MARIJUANA INITIATIVE MAKES ARIZ. BALLOT

From the National Desk

PHOENIX, Aug. 13 (UPI) -- An initiative that would decriminalize possession
of small amounts of marijuana will appear on Arizona's general-election
ballot this fall, state officials said Monday.

Proposition 203, also known as the "Drug Medicalization, Prevention, and
Control Act of 2002," would make possession of 2 ounces or less of marijuana
a civil violation punishable by a fine of no more than $250.

The fine could be waived by taking a drug education class, the initiative
said.

A sampling of submitted voter signatures indicated that Prop 203 supporters
included 164,264 signatures, or 161.5 percent of the minimum needed, the
Secretary of State's office said.

Besides reducing penalties for marijuana possession from a low-level felony,
the law would allow doctors to recommend, rather than prescribe marijuana
for qualifying patients.

Currently under Arizona's 1996 law, doctors who want to prescribe marijuana
to their patients have been discouraged by threats of federal criminal
charges. The 1996 initiative was approved by 65.4 percent of registered
voters in Arizona.

The proposition would also require the state Department of Public Safety to
distribute confiscated marijuana for free to those who receive doctors'
recommendations. However, patients who qualify for medical use will not be
able to sell or otherwise distribute the marijuana provided to them by the
state.

Proposition 203 reads that all qualified patients must be Arizona residents.
The law would also acknowledge that there is a legitimate medical use for
marijuana.