(12/16/14)
For Immediate Release—
Contact: Mikel
Weisser, Political Director, Safer Arizona
Safer AZ, the cannabis reform Political Action Committee
behind last year’s marijuana legalization initiative, has refiled their
organizational paperwork with the Arizona Secretary of State’s office to join the campaigns to legalize
cannabis and hemp in 2016. In their
original incarnation, past-president Robert Clark will continue as co-chair with
founder, Dave Wisniewski, for the new cycle. Mikel Weisser will serve as
treasurer and continue as political director. In their recently released 2016
cycle business plan, Safer AZ announced intentions to develop a full-scale
operation for 2016, complete with a paid staff and a fundraising arm of the
organization. As their 2014 initiative’s author, PHX-based computer programmer,
Dennis Bohlke explains, “AZ doesn’t have a drug problem, we have a political
problem and this is how you solve it. We have got to stop the madness of
destroying people’s lives for a plant. Everyone here is an activist. There’s no
way we’re stopping now.”
Billing themselves a “full-service” cannabis political
action committee, Safer AZ 2016 (new name for the new cycle) expects to be
continuing with their same programs, but on a greatly expanded scale. Since filing
their new paperwork on Dec. 5th, the group has already held interviews
with four state legislators to discuss their legislative agenda for the
upcoming 2015 session, re-launched their product line of their iconic green “MARIJUANA
IS SAFER THAN ALCOHOL” tee-shirts and begun the networking and fundraising to
build for the legalization 2016 push.
The controversial organization has been at the forefront of
Arizona pot politics since Safer AZ made national news in June of 2013 by writing
a cannabis legalization ballot measure for the 2014 election cycle, two years
ahead of the nationally recognized Marijuana Policy Project’s proposed 2016
campaign. Often stuck negotiating between warring camps (pro-cannabis industry
v pro-consumer, anarchist activists v political operatives, MPP supporters v
AZ-only activists, just to name a few) Safer AZ’s greatest achievement may be
that after two years, groups that never would have spoken to each other have
formed a coalition to set an overall strategy.
In November, six different activist organizations (Safer AZ,
PHX NORML, PCC (PHX Cannabis Coalition, AZ 4NORML (Tucson based), SSDP
(Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, both the ASU & the U of A chapters),
RAMMP (Registry of Arizona Medical Marijuana Patients) & the Human Solution)
formed the AZ’s Cannabis Consumer Coalition. Represented by nationally renown
cannabis criminal defense lawyer Tom Dean, the group is participating in the
lawyers-only drafting process that will create the 2016 ballot measure.
Originally founded by David Wisniewski, a tech savvy active
duty soldier then-stationed in South Korea, and three other far-flung Arizonans
(Tucson’s Clark, PHX based Bohkle and Weisser in Kingman), Safer AZ operated as
a totally volunteer organization. Strong on ideas, though weak on resources, the
upstart political action committee’s four principles soon began an ambitious agenda
with supporters around the state signing up to join the movement.
Wisniewski built an online community through the PAC website
and Facebook page that soon grew to have thousands or followers nationwide. Bohlke and Clark organized dozens of activists
and taught them to collect signatures. Weisser joined PHX-based cannabis activists,
holding demonstrations, creating 420 focused musical fun-raisers, giving
rallying speeches and “movement status reports” for all the trendy 420 groups,
in addition to conducting a series of legislative interviews and demonstrations
at the state capitol. Safer AZ leadership also served as the go-to voice of AZ
cannabis reform, appearing in numerous clips on PHX and Tucson local news
channels and talk radio stations, as a recurring subject for the PHX New Times,
and even in articles by the New York Times and Huffington Post.
One Safer AZ idea, “The Harm Reduction Measure,” was picked
up by Democratic West Valley legislator, Mark Cardenas (LD-19) and introduced
as HB2474. If passed, the bill would have amended state statutes on marijuana
arrests. Currently ARS 13-3405 requires that all marijuana related arrests
begin as felony arrests. Cardenas promises to revisit the idea in the upcoming
legislative session. “I’m getting my bills together and we already have
legislative counsel on it. It was a good idea, it’s still a good idea,” Cardenas
says.
Early attention and accolades did not sustain the volunteer
based group’s base of activists, however; and even the central four only had so
much time in a day. As Weisser explains, “We all worked on the parts we liked
and no one worked enough on central organization. We all had full-time commitments
already. Dave was in the Army. I mean gee, give the guy a break. Dennis runs a
computer company, I was running for Congress. Robert has health issues. Nobody
had the time to work on it full-time. We rarely worked on fundraising and you
can only do so much w zero budget.” The group eventually pulled their
initiative in June of 2014 vowing to continue building on their gains and
re-launch at the turn of the election cycle. True to their word, Clark, Weisser
and Wisniewski were at the counter with the AZ Secretary of State’s elections
office with new paperwork on the first day of the new cycle.
Listed by the IRS as
a 527, Safer Arizona’s new AZSOS designation calls it “an organization
supporting or opposing a ballot measure.” Though one of the loudest voices on
cannabis and hemp reform in the state, the group will not be introducing their own
initiative this round. MPP of AZ does not expect their measure to be completed
until February and HOW
of Arizona, a Gilbert-based group of first-timers led by Christian Carrasco has
already filed their hemp-only initiative and though they have begun working
with Safer AZ leadership on strategy.
“While we are not actually
filing the petitions for the ballot initiatives, these are issues we have been
promoting,” explained PAC co-chair, Robert Clark. “We are working with the
committees running these initiatives to help them with the organizing and
getting out the message. AND, to make sure we’re getting language that we like.
But there is a lot more to making marijuana legal than just writing a bill and
that’s where we come in.”
For more information
contact Safer AZ:
Mikel Weisser
928-234-5633
SaferArizona.com
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