Medical Marijuana Question Will Appear on Arizona Ballot

A measure that would ask Arizona voters to legalize medical use of marijuana this week become the first initiative to qualify for the November 2010 ballot, the Arizona Republic reported June 2.

The Arizona Secretary of State’s office validated the question submitted by the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project, which submitted 252,000 petition signatures in support of the measure (145,698 were needed).

The project, funded by a parent organization in Washington, D.C., spent about a half-million dollars on the petition drive; officials said they now plan to switch to educating voters about the measure.

The group proposes to allow patients with serious medical conditions like cancer, HIV, or multiple sclerosis to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks; patients would need a recommendation from a doctor to use the drug medically.

Medical-marijuana would be grown legally by nonprofit dispensaries under the plan. An opposition group called Stop the Pot is hoping to derail the campaign.