Medical marijuana dispensaries on Prop 205

Dispensaries around the Valley have their say on legalizing marijuana

Prop+205+appears+on+the+ballot+for+the+first+time+in+2016.+The+legalization+of+marijuana+may+have+a+widespread+effect+in+Arizona.

Courtesy of Danielfnick (Flickr)

Prop 205 appears on the ballot for the first time in 2016. The legalization of marijuana may have a widespread effect in Arizona.

Christian A. Ramos, Reporter, Scottsdale Chronicle

Marijuana legalization hits Arizona’s ballot this November making voters, who are advocates as well as opponents, wonder what this means for the current medical marijuana dispensaries in the state.

Support for a Proposition like Prop 205 has been floating around Arizona for quite some time but 2016 marks the first time an initiative for the legalization of marijuana hits the ballot in the Grand Canyon State.

Pro-Prop 205 supporters, including some politicians, are not the only parties backing the legalization of the substance. Local medical marijuana dispensaries in the Valley have been working with the Proposition backers in order to get it passed.

“Dispensaries have been donating and trying to push forward the Proposition 205,” local Dispensary Agent Shane Bryant said. “They want Arizona to get to what they need without the hassle… is what it basically comes down to.”

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, a medical marijuana dispensary agent must receive an agent card of registry, pass a background check and be fingerprinted in order to be employed by or volunteer for a medical marijuana dispensary.

Jason Chacon, owner of Mesa dispensary Kind Meds, said that Prop 205 supporters do participate with Prop 205 “a little bit,” especially considering the first meetings relating to it were less than productive. In the past year more people have taken leadership roles in creating a better bill.

There has been concern that the legalization of a substance that some still see as a drug will only bring the overflow of pot factories focusing solely on the distribution of an addictive product.

“It’s hard to counter something that’s really kind of an opinion,” Chacon said.

Chacon understood some of the concerns when asked about the opposition to the initiative.

“I think it has to be regulated,” he said. “I think part of the reason why Arizona had so much success with regulation is because we had such detailed law.”

While the FDA still acknowledges marijuana as a Class One Drug, there are those that are hoping Prop 205 will also help Arizonans see the herb as medicine and a possible remedy to help individuals get off narcotics.

Chacon reflected on a number of vets he says have been helped after coming to the dispensary.

“A lot of the vets we get, they come home with injuries and are given a handful of meds,” Chacon said. “They’ll come back in a couple months and tell me that they feel great, and they don’t feel drugged.”

Chacon is a believer in the success of medical marijuana and, at least so far, an advocate for Prop 205.