Prop 205 fight heats up: Group against measure holds fundraiser

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - We're less than two months away from election day and one of the biggest items on the ballot in Arizona is Prop 205 -- the measure to legalize recreational marijuana in the state.

Groups for and against Prop 205 are busy getting their message out there.

Some of the special guests at Tuesday night's fundraiser included Governor Doug Ducey and the Mayor of Colorado Springs, John Suthers, who claims marijuana use in that state's schools is pervasive.

"62 percent of expulsion and suspensions in our schools are due to marijuana use," said Suthers. "My advice to Arizonans is to sit back and watch some of these other state experiments continue to evolve and then see if this is anything you want to be involved in."

But voters must decide this November if recreational marijuana should be legalized and regulated like alcohol and both sides of this issue are gearing up for a big battle.

"Prop 205 is chock full of special interests that guarantee that a few get rich, while the rest of us pay the price," said Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk.

The invitation to the fundraiser showed the cost to be $10,000 to participate in the roundtable discussion and another $1,000 to join the cocktail hour. The money will go to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, which as of mid-August, had raised about $1 million to fight against legalizing marijuana.

The other side has raised just over $3 million.

"This is an issue about regulating it, making sure people know what is actually in the marijuana and taxing it. Sending that money to schools and to local government and taking it out of the hands of the drug cartels," said Barrett Marson of Yes on 205.

Supporters of Prop 205 point to a recent poll that showed only about a third of Colorado voters would vote to repeal that state's marijuana laws.

"It shows that after a few years of legalization of allowing adults to use marijuana responsibly and legally, that the sky is not falling and the residents of Colorado generally believe it is a good thing or has had no impact," said Marson.