Marijuana supporters in Arizona have launched a new "Buy American" theme in their campaign to legalize weed for recreational use in Arizona.
On Tuesday, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol unveiled a billboard in Tempe lauding how Arizonans would be able to "Buy American and Support Schools, Not Cartels," if voters approve their legalization proposal in 2016.
The initiative gained the support of Former DEA Agent Michael Capasso, who served as the former chief of the DEA Financial Crimes Unit. Capasso led a task force of Phoenix-area police officers against Mexican cartels bringing drugs into the United States, as well as led operations in Sierra Vista along the U.S.-Mexico border. He retired in 2015.
“I know from personal experience that the illegal status of marijuana in the United States helps to fuel demand for marijuana produced by drug cartels in Mexico,” Capasso said. “If we truly hope to eliminate the criminal element associated with marijuana, the only solution is to make marijuana legal and tightly regulate its production and sale.”
The Independce Day-themed ad, spearheaded by initiative supporters, highlights how revenue from regulated marijuana sales would “support schools, not cartels.”
Estimates by the Grand Canyon Institute state the initiative could bring in $64 million in annual state tax revenue.
