Sean Noble, president of political strategy firm American Encore, has abandoned the "Sensible Marijuana Policy Act for Arizona," a ballot initiative that would have ended commercial recreational cannabis sales in the state while keeping adult possession, personal cultivation, and prior-record expungement intact. Arizona's medical marijuana program would also have been preserved.
Noble told Capitol Media Services he "adjusted my viewpoints on the threat to kids" after concluding that Arizona cannabis businesses had "not done some of the things that I thought they were doing."
"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."
"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," he said. "Maybe they're doing that in other states. But it's not happening here in Arizona."
Noble also concluded there was insufficient public support for rolling back legalization, raising doubts about whether the campaign investment would be worthwhile. The initiative would have required 255,949 valid signatures by July 2 to qualify for the ballot. The measure would have additionally directed the legislature to make conforming changes to tax and advertising statutes.
In January, Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) voiced opposition to legalization in separate discussions about the proposed measure; Gosar said he would like to see voters approve the rollback and called marijuana a "gateway drug."
Arizona voters approved legalization with 60 percent support in 2020. A poll found 86 percent support for medical cannabis, 69 percent for adult-use legalization, and 78 percent for banking reform. The state's legal marijuana sales have declined for two consecutive years.
Anti-cannabis campaigns elsewhere have also stalled. In Maine, activists filed a ballot initiative to repeal recreational marijuana sales laws but missed the signature deadline for the 2026 ballot. In Massachusetts, a similar measure is currently subject to litigation. The Arizona proposal differed from both in that it would have preserved adults' right to grow their own cannabis.
Arizona lawmakers are also considering legislation this session to penalize people who create "excessive" marijuana smoke or odor.
