Arizona House lawmakers have approved a Senate-passed bill to penalize people who create “excessive” amounts of marijuana smoke or odor—a policy that’s faced criticism from advocates who say the proposal amounts to overreach that undermines the legalization law voters enacted.
The legislation from Sen. J.D. Mesnard (R), which cleared the Senate earlier this month after being significantly amended, advanced through the House Judiciary Committee in a 8-1 vote on Wednesday.
Members took public testimony on the proposal, with advocates representing organizations such as Arizona NORML and the ACLU of Arizona arguing against the legislation.
Julie Gunnigle, an attorney and state director of Arizona NORML speaking on her own behalf, said the legislation “effectively disenfranchises all of our patients who need to consume but can’t consume inside their own homes because they rent.”
Gunnigle said she might have previously been “sympathetic” to arguments that patients could choose a different method of consumption that didn’t involve smoking to avoid the issue, but she’s come to understand that there’s science behind the individualized efficacy of different types of products and “someone’s ability to smoke and consume is a decision that’s made in consultation, typically with doctors, pursuant to a whole range of different
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