SOME FAULT MARIJUANA DEBATE FOR CAUSING STATE BUDGET WOES

Medical marijuana not only brought intense debate to Arizona - it
spawned the Voter Protection Act, reviled by many Arizona lawmakers as
a source of the state's budget woes.

When voters in 1996 approved the use of medical marijuana, lawmakers
and the governor responded by gutting the law.

That sent medical-marijuana supporters back to the ballot for a
do-over in 1998. But the second time around, supporters of
legalized-medical marijuana also asked voters to approve a measure
that would severely limit legislative tinkering with anything approved
at the ballot box.

While the efforts to legalize marijuana have languished, the Voter
Protection Act has thrived, shielding everything from more-generous
Medicaid coverage to the minimum wage from legislative
interference.

Lawmakers have railed against the Voter Protection Act, saying it has
locked the state into spending obligations - such as for Medicaid and
education - that Arizona can no longer afford.

"It's strong medicine," said Jack LaSota, a former Arizona attorney
general who was legal counsel for 1998's Voter Protection Alliance,
sponsor of the protection act.

The measure was designed to counteract what critics called an
"arrogant" response by elected officials to the will of the people.
And, LaSota said, 12 years after it won with 52 percent of the vote,
it remains a strong statement for the right of the electorate to chart
the state's course.

"The people being sovereign, if they want to do that, that's the
essence of democracy," he said of voters choosing policies such as
smoking restrictions or a ban on taxing real-estate
transactions.

Voters will get to act again this fall on medical marijuana, which
would enjoy voter protection if approved. But they also will be asked
to undo two voter-protected measures so the Legislature can redirect
the money: The First Things First early-childhood fund and a
land-conservation fund.