Why the Phoenix New Times will never support an initiative that completely legalizes marijuana, like the RAD (Relegalize All Drugs) or Safer Arizona initiatives.
$$$ MONEY $$$
This weeks edition of the Phoenix New Times (September 28, 2017) was their yearly best of Phoenix edition and they had two inserts in it.
One was the normal Phoenix New Times and the other was a 34 page insert called the "Best of Chronicals" which was devoted to marijuana.
The "Best of Chronicals" insert had 24 and 1/2 pages of ads in it for either medical marijuana dispensaries or doctors who write medical marijuana prescriptions or recommendations as they are called.
I'm guessing that each full page ad sold for at least $1,000. Probably more. If that was true the Phoenix New Times collect $24,500 in revenue from this "Best of Chronicals" insert which was devoted 100% to medical marijuana.
Now if marijuana is turned into a generic product that anybody can walked into a Circle K, Walmart or Target and buy a bag of marijuana for the prices of a 6 pack of beer, businesses will not be spending thousands of dollars for full page ads so they can sell your marijuana at $300+ an ounce.
Same is true for all the doctors and chiropractors that are running ads to get you to pay $100 or $200 for a medical marijuana prescription or recommendation. They will go out of business, because anybody will be able to buy a bag of marijuana without a prescription.
So the bottom line is I think from a revenue point of view the Phoenix Times loves the current medical marijuana cartels system created by Prop 203.
It forces people to pay big bucks for medical marijuana prescriptions, and big bucks for medical marijuana. And the doctors and medical marijuana dispensaries in turn pay the New Times big bucks to run ads for medical marijuana.
