After doing his own due diligence, an Arizona man hoping to undo the state’s adult-use cannabis laws changed his mind about the negative perceptions of legalization and abandoned a 2026 ballot initiative.
Sean Noble, founder of American Encore, withdrew his proposed measure, the Sensible Marijuana Policy Act for Arizona, which he filed in December in hopes of repealing the majority of the state’s laws that voters passed with a 60% majority in 2020 to legalize a commercial cannabis marketplace for adults 21 and older.
One of the “findings” that Noble declared as the applicant and chair of the proposed measure was that Arizona’s adult-use laws resulted in “increased marijuana use among children,” even though several studies have revealed that states do not experience increased youth use after legalization.
Amid a signature-gathering campaign that was scheduled to go through July 3, which was financially backed by the national prohibitionist group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), Noble’s perspective shifted, Capitol Media Services reported.
“I’ve adjusted my viewpoints on the threat to kids,” he said of a predetermined conception that the state’s licensed adult-use businesses were marketing their products to children – something more commonly seen in the unregulated market, especially in gas stations and smoke shops that sell intoxicating hemp products.
This admission comes after the Arizona Legislature passed a law last year that established new guidelines and tighter restrictions on cannabis advertising and marketing, including prohibiting advertisements that target those under 21 years old through names or imagery resembling popular products or characters attractive to children.
In addition, cannabis companies are barred from advertising near schools, playgrounds or other public places with children, as well as electronic advertising on platforms where at least 73.6% of the audience isn’t reasonably expected to be 21 or older.
“I went into it with a pretty profound belief that it was happening,” Noble said. “I was kind of relying on things that I had seen or read from other people. They have not done some of the things that I thought they were doing.
“I don’t think that they’re specifically marketing gummies and candies and that kind of thing, the way that I was led to believe that they were doing. Maybe they’re doing that in other states. But it’s not happening here in Arizona.”
This means American Encore has ended its campaign to collect 255,949 valid signatures by July 3, and Arizonans won’t be asked to backtrack on their voter-approved legalization laws to discontinue dispensary sales come November 2026.
Noble also told the news outlet that he was fighting a losing battle following President Donald Trump’s administration’s recent moves to loosen restrictions on cannabis, as well as strong poll numbers among Americans who favor legalization over prohibition.
Arizona’s 60% passage rate in the 2020 election remains the highest in the nation among the 13 states that have enacted adult-use legalization laws via citizen-initiated measures. Two other states have done so through legislative-referred referendums, and nine states have done so through the normal legislative process.
Although the 2026 anti-legalization campaign in Arizona appears dead, similar campaigns remain ongoing in Massachusetts for a 2026 ballot proposal and in Maine for a 2027 ballot proposal.
