Who will this initiative benefit?

Thousands of seriously ill patients will benefit from having safe, reliable and legal access to a medicine that helps them cope with their suffering. Today, there are many patients whose lives could be improved through the use of marijuana, yet they must suffer instead out of fear that they might get arrests or because they do not know where to go to find the medicine they need.

Would there be too many dispensaries in the state if this initiative passes?

No. Although our opponents have attempted to convince voters that our initiative would create a situation like that seen in Los Angeles at one time, the truth is that there is a strict limit on the number of dispensaries there will be in Arizona when our initiative passes. There will be one dispensary for every ten pharmacies in the state. Based on the current number of pharmacies, that means there will be a total of 124 dispensaries in the entire state.

Could patients purchase an unlimited amount of marijuana?

No. All patients in the state would be entered into a networked database to which all dispensaries would be linked. To purchase marijuana at any dispensary, a patient would have to provide a personalized ID card from the state. By linking sales to the patient’s ID card, it will be possible to enforce the provision prohibiting patients from acquiring more than 2.5 ounces of marijuana collectively in any two-week period.

I heard your opponents say you will be able to get medical marijuana for a hang nail. Is that true?

No. Our initiative lists a limited number of qualifying conditions that a patient must have in order to receive a recommendation to use marijuana from a doctor in Arizona. These are the qualifying conditions as described in the text of the initiative:

"DEBILITATING MEDICAL CONDITION" MEANS ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING:

(a)    CANCER, GLAUCOMA, POSITIVE STATUS FOR HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS, ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME, HEPATITIS C, AMYOTROPHIC LATERAL SCLEROSIS, CROHN'S DISEASE, AGITATION OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE OR THE TREATMENT OF THESE CONDITIONS.

(b)     A CHRONIC OR DEBILITATING DISEASE OR MEDICAL CONDITION OR ITS TREATMENT THAT PRODUCES ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING: CACHEXIA OR WASTING SYNDROME; SEVERE AND CHRONIC PAIN; SEVERE NAUSEA; SEIZURES, INCLUDING THOSE CHARACTERISTIC OF EPILEPSY; OR SEVERE AND PERSISTENT MUSCLE SPASMS, INCLUDING THOSE CHARACTERISTIC OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.

(c)     ANY OTHER MEDICAL CONDITION OR ITS TREATMENT ADDED BY THE DEPARTMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 36-2801.01.

[The following question and answer comes from the Arizona Republic. As it is such an important question, we felt that it was appropriate to include an objective answer from an independent source.]

Would people be able to fake pain to get medical-marijuana prescriptions? [Note: Patients will receive “recommendations” from their doctors, not “prescriptions.”]

This is one of the main concerns of opponents, who tell anecdotes of medical-marijuana abuse in other states.

The initiative's language allows for patients to qualify for marijuana to treat or alleviate symptoms of debilitating diseases, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C and multiple sclerosis. Among the listed symptoms are wasting syndrome, nausea, seizures and "severe and chronic pain."

Although "severe and chronic pain" could create a loophole to this law, the state can regulate it.

If Prop. 203 passes, the Arizona Department of Health Services would implement it. The department could require prerequisites to prove "severe and chronic pain." For instance, in New Mexico, patients must provide objective proof of severe chronic pain, such as X-rays, and have two recommendations, one from their primary-care doctor and another from a specialist consulting the patient's case.

In Arizona, a doctor would certify in writing the patient's debilitating medical condition after assessing the patient's medical history in "the course of a physician-patient relationship." But what "the course" of such a relationship entails isn't specified.

Bottom line: As with any substance, there is a risk of abuse, but the health department could tailor its administrative code to minimize abuse and create a fact-based method to prove "severe and chronic pain."

If we make medical marijuana legal in Arizona, will more teens use marijuana?

There is nothing in past experience to suggest that marijuana use would increase among teens if this initiative passes. When you look at before-and-after data, you'll see the truth is that changes in teen use patterns in states that have passed medical marijuana laws have largely been consistent with national trends; which is to say teen use has consistently fallen since the mid-nineties. In fact, all but one state that has passed a medical marijuana law has seen a decrease in lifetime teen marijuana use since that law was passed.

[Here is another question and answer from the Arizona Republic on the subject of driving under the influence of marijuana.]

Would qualified patients be arrested for driving under the influence of marijuana?

Prop. 203 does not authorize patients to operate a car, aircraft or motorboat under the influence of marijuana.

Under the Arizona Legislative Council's analysis of Prop. 203, patients would not be considered to be under the influence of marijuana just for having the drug in their system, as long as the concentration was deemed insufficient to impair them.

If a driver was pulled over, police would verify his or her patient status by running the driver's identification through an electronic database managed by the health department.

Although there is no device to immediately detect whether a person is high on marijuana, police have ways to tell whether he or she is impaired by alcohol or other drugs, said Sgt. Steve Martos of the Phoenix Police Department. Police can conduct field-sobriety tests specific to drug use and can draw blood. If the blood tests positive for marijuana, police can obtain probable cause to investigate further.

Can we expect more crime around the dispensaries?

To answer this question, it is best to listen to people with actual experience. For example, recent news coverage indicates that no such connection exists in Denver and Colorado Springs, Colorado, where there are a large number of dispensaries. Law enforcement officials have concluded that the dispensaries have not resulted in a level of crime distinguishable from other businesses.

Will employers be prohibited from doing anything if an employees gets high on the job?

No. This is just what our opponents want you to believe. The initiative, for good reason, was written to ensure that patient-employees would not be discriminated against simply because they use marijuana for their illness during non-work hours. If an employee is under the influence of marijuana at work, an employer would not be prohibited from disciplining that employee. Here is the exact language of the initiative:

1. UNLESS A FAILURE TO DO SO WOULD CAUSE AN EMPLOYER TO LOSE A MONETARY OR LICENSING RELATED BENEFIT UNDER FEDERAL LAW OR REGULATIONS, AN EMPLOYER MAY NOT DISCRIMINATE AGAINST A PERSON IN HIRING, TERMINATION OR IMPOSING ANY TERM OR CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT OR OTHERWISE PENALIZE A PERSON BASED UPON EITHER:

1.  THE PERSON'S STATUS AS A CARDHOLDER.

2.  A REGISTERED QUALIFYING PATIENT'S POSITIVE DRUG TEST FOR MARIJUANA COMPONENTS OR METABOLITES, UNLESS THE PATIENT USED, POSSESSED OR WAS IMPAIRED BY MARIJUANA ON THE PREMISES OF THE PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT OR DURING THE HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT.