In defiance of President Donald Trump’s pro-marijuana stance, two prominent Arizona Republicans are signaling support for rolling back legal cannabis—potentially putting the state’s billion-dollar adult-use market on the chopping block.
U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, both MAGA-aligned conservatives who have benefited from Trump’s endorsements, told Marijuana Moment they oppose federal marijuana rescheduling and are open to re-criminalizing adult-use cannabis sales in Arizona. Their comments come as an anti-legalization campaign quietly takes shape in the state.
Arizona is now the third state—alongside Massachusetts and Maine—where a voter initiative funded by a well-connected anti-cannabis group proposes eliminating adult-use marijuana sales while leaving medical cannabis intact. In Arizona, the proposed “Sensible Marijuana Policy Act for Arizona” would repeal the voter-approved adult-use program that has been in place since 2021.
According to Tucson Weekly, the initiative is sponsored by political consultant Sean Noble and backed financially by Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a dark-money nonprofit that has long opposed legalization. SAM is also funding parallel efforts in Massachusetts and Maine, framing the campaigns as public-health measures while critics describe them as attempts to undo voter decisions.
The stakes in Arizona are significant. Legal cannabis is a major economic engine, with adult-use and medical sales totaling $1.2 billion in 2024, the most recent year of available data. Repealing adult-use sales would disrupt thousands of jobs and millions in annual tax revenue.
The push also highlights growing cracks within the Republican Party on cannabis. In December, Trump broke with GOP leaders—including House Speaker Mike Johnson—by issuing an executive order directing the Justice Department to move marijuana to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act. Attorney General Pam Bondi has yet to act on that order.
Gosar said he hopes to personally ask Trump to reconsider rescheduling, arguing that the cannabis industry has “resisted every which way with the regulations.” Biggs, meanwhile, said he is “inclined to support” repealing adult-use sales and claimed—without citing evidence—that cannabis users are more likely to rely on welfare programs.
Even with political support, repealing legalization in Arizona would be a heavy lift. The campaign must collect nearly 256,000 valid signatures by July 2026 to qualify for the November 2026 ballot.
In Massachusetts, a similar SAM-backed repeal effort recently survived a legal challenge tied to fraud allegations, underscoring that the national push to roll back legalization is far from over.
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