As of yesterday June 1st, 2011 the director of Arizona Department of Health Services has officially refused to accept dispensary applications. ...
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says no dispensary permits will be issued until a federal court rules on the legality of the program. He's not sure how long that could take.
The news comes a few weeks after U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke warned Arizonans in a letter to DHS that the voter-approved medical Cannabis program, and nearly anyone engaged in it, violates federal law.
What we've heard, aside from the DHS announcement, is that Brewer and Horne liked Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery's new theory that no dispenaries should be allowed because the feds say anyone who helps distribute or cultivate medical marijuana is breaking the law.
The federal injunction -- if it's issued based on the request for a judge's ruling -- apparently will take this idea statewide.
If the feds agree, the "billion-dollar industry" we've been telling you about will be on hold.
However, neither a federal injunction nor the halting of dispensary permits should affect the ability for qualified patients to obtain state approval to possess marijuana.
State and local law enforcement would still be banned from prosecuting qualified patients.
That's not much of a silver lining to this potential black cloud, though, because it means most patients would have difficulty obtaining marijuana without dispensaries.
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Apparrently Arizona's states right advocate governor Jan Brewer has forgotten how to use her political middle finger to salute the feds this time around.
Dear Governor Brewer,
Please grow a pair if at all possible.
Thank You
IMB
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The effort by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and state Attorney General Tom Horne to steamroll voters in their attempted quashing of the new medical marijuana law won't work -- not entirely, anyway.
Qualified patients can possess up to two-and-a-half ounces of weed legally in Arizona since the passage of Prop 203 -- with or without state approval.
That's why Brewer and Horne, two Republicans who are putting politics above the wishes of the electorate, haven't mentioned any plans to stop the state from handing out medical marijuana registration cards.
The smartly written Arizona Medical Marijuana Act anticipated an anti-democratic reaction like the one we saw Tuesday and included a powerful work-around.
Arizona law requires that:
If the department fails to issue a registry identification card within forty-five days of the submission of a valid application or renewal, the registry identification card shall be deemed issued, and a copy of the registry identification card application or renewal is deemed a valid registry identification card.
* update*
Other sources says subsection C may be more applicable:
C. If at any time after the one hundred forty days following the effective date of this chapter the department is not accepting applications or has not promulgated rules allowing qualifying patients to submit applications, a notarized statement by a qualifying patient containing the information required in an application pursuant to section 36-2804.02, subsection A, paragraph 3, together with a written certification issued by a physician within the ninety days immediately preceding the notarized statement, shall be deemed a valid registry identification card.
*back to orig*
Matt Benson, Brewer's spokesman, confirmed that the governor understands this self-enacting part of the law.
Though Brewer and Horne have directed the Arizona Department of Health Services to put the dispensary program on hold until a federal court rules on the legality of Arizona's program, DHS "will continue issuing those cards as they have been until further notice."
Failing to do that, Benson acknowledges, would create a bit of chaos.
Anyone with a copy of a registration card application could legally possess weed, but the state would have no record of them.
Qualified patients could still raise up to 12 plants each at home, as long as no dispensary opens within 25 miles.
Thanks to the way Brewer and Horne are sticking it to voters, no dispensary will open anytime soon.
Now, it's true -- as Benson pointed out to us -- that the state law doesn't protect anyone from federal law. Growing or possessing pot will still be illegal in the eyes of federal law enforcement officials.
But for small-time marijuana suspects, that's shouldn't be much of a concern.
With relatively few resources, the feds can only target big-time criminals.
Just to bring up a side issue here, is anyone else disturbed at how a scarcity of dispensaries combined with thousands of qualified patients equals more black-market weed sales?
By failing to defend the will of the people, Brewer and Horne will boost illegal drug sales.
What concerns us most is how the politicians might use this fact to later criticize the program.
My gosh, they'll say, look how Prop 203 ended up fueling the cartels!
What a bad law!
But, of course, they'll be the ones responsible if that happens.
As of Tuesday, DHS has approved a total of 3,696 applications since April 14 for medical marijuana. Laura Oxley, DHS spokeswoman, tells us that applications don't appear to have tapered off since Brewer and Horne's announcement.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/05/governor_brewer_cant_stop_medi.php#comments
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Oh, and by the way, in a lawsuit against the state of Arizona all one will need to do is to cite just one rural grower who is not impacted by the law to show a violation of equal protection statutes, and proceed to get the 25 mile zone law declared unconstitutional. It is presently legal for all card holders to grow in AZ..
I don't see a Federal Judge giving the ol' "okey dokey, it's sounds good to me " type ruling in AZ., so start planning on no dispensaries in Arizona and all can now proceed to get a goin' agrowin'..
The trick now in AZ. will be to grow twelve plants and only end up with 2.5 ounces/70 grams of meds to technically remain legal.
hmmm, let's see... concentrates anyone?
http://www.azdhs.gov/medicalmarijuana/patients/index.htm
IMB
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says no dispensary permits will be issued until a federal court rules on the legality of the program. He's not sure how long that could take.
