PHOENIX — Colorado state officials are asking opponents of Prop. 205 to stop airing ads that “convey inaccurate and misleading statements about Colorado’s experience with regulating and taxing marijuana for adult use.”
In a Monday morning email to Seth Leibsohn and Sheila Polk, the leaders of Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, Colorado Sen. Pat Steadman and Reps. Millie Hamner and Jonathan Singer cite multiple “No on 205” ads that include incorrect claims about marijuana tax revenue spending and rates of teen marijuana use in Colorado. They counter the statements with information drawn from three state government documents they also attached to the email. (Note: The original email was signed by Steadman and Singer, and a follow-up message was sent shortly after to notify Leibsohn and Polk that Hamner had added her name to the letter).
The officials’ full letter is here and the three attachments can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/2eoYROw.
“As members of the Colorado Legislature who played a central role in the budgeting and appropriation of marijuana tax revenues, we feel it is our duty to set the record straight so that voters in both [Arizona and Colorado] have accurate information about this subject,” the email reads. Hamner is chair of the Colorado Joint Budget Committee and vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Steadman is a member of the Joint Budget Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee, and Singer is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.
“We can say with certainty that the claims about Colorado marijuana tax revenues featured in your committee’s ads range from highly misleading to wholly inaccurate,” it continues.
For example, the Colorado officials highlight two “No on 205” television ads that claim marijuana tax revenue never made its way to Colorado schools and that more money was spent on regulation. They point out that more than $138 million in marijuana tax revenues has been distributed to the Colorado Department of Education, including nearly $115 million for the state’s public school construction funding program. They also note that only about $21.5 million, or 10% of marijuana tax revenues, was spent on regulating marijuana.
“We respectfully request that you stop airing or otherwise publishing campaign ads that contradict these facts. We also trust they will be reflected in any of your future communications to Arizona voters regarding Colorado’s experience with regulating and taxing marijuana for adult use.”
Statement from J.P. Holyoak, chairman of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which is supporting Prop. 205:
“We applaud these Colorado officials for bringing the facts to light and join them in calling on our opponents to stop airing such overtly dishonest ads. The facts are clear. Regulating and taxing marijuana is raising tens of millions of dollars per year for schools in Colorado, and Prop. 205 will do the same for schools in Arizona.”
