By Matt Ferner

The backers of a proposed 2016 Arizona ballot initiative that would legalize, regulate and tax marijuana similarly to alcohol in the state estimate that if the measure makes it on the ballot and is passed, it could raise more than $40 million a year for schools.

“Marijuana should be sold by businesses that pay taxes and follow laws, not by cartels and criminals that evade them,” J.P. Holyoak, chairman of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said in a press statement. Holyoak as well as other supporters of recreational legalization announced the possible tax boost for the state during a Wednesday press conference at the state capitol.

Advocates in the state are currently collecting signatures in order for the measure to qualify for the November 2016 state ballot. So far, the campaign says it has gathered roughly 60,000 signatures since its petition drive began in May.

Similar to Colorado’s recreational marijuana legalization and regulatory framework, the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act would allow Arizona adults 21 and older to be in possession of up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants for personal use in their homes. The measure would also allow for retail marijuana shops to sell the substance to adults and would enact a 15 percent excise tax on those sales.

The revenue generated from that special excise tax would go to fund the implementation and enforcement of state regulations, but 40 percent of that tax revenue would go to education, including the funding of full-day kindergarten programs.

Holyoak’s group says that would add up to $40 million in tax revenue for the Department of Education annually, and at the press conference called that number “very conservative.” Their revenue estimate is based on marijuana sales figures in Colorado, adjusted for state population and consumption …read more

Source:: Weed Feed