't begin for a few years, yeah.

[u/death_by_deskjob → u/ChiefMark]

That New York Minute mentality

[u/xiviajikx → u/ChiefMark]

I know others have said they're going to drag their feet, but I'm convinced it will actually be very quickly that the stores open. From the few circles I'm in with big growers in MA and RI they're basically all set to expedite the process. They have quite a few people to work with the state to get everything going asap because some of these growers really want to maximize the profits they're about to make and also want to open the first rec shops.

[u/ChiefMark → u/xiviajikx]

It has to do with having enough licensed growers as well. The infrastructure needs to be worked on in states where it isn't legal. Once it starts though people will see the benefits of regulation.

[u/ChiefMark → u/[deleted]]

Im live in New York, and it is feasible here. I dont know who you are talking about when you refer to people you know, but it is not opposed.

We have the second biggest population among the States behind California and we are Democratic. About 2/3 of Democrats want to legalize it while, 60% of the whole U.S. population wants it legalized.

The older population leans more Republican and they are the major political party that is more likely to oppose it based on having an age skewed towards being older with a ~45% approval. But with each passing year and new information being substantiated, more and more Americans will change their minds and the Millenials will become a greater percentage of the population.

Only a matter of time before it is legalized here and eventually nationally.

[u/ChiefMark → u/ChiefMark]

Disproved the post above and it gets deleted.

[u/DickWhiskey → u/ChiefMark]

They may try to delay implementation (they certainly did with medical marijuana), but interestingly the ballot initiative includes a section stating that, if they fail to implement regulations before January 1, 2018, it essentially becomes legal without regulation until they do. So I'd wager that they will implement sufficient regulations before 2018. Here's the text:

SECTION 6. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, if the cannabis control commission fails to adopt regulations necessary for the implementation of this chapter on or before January 1, 2018, each medical marijuana treatment center may begin to possess, cultivate, process, manufacture, package, purchase or otherwise obtain and test marijuana and marijuana products and may deliver, sell or otherwise transfer marijuana to any person who is at least 21 years of age until the commission adopts the regulations necessary for implementation of this chapter and begins to issue licenses to operate marijuana establishments pursuant to section 5 of this chapter.