SAFFORD — A petition is being circulated that, if voters approved, would levy a tax on cannabis sales so heavy it would functionally put cannabis-growing operations in Graham County out of business.
However, that’s not how the petition is being presented to voters — voters are being asked to sign a petition to provide more funding for law enforcement and fire fighters.
“I feel it’s being misled in its representation to the public on what they’re signing,” Torey Cranford told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Cranford is a member of the Graham County Chamber of Commerce board, which is offering to help anyone remove their name from the petition if the person believes he or she signed under false pretenses.
The initiative proposes to tax growers of cannabis in Graham County $1,000 per pound produced.
“When you look at the amount being proposed of $1,000 per pound, that’s a tax of about 100 percent to 300 percent, depending on the type of cannabis being sold,” said Bayacan attorney Heather Dukes.
At that level, she said, no money would be generated for law enforcement or youth anti-drug efforts, because the grows would not operate at a loss and, thus, no taxes would be generated. She added that the initiative would also impact the Colvin family’s cannabis grow in Eden as well as Bayacan’s proposed operation in Bonita.
Petition backers have to secure 1,596 qualified signatures to qualify the initiative for the ballot. Per state statute, the petitions must be submitted no later than four months prior to a general election and, under that requirement, the deadline to submit petitions in hopes of qualifying for the Nov. 2, 2021 general election was Friday, July 2.
With that deadline missed, according to the Arizona Secretary of State, the deadline to submit petitions in hopes of qualifying an initiative for the Nov. 8, 2022, general election is July 8, 2022.
Gila Valley Central has submitted a public records request with Graham County Elections to ascertain the identity of the petition backers.
