[Friend]

https://blog.norml.org/2012/01/13/ari...-cannabis-law/

Nearly 14 months after Arizona voters approved Proposition 203, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA), Republican Gov. Jan Brewer is finally directing the Arizona Department of Health Services to move forward to fully implementation the law. A brief history: In November 2010 Arizona voters narrowly decided in favor of ballot measure 203, which removes state-level criminal penalties for the use and possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana by patients who have written certification from their physician indicating that cannabis may alleviate their condition. The measure also mandated the state to adopt rules to govern the establishment of up to 125 nonprofit cannabis dispensaries, which would be legally authorized to produce and dispense marijuana to authorized patients on a not-for-profit basis.
In April 2011, the Arizona Department of Health Services formalized rules regarding an online ID-card registration for qualified patients. (More than 16,000 Arizona residents are now registered with the state to legally possess cannabis.) The Department also announced at that time that it would begin accepting applications from would-be dispensary operators by June 1. That deadline came and went, however, when Gov. Brewer — who had opposed the passage of AMMA — filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that her administration’s compliance with the law’s state-licensing provisions would put state employees in danger of federal prosecution. In response to Gov. Brewer’s suit, attorneys representing the American Civil Liberties Union and the NORML Legal Committee co-authored a Motion to Dismiss the case.
Their efforts were successful. Earlier this month, a federal judge rejected Gov. Brewer’ challenge, asserting “[T]he Complaint does not detail any history of prosecution of state employees for participation in state medical marijuana licensing schemes. [and] fails to establish that Plaintiffs are subject to a genuine threat of imminent prosecution and consequently, the Complaint does not meet the constitutional requirements for ripeness. Therefore, Plaintiffs’ claims are unripe and must be dismissed.”
So, has Gov. Brewer finally gotten the message? Apparently so.
Today, Brewer’s office stated for the record that they would no longer challenge the state’s nascent law in court and instead will cooperate to see that the voters’ demands are once and for all fully enacted. Said the Governor in a press release:

“The State of Arizona will not re-file in federal court a lawsuit that sought clarification that State employees would not be subject to federal criminal prosecution simply for implementing the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. Instead, I have directed the Arizona Department of Health Services to begin accepting and processing dispensary applications, and issuing licenses for those facilities once a (separate) pending legal challenge to the Department’s medical marijuana rules is resolved. … With our request for clarification rebuffed on procedural grounds by the federal court, I believe the best course of action now is to complete the implementation of Proposition 203 in accordance with the law.”

According to the website of the Arizona Department of Health, the department hopes to begin accepting applications for dispensaries this summer. To date, only three states — Colorado, Maine, and New Mexico — have granted licenses to allow for the state-sanctioned production and distribution of cannabis. (Several other states, including Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont, have enacted licensing legislation but to date have refused to issue any actual dispensary licenses.)
Under Arizona law, qualified patients may cultivate their own cannabis at home if they do not reside within 25 miles of an operating cannabis dispensary.

[hazy]

Too bad, i was hoping the dispensaries would never open. Once they have spread them out, 99% of people will lose their 'grow' authorization. All the collectives and clubs and patient to patient deals will become illegal and have to stop.
Now the only way to grow legally will be to work for a dispensary. Good deal for a little over 125 people in the state.

[kal el]

Originally Posted by hazy

Too bad, i was hoping the dispensaries would never open. Once they have spread them out, 99% of people will lose their 'grow' authorization. All the collectives and clubs and patient to patient deals will become illegal and have to stop.
Now the only way to grow legally will be to work for a dispensary. Good deal for a little over 125 people in the state.

indeed bro.

[Madjag]

Go here for access to Med laws throughout AZ as well as the lawsuits and changes affecting the outcome of the MM Law:

https://www.keytlaw.com/arizonamedicalmarijuanalaw/category/az-legislation/

Current info on the lawsuit by activist Bill Hayes challenging "The 25 Mile Rule":

https://www.keytlaw.com/arizonamedica...-mile-pot-ban/

[paper thorn]

Since they're going to start accepting Dispensary apps in the middle of May, i guess now is a good time for AZ patients to give a little love and support to Billy Hayes and his fight against the 25 mile 'no grow' clause of the AMMA.

[Madjag]

Originally Posted by paper thorn

Since they're going to start accepting Dispensary apps in the middle of May, i guess now is a good time for AZ patients to give a little love and support to Billy Hayes and his fight against the 25 mile 'no grow' clause of the AMMA.

[azez]

yup bill is a nut
but he has an interesting argument against the gov.

[Friend]

i'm not a part of the az mmj program, but like you guys, i really hope the 25 mile rule is done away with.

it's very unfair to terminally ill patients who may be confined to their homes and can't travel to a dispensary.

[Madjag]

Also unfair to those patients that cannot afford $300-400 for an ounce of herb. It's more about secuirng tax revenue for the state of AZ. Imagine, unlike other states, especially Cali, only 126 or so dispensaries dividing up all the MM patients purchases. Big tax windfall.

If you let folks grow their own, the tax $ drop and the dispensaries will have a much more difficult time being operational.

[paper thorn]

Unfair because of the prices you'd be forced to pay, the loss of our favorite hobby, and for some, the way some places are here in AZ, especially if you live around a mountain, you might have to drive 40 miles to go that 25 miles to the disp.
Course what they don't know won't hurt em, right?