The news comes a few weeks after U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke warned Arizonans in a letter to DHS that the voter-approved medical Cannabis program, and nearly anyone engaged in it, violates federal law.
What we've heard, aside from the DHS announcement, is that Brewer and Horne liked Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery's new theory that no dispenaries should be allowed because the feds say anyone who helps distribute or cultivate medical marijuana is breaking the law.
The federal injunction -- if it's issued based on the request for a judge's ruling -- apparently will take this idea statewide.
If the feds agree, the "billion-dollar industry" we've been telling you about will be on hold.
However, neither a federal injunction nor the halting of dispensary permits should affect the ability for qualified patients to obtain state approval to possess marijuana.
State and local law enforcement would still be banned from prosecuting qualified patients.
That's not much of a silver lining to this potential black cloud, though, because it means most patients would have difficulty obtaining marijuana without dispensaries.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Apparrently Arizona's states right advocate governor Jan Brewer has forgotten how to use her political middle finger to salute the feds this time around.
Dear Governor Brewer,
Please grow a pair if at all possible.
Thank You
IMB
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The effort by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and state Attorney General Tom Horne to steamroll voters in their attempted quashing of the new medical marijuana law won't work -- not entirely, anyway.
Qualified patients can possess up to two-and-a-half ounces of weed legally in Arizona since the passage of Prop 203 -- with or without state approval.
That's why Brewer and Horne, two Republicans who are putting politics above the wishes of the electorate, haven't mentioned any plans to stop the state from handing out medical marijuana registration cards.
The smartly written Arizona Medical Marijuana Act anticipated an anti-democratic reaction like the one we saw Tuesday and included a powerful work-around.
Arizona law requires that:
If the department fails to issue a registry identification card within forty-five days of the submission of a valid application or renewal, the registry identification card shall be deemed issued, and a copy of the registry identification card application or renewal is deemed a valid registry identification card.
* update*
Other sources says subsection C may be more applicable:
C. If at any time after the one hundred forty days following the effective date of this chapter the department is not accepting applications or has not promulgated rules allowing qualifying patients to submit applications, a notarized statement by a qualifying patient containing the information required in an application pursuant to section 36-2804.02, subsection A, paragraph 3, together with a written certification issued by a physician within the ninety days immediately preceding the notarized statement, shall be deemed a valid registry identification card.
*back to orig*
Matt Benson, Brewer's spokesman, confirmed that the governor understands this self-enacting part of the law.
Though Brewer and Horne have directed the Arizona Department of Health Services to put the dispensary program on hold until a federal court rules on the legality of Arizona's program, DHS "will continue issuing those cards as they have been until further notice."
Failing to do that, Benson acknowledges, would create a bit of chaos.
Anyone with a copy of a registration card application could legally possess weed, but the state would have no record of them.
Small-time growers.
Qualified patients could still raise up to 12 plants each at home, as long as no dispensary opens within 25 miles.
Thanks to the way Brewer and Horne are sticking it to voters, no dispensary will open anytime soon.
Now, it's true -- as Benson pointed out to us -- that the state law doesn't protect anyone from federal law. Growing or possessing pot will still be illegal in the eyes of federal law enforcement officials.
But for small-time marijuana suspects, that's shouldn't be much of a concern.
With relatively few resources, the feds can only target big-time criminals.
Just to bring up a side issue here, is anyone else disturbed at how a scarcity of dispensaries combined with thousands of qualified patients equals more black-market weed sales?
By failing to defend the will of the people, Brewer and Horne will boost illegal drug sales.
What concerns us most is how the politicians might use this fact to later criticize the program.
My gosh, they'll say, look how Prop 203 ended up fueling the cartels!
What a bad law!
But, of course, they'll be the ones responsible if that happens.
As of Tuesday, DHS has approved a total of 3,696 applications since April 14 for medical marijuana. Laura Oxley, DHS spokeswoman, tells us that applications don't appear to have tapered off since Brewer and Horne's announcement.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/05/governor_brewer_cant_stop_medi.php#comments
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Oh, and by the way, in a lawsuit against the state of Arizona all one will need to do is to cite just one rural grower who is not impacted by the law to show a violation of equal protection statutes, and proceed to get the 25 mile zone law declared unconstitutional. It is presently legal for all card holders to grow in AZ..
I don't see a Federal Judge giving the ol' "okey dokey, it's sounds good to me " type ruling in AZ., so start planning on no dispensaries in Arizona and all can now proceed to get a goin' agrowin'.
.The trick now in AZ. will be to grow twelve plants and only end up with 2.5 ounces/70 grams of meds to technically remain legal.
hmmm, let's see... concentrates anyone?
http://www.azdhs.gov/medicalmarijuana/patients/index.htm
IMB
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