Another pot-legalization initiative emerges

• Marijuana for recreational use remains illegal under federal law.
• About 65%2C000 people participate in Arizona%27s medical marijuana program.
• Arizonans for Responsible Legalization will seemingly rival another effort to legalize pot for recreational use.

Supporters filed paperwork Friday to kick off what could be a second 2016 ballot initiative that would allow Arizona adults to buy small amounts of marijuana for private use.

The group, Arizonans for Responsible Legalization, said it would not offer details of its plan until it unveils the initiative language. "Arizonans for Responsible Legalization is committed to common sense regulation of the marijuana industry and ensuring the greatest benefit to taxpayers," Gina Berman, an emergency room physician who will lead the effort, said a statement.

The initiative would seemingly rival that of the Marijuana Policy Project of Arizona, which last year said it would try to legalize marijuana for casual use in Arizona and several other states.

Marijuana Policy Project of Arizona is finalizing language for a ballot measure and has been working to build a broad coalition to support the effort, Ryan Hurley, treasurer of the Marijuana Policy Project of Arizona, recently said.

Language for the Marijuana Policy Project of Arizona's initiative may be finalized within a couple of weeks, Hurley said Friday.

The initiative might be modeled after the marijuana program in Colorado, which was approved by voters and allows adults 21 and older to use and possess up to an ounce of pot. The marijuana is purchased at marijuana shops allowed to operate under the law.

Supporters have said Arizona will not repeat Colorado's mistakes. The effort will be financially backed by the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which has successfully advocated for marijuana legalization and regulation in other states.

Meanwhile, Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk has joined forces with anti-drug advocates to oppose the legalization of marijuana in Arizona. Their group, Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, will raise money to counter pro-pot political messages and raise awareness about the harmful effects of the drug.

Such marijuana use remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, but in 2013 the U.S. Department of Justice said it would allow laws regulating recreational use of marijuana.

Arizona is among a couple dozen states and the District of Columbia that allow marijuana use for medicinal or recreational reasons. Arizona voters approved the use of medicinal marijuana in 2010 for conditions such as chronic pain and cancer, but the program didn't gain momentum until last year, when dispensaries began to open.

About 65,000 people participate in the program, and the state Department of Health Services, which oversees the program, has limited the number of dispensaries to 126 statewide.

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