Lawsuit to keep state pot initiative off ballot challenges summary of Act

GLENDALE, Ariz (AP) — A group opposed to legalized marijuana announced a lawsuit Tuesday against an initiative that would allow adults in Arizona to possess up to an ounce of pot.

The lawsuit challenges the 100-word summary of the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, saying it misleads voters about key provisions of the initiative. Voters see the summary when they sign petitions to qualify an initiative for the ballot.

Now, all four initiatives whose backers filed enough signatures to make the November ballot face court challenges. Initiatives boosting taxes on high-earning Arizonans to fund education, forbidding surprise medical billing and overhauling the state’s criminal sentencing rules face similar challenges to the summary, and two of the four lawsuits challenge signatures as well.

The challenge to the marijuana legalization initiative claims the summary of the proposal failed to tell voters who signed petitions that it would also cover hashish and other more potent forms of marijauana, changes state law on driving under the influence and doesn’t specifically say that a 16% tax on marijuana sales can’t be increased by the Legislature.

The lawsuit was filed by several voters belonging to a group called Arizonans for Health and Public Safety, a political committee opposed to legalizing marijuana.

The national law firm Polsinelli is representing the group, with former Arizona Rep. John Shadegg as one of the lead attorneys. He called the summary “clearly deceptive.”

Chad Campbell, chair of the group backing the measure, called the lawsuit “frivolous and ridiculous.”

The lawsuits will be heard in the coming weeks under expedited scheduling orders.