Activists behind the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol will have their work cut out for them in Arizona, KTAR News reports.
According to data recently published by O.H. Predictive Insights, 52.5% of likely Arizona voters would reject the state’s initiative to legalize recreational cannabis if the vote were held today. Only 39% of likely voters said they would vote to approve the initiative.
“The ‘no’ vote — and it’s not much of a surprise — is because of rural Arizona. They tend to be more conservative,” Mike Noble, managing partner and head pollster for O.H. Predictive Insights, told KTAR News. “The second-strongest was Maricopa county, where the ‘no’ vote was 54 percent. Pima County was at the low end at 45 percent against.” Noble said
Noble said another reason the initiative is likely failing is because older voters, who tend to be less supportive of legalization efforts, are also more likely to actually cast their votes.
The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol would legalize the adult possession and home cultivation of recreational cannabis. The initiative would also establish a regulatory system for marijuana’s retail distribution, including a 15% statewide excise tax that would go towards education and healthcare programs. The campaign submitted more than 250,000 petition signatures on June 30 — significantly more than the required amount of 150,642.
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