PHOENIX (AP) – Legal sales of recreational marijuana in Arizona began on Friday, an unimaginable step in the former conservative stronghold that joins 14 other states that have largely legalized the pot.
The state Department of Health Services announced on Friday that it has approved 86 licenses in nine of the state’s 15 counties, in accordance with the provisions of the marijuana legalization measure adopted by voters in November. Most licenses have gone to existing medical marijuana dispensaries that can start selling pots immediately.
“It’s an interesting step for those who want to participate in that program,” Dr. Cara Christ, Arizona’s state health director, said Friday.
Under the provisions of Proposition 207, people aged 21 and older can grow their own plants and legally own up to an ounce (28 grams) of marijuana or a smaller amount of “concentrates” such as hash . Possession between 1 ounce and 2.5 ounces (70 grams) is a misdemeanor with a maximum fine of $ 300.
The march towards decriminalization in the state of the Sun Belt was long. The approval of the legalization measure came four years after Arizona voters narrowly defeated a similar proposal, although medical marijuana has been legal in the state since 2010.
The initiative was met with strong opposition from Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and GOP leaders in the state legislature, but 60 percent of state voters in the November election approved it.
The marijuana vote reflected higher trends during the historic election, which saw Democrat Joe Biden long overthrow the Republican state, in which political giants include five-term Conservative Sen. Barry Goldwater and late GOP Sen. John McCain.
Demographic change, including a rapidly growing Latino population and an influx of new residents, has made the state more friendly to Democrats.
The recreational measure of the pot was supported by supporters of the legal marijuana industry and supporters of criminal justice reform who argued that the state’s harsh marijuana laws are not in line with the nation. Arizona was the only state in the country to allow another criminal charge for first possession of small amounts of marijuana, although most cases were prosecuted as lower-level offenses.
The vast majority of licenses issued Friday were in Maricopa County, the state’s largest county, which hosts Phoenix and its suburbs. Other counties with dispensaries now authorized to sell recreational pots are Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai and Yuma counties.
Voters in New Jersey, South Dakota and Montana also approved the legalization of recreational marijuana ownership in November last year.
Arizona prosecutors have dropped thousands of cases of marijuana possession after the measure was approved. Possession in the state became technically legal when the election results were certified on November 30, but there was no authorized way to purchase it without a medical marijuana card.
In November, voters struck a new blow at Republicans who control state power levers when they approved a new tax on high-income people to increase education funding, a move that came after years of GOP tax cuts, and underfunding of public schools.