I hear a lot of people rant about how it's never going to happen that is changing the marijuana laws.

Well I have also heard in my lifetime there will never be a black president. So what you hear and read is not always true.

There is a path to changing the marijuana laws in Arizona, there are people meeting and working together to accomplish this.

Here are my thoughts on going about it. Feel free to critique them.

Then Current Arizona Law Is:

ARS 13-3405. Possession, use, production, sale or transportation of marijuana;

A. A person shall not knowingly:

1. Possess or use marijuana.

2. Possess marijuana for sale.

3. Produce marijuana.

4. Transport for sale, import into this state or offer to transport for sale or import into this state, sell, transfer or offer to sell or transfer marijuana.

Any amount is a felon offense, have you or someone you have known gotten tangled up with this law?

Ever thought what happens if your kid gets caught smoking pot at a concert or at the park, river or lake by the sheriff? It's a felony conviction. This means no federally insured student loan, that conviction will follow them for a lifetime. This is what I think is way excessive for such a trivial thing, granted it is a public nuisance to smoke pot in public, but certainly not warranting a felony conviction.

Have you ever thought the current Arizona laws were being a little heavy handed? Especially when you consider how our neighbors in California have learned to deal with marijuana.

Our objective is to address and change the criminal penalties associated with possession, use, production, sale or transportation of marijuana.

Our proposed amendments are intended to make the criminal violations to be far more lenient and to give trial judges greater latitude in suspending sentences and fines.

The current situation is where even the smallest amount possessed by a citizen is subject to a felony conviction. We feel this is preposterous, absurd and a travesty of justice.

The felony conviction brings with it political penalties that are in excessive including the loss of the right to vote. We think this is a political ploy by the past political establishment, in some ways making it a political crime. There is a generation shift-taking place now change is possible.

This is a political Catch-22 situation. If you support the cause the implied admission of being guilty of a felony crime can have a chilling effect on political participation. Therefore the first hurtle to comprehensive law reform is to remove this obstacle. It's going to take some personal courage to accomplish this. We need to make the social perception of signing the petition a good thing to have done. We need to make it a badge of honor to have signed this petition.

The proper way to address the issues are through political action committees. The election and campaign laws could actually be considered skewed to make it easier for a true grass roots political action. There can be multiple political action committees supporting or against any given initiative.

As per the Arizona Constitution, registered voters may propose new laws, amend existing laws or propose constitutional amendments through the initiative process. Before the petition is printed and signatures collected, an application for a petition serial number along with a 100-word description and the complete text of the measure must be filed with the Secretary of State on the prescribed form. Signatures obtained before the filing of the committee's statement of organization are void and shall not be counted in determining the legal sufficiency of the partition.

There are many stages of a political action committee's life, including eventual termination.

The first stage is to receive contributions of less than five hundred dollars. No reporting responsibilities until five hundred dollars have been contributed or expended.

The next stage is to receive contributions of more than five hundred dollars. Full reporting responsibilities.

The next stage is to have more than five hundred contributors that have contributed ten dollars or more, full reporting responsibilities continue. At that point the political action committee can be certified and then it can make significant contributions to political candidates friendly to its cause. The certification lasts for two years.

All contributions in excess of twenty-five dollars must be reported. All expenditures must be reported. This is an accounting and databases management task list quite similar to running a small business.

The Arizona State constitution permits the legislature to over turn a citizen initiative by a seventy-five percent majority vote. This means to have a real effect the elected representatives need to be friendly to the cause.

Our over all objectives are to decriminalize the possession of marijuana. Current federal laws make this close to impossible. The federal government threatened withholding all federal funding the last time this was tried, that could mean no airlines flying in and out of the state.

The real solution is in Washington DC. That's where the changes have to be made to permit the states to make their own decisions in regard to marijuana.

The coming election required 153,365 signatures to get a statewide initiative on the ballot, 230,047 for a constitutional amendment. The number of signatures required is fifteen percent of the number of voters for the governor in the last general election, this will not change for the next general election. This will require a significant organization to achieve.

Our strategy for executing a reformation of the law is as follows.

1. First get a more lenient set of laws for possession. Thus making the political action less intimidating.

2. Work on a medical marijuana constitutional amendment.

3. Legalize possession and growing by citizens.

4. Ultimately complete legalization and taxation.

5. Work to free those that have been imprisoned under the old law.

6. Work to restore the rights of those that have been convicted under the old laws.

This will change the character and image of our state. Let's make it a really fun safe place to live and visit.

Our success will free up our police force from such trivial and fruitless tasks, lets set them to chasing down real criminals. Making our businesses, homes and families safer.

Let's create a fully functional political action committee that can get the politicians attention.

It's a safe bet, we all have interacted with the underground black market, some how the stuff is being distributed. We need to use that hidden system to work for our political cause.

There are approximately one hundred weeks until the next general election. That's how long we have to turn bad to good. We sense a shift in generations, this is a do able and noble mission, and it is our world now.

Maybe you have an idea or two on how to proceed to effect real change on this issue and want to be a part of our organization.

NORML in Arizona is reawakening.

Want to know more email me. There is an email network being created of like-minded people.

"I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Barry Goldwater

Liberty Loves Justice