Arizona Bill Would Protect Marijuana Users – Here’s How

A bill going through the Arizona legislature will ensure cannabis consumers get what they paid for, the Phoenix New Times reported.

House Bill 2050 would require the Department of Health to work with an outside laboratory to verify that medical and recreational pharmacies are selling what they claim.

The measure, sponsored by Republican Rep. Justin Wilmeth of Phoenix and passed by a 25-2 margin earlier this week, requires DHS to issue nonprofit medical pharmacy licenses in counties where dispensaries are more than 25 miles apart.

While the legislation primarily focuses on ensuring more stringent marijuana testing, it also addresses the number of cannabis dispensaries in the state.

Sen. David Gowan, R-Sierra Vista, said voters wanted to see dispensaries in each of Arizona’s 15 counties when MMJ was first approved in 2010. A 2019 law attempted to ensure this by directing the health department to issue new licenses in any county that didn’t have one.

Legalization Efforts in Arizona and Cannabis

Meanwhile, the results of a recent survey show a promising shift in attitude towards federal cannabis reform in Grand Canyon State.

The poll, conducted by Change Research, found that nearly 70% of registered voters in Arizona, Utah and West Virginia support legalizing cannabis at the federal level and want their senators to vote for federal reform this year.

RELATED: Arizona residents love their weed: Cannabis sales to hit $1.4 billion in 2021

A majority of Arizona voters voted “yes” to recreational cannabis and approved Proposition 207 in 2020 as part of the five-state green wave that took place in last November’s election. Since then, the state has set itself apart from the crowd with the rapid implementation and launch of its Adult Market in February 2021.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.