Pubdate: Fri, 02 Nov 2012
Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR)
Copyright: 2012 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
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FAMILY COUNCIL COMMITTEE SUED OVER MEDICAL MARIJUANA VENDING-MACHINE IMAGE

LITTLE ROCK - A company that makes vending machines for dispensing
medication says it has sued the Family Council Action Committee and
director over the organization's use of its image in a recent news
conference against the medical-marijuana proposal on the November ballot.

Medbox, Inc. said Friday that it sued the group and its director,
Jerry Cox, for using the company's "trademarked imagery in a
derogatory fashion" during the news conference.

Cox stood next to a cardboard cutout of a Medbox machine during the
event at the state Capitol on Tuesday in which he criticized the
medical-marijuana ballot measure for not mentioning such machines.

Cox said Friday he had not reviewed the lawsuit and that his attorney
had advised him not to comment on the case. But he said he was
surprised by the filing.

"We a few days ago did do a press conference and we talked about the
broad issue of marijuana here in Arkansas and vending machines," he
said. "Now we find ourselves in a lawsuit. I was quite frankly very
surprised about that."

Medbox said in a statement that the action had "tarnished the image
and the technology of the company."

"The medical marijuana industry cannot justify the need for 24-hour
access to the product, and that is why the company does not allow ANY
of our machines to be used in that capacity in this industry," Medbox
Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bruce Bedrick said. "Medbox stands for
transparency, legal compliance, and responsible behavior."

Company officials say when the machines are used for medical marijuana
dispensing, they are placed behind a counter where only clinic staff
members can access them.

Asked if that information changed any of his group's criticisms, Cox
said he couldn't comment.

"That's something that our attorney has advised us not to delve into
right now," he said. "Because we don't know what the nature of the
complaint is ... As much as I'd like to comment on that right now,
we're not able to."

Cox said the suit "doesn't change anything" about the ballot measure,
which Family Council calls a "backdoor effort" to legalize marijuana
for more than just medical purposes.
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MAP posted-by: Matt