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Pro-marijuana group calling out County Attorney

Posted at 5:19 PM, Apr 06, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-06 20:35:29-04

A pro-marijuana group calls Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery a hypocrite. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol said Montgomery accepted $8,050 in political contributions from members of the alcohol industry.

"It's absolutely outrageous the county attorney accepts campaign contributions from an industry that promotes a product and substance that is far more dangerous than marijuana," J.P. Holyoak, chairman of the campaign, said. 

Holyoak is calling on Montgomery to disprove three statements by the end of April, which is nationally recognized as Alcohol Awareness Month: 

1. Alcohol is significantly more toxic than marijuana, making death by overdose far more likely with alcohol.

2. The health effects from alcohol consumption cause tens of thousands of more deaths in the U.S. annually than the health effects from the consumption of marijuana.

3. The use of alcohol is more likely to be a contributing factor in acts of violence than the use of marijuana.

Montgomery said the group is blowing smoke.

In a statement, Montgomery said, "The information Mr. Holyoak is seeking has been provided numerous times in numerous forums. The inability or unwillingness of his group to accept objective data underscores their profit-driven initiative and single-minded goal to foist a harmful drug upon our community.  This latest stunt by 21st century drug dealers will not change the data nor will it succeed in keeping me or others from sharing the truth about the harms we see impacting Colorado in order to safeguard Arizona and our youth."

On Wednesday, CRMLA tried to deliver an oversized symbolic "refund check for $8,050 from Montgomery 2016 to his alcohol industry contributors".  A spokesperson from the county attorney's office said they wouldn't accept it and told them to contact his campaign.