Let’s stop prosecuting pot users

Rodney Jones stood up to marijuana prohibitionists. Good for him.

The Arizona Supreme Court threw out Jones’ prison conviction May 28 when it ruled that marijuana extracts are legal. It means registered medical marijuana patients like Jones can consume marijuana in forms other than smoking it.

Jones’ exoneration is good news for him and the nearly 200,000 registered marijuana patients in the state under the 2010 voter-approved Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.

Prosecutors argued that the law didn’t apply to resin or extracts. The court unanimously disagreed.

But why did Jones have to spend time behind bars? He was sentenced to 21⁄2 years in prison for possessing 0.005 ounces of hashish in 2013. Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk wasted taxpayers’ money prosecuting Jones in her attempt to prevent the inevitable, which is wider marijuana legalization.

Polk probably thought she could legally harass and punish medical marijuana users like Jones. Thank goodness the Supreme Court finally stopped her and others.

This legal fight may be over, but the fight over recreational marijuana is just beginning — especially if Arizona voters get to decide in 2020.

Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money fighting users and dispensaries, authorities should be working to capitalize on this lucrative business.

Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is doing just that. Earlier this month, he joined other state attorneys general to back federal legislation allowing marijuana-related businesses access to bank systems.

That’s smart, really. Thirty-three states have legalized medical marijuana, but the federal government still considers that substance illegal. Banks providing services to these businesses could be held criminally or civilly liable.

In their letter to the feds, the attorneys general point out that the marijuana industry generated $8.3 billion in sales in 2017 and could top $25 billion by 2025.

That’s a heck of a lot of cash that could be taxed. The SAFE Banking Act could boost tax collections, Brnovich and the others argued.

Marijuana foes should stop wasting taxpayers’ money prosecuting users and fighting the inevitable. Instead, they should join the likes of Brnovich, who are looking for ways to more effectively monitor these businesses.