Editor's Note: Arizona is getting a push from several directions, including from advocacy group Safer Arizona, as mentioned in this article. It also is one of five states (along with Maine, Massachusetts, California and Nevada) where the Marijuana Policy Project has established committees to ready ballot initiatives to legalize marijuana for 2016.
About 125 people from across Arizona gathered in front of the State Capitol on Monday morning to protest current marijuana laws and call for its legalization.
The protest organized by the advocacy group Safer Arizona was one of many planned for the first day of the 2015 Legislative session.
Demonstrators in coordinated garb held signs with phrases such as "Free the leaf," "Marijuana is safer than alcohol" and "The war on drugs is a war on U$." The signs reflected the issues on which the protesters focused throughout the event, including the felony status and fees that come with marijuana possession and its possible use in aiding veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, among other health conditions.
Founder of Safer Arizona, Dennis Bohlke, 60, said the group plans to protest on the first day of the legislative agenda every year until it achieves success.
