Proposition 207, the citizens’ initiated ballot measure legalizing the adult-use marijuana market, took effect this morning following the certification of the 2020 election results by the office of the Secretary of State.
Provisions legalizing marijuana possession (up to one ounce of cannabis and up to five grams of concentrates), use, and personal cultivation (up to six plants for non-commercial purposes in a private residence) take immediate effect. Separate provisions licensing adult-use marijuana businesses and facilitating the expungement of past criminal convictions take effect in 2021.
Following the passage of the measure on Election Day, most county prosecutors immediately began dismissing marijuana possession cases. Under prior law, minor marijuana possession offenses in the state could be prosecuted as felonies and were among the strictest in the nation.
“The certification of Prop. 207 marks a historic day for Arizona,” said NORML State Policies Coordinator Carly Wolf. “Voters made their voices heard by rejecting the failed policy of prohibition, and now otherwise law-abiding adults no longer need to live in fear of prosecution and the lifelong collateral consequences that come with it for possessing a plant.”
The full text of Prop. 207 can be found here.
