This is pretty contoversial here. There hasn't been a whole lot of press, since the measure petition was just submittted, and the signatures confirmed. I expect a whole lot more info in the near future.
What's bad about this is not the decriminalization of marijuana itself. The problem will be in applying the law. (if passed) California has a similar "Medical Marijuana" Law, but has spent millions of dollars in federal court trying to get it to work. It also mandates the state to provide Medical Marijuana to those who "need" it, at taxpayer expense.
The states cannot pass a law that is in violation of federal statutes. Marijuana is still classified as a "controlled substance" under federal law, and possession, importation, transportation, or distribution is a federal felony. It's also a federal crime for a Doctor to prescribe Marijuana and certain other substances, except under federal guidelines. Any Doctor who does, risks having their DEA license, and medication prescription writing privileges revoked. The State has no control over this. It's a federal administrative program.
No matter how you feel about the subject, we simply cannot afford the millions $$ to defend the law in court.
There's already a law in AZ that says there's no jail or prison for possession of small quantities of marijuana and ANY other drug.(Heroin, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, LSD, etc) It was also touted as a "Medical Marijuana" bill when it passed, but buried in the fine print was language that included all drugs. The law allowed someone convicted of simple possession to do community service and probation, but no time. This is for 1st and 2nd offenses. There is also no provision for punishment (jail) for those convicted under this law who refuse to do the treatment or community service. In other words, there's no teeth to the law. (There's a measure on the ballot in Nov. to correct this.)
It also doesn't take into account what the original charge was. They could be selling pounds of meth to kindergartners, but plea down to "simple possession", and get their hands slapped.
The law is bad for Arizona, especially being in the poor financial shape the State's in now.