A measure heading to the Arizona ballot this fall, Proposition 205, would legalize marijuana use for adults – but what many don’t know is that it would also legalize marijuana-laced candy. Kids love candy.

Half the marijuana sold in Colorado, where recreational pot use is legal, is in the form of candy and baked goods. Shamefully, the potency of the marijuana-laced candy is double that of a joint these days. And today’s marijuana cigarettes are about 12-times more potent than they were in the 70s. The result of this in Colorado is that now little kids are accidentally eating high-potency, marijuana-laced gummy bears.

Little children are being rushed to the emergency room after mistaking the marijuana-candy for the real thing. It has become so bad that the Colorado legislature recently banned pot-laced gummy bears and other animal shaped gummies in an effort to protect children to some degree.

The Colorado legislature deserves some credit for this, but if they really wanted to protect children, Colorado would have kept the drug illegal because statistics show that marijuana use increases where it is legal – and where it is legal for adults, exposure to minors increases.

Colorado is now number one in marijuana use and has the highest rate of teen illicit drug use in the country. Arizona should learn from our neighboring state’s mistake, as should the other four states voting on the issue this fall, which are California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada. Five states already legalized widespread marijuana use, and the big marijuana movement wants to double that in one year. They stand to make a lot of money.

Here in Arizona, Prop 205 would create a marijuana monopoly and the “regulatory board” would be made up largely of those in the industry, so they would be policing themselves. And, although proponents say it simply regulates marijuana like alcohol, it does nothing of the sort.

The law would make using marijuana a legal right, which ties the hands of business owners, landlords, and even police. Arizona wouldn’t be able to put a limit on consumption while driving like we do with alcohol. Also, lawmakers wouldn’t be able to make changes to the law like the Colorado legislature did when it banned gummy bears. Because Arizonans are voting on the ballot measure, the law would be voter-protected, permanent law – only able to be changed by a subsequent ballot measure.

The fact that Prop 205 is so misleading is one reason it is being challenged in court today. A final decision won’t be made until month’s end, but even if the lawsuit against it prevails, you can be sure that the big marijuana movement will be back, maybe within two years. We must remain informed and vigilant in our fight to keep Arizona a safe and prosperous place to raise our families.

Stay tuned, we will update you on the court case as developments happen.

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