Pubdate: Thu, 24 Oct 2013
Source: Tucson Weekly (AZ)
Copyright: 2013 Tucson Weekly
Contact:  http://www.tucsonweekly.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/462
Author: J.M. Smith

NEW RULES

A Judge Has Intervened, So the State Has Changed Some of Its MMJ Edicts

It might surprise you to know that despite the hard-right leanings of 
Arizona's state political power structure, there are actually forces 
for freedom at work in the Red Valley that is our state capitol, even 
where cannabis is concerned.

Will Humble, director of the state Department of Health Services, 
came out against the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act when it was 
proposed, but the esteemed Mr. Humble has mostly upheld our end of 
the bargain and worked fairly diligently to make it happen since it 
became law against his will.

Now Mr. Humble is hard at work adjusting and tinkering with and 
apparently improving the AMMA rules, figuring out nuances of law that 
mostly affect dispensary operators but which could also benefit you 
and me directly. The changes are afoot because of a lawsuit, of 
course, because this is Arizona goddammit, and if our state 
government wants or doesn't want something, we are going to sue you, 
or you will have to sue us, and if you don't like it we will wag our 
finger in your goddamn face on the tarmac at the airport.

Anyway, a judge recently ruled that the timeline for dispensary 
owners to get approval to operate was unfair, because of delays 
forced by Chief Finger-Wagger Jan, so the state had to rewrite those 
rules. From there, Humble decided to nip and tuck a couple other rules. To wit:

25 mile rule: Roughly none of Arizona's 42k or so patients can grow 
their own right now, because you have to live outside 25 miles from a 
dispensary. As it stands, that's measured as the crow flies, but 
everyone knows cannabis patients can't fly, so the state is changing 
it to road miles. Cascabel, a tiny bastion of progressive might and 
hippie ethos on the east side of Redington Pass, comes to mind. 
Unincorporated Cascabel stretches a few miles along the San Pedro 
River between San Manuel and Benson. It's about 30 miles from either 
community, but a crow could fly less than 25 miles to get there from 
Tucson's East Side. Under new rules, Cascabellions would seemingly be 
allowed to grow, as many of them surely would love to do.

Hopes and dreams of repealing the 25-mile law completely still 
abound, but thus far have gained little traction.

Extracts and resins: The state is also struggling with differences 
between the criminal code and the AMMA, each of which defines 
marijuana a different way. The criminal code basically forbids 
anything made from or extracted from or containing cannabis. Period. 
The AMMA allows any mixture or preparation of marijuana.

The argument is mostly over how edibles and other preparations - such 
as tinctures and oils for vaporizers - are made. It's a bit of a 
semantic argument, but ultimately what it means is that my eCig, 
which seems like a pretty healthy and convenient way for me to get 
meds into my system, is useless, because the oil for it is 
unavailable. The criminal interpretation has dispensaries scared to 
sell the stuff, which I will buy the minute it becomes available.

Edibles made from cannabis butter appear to be escaping state 
attention, as virtually every dispensary is selling them.

Other and Sundry Changes: Other rule changes will concern dispensary 
operators, such as lifting the lifetime ban on operators who get 
approval but don't open on time. This seems like an overly punitive 
rule. Good riddance. Other changes would affect how dispensary 
operator renewals happen.

Humble expects some decisions on these changes and advice on the 
nuances of law by the end of October, though that will be followed by 
public hearings and "oral proceedings," he said recently on his blog.

Let's hope the rule changes don't end up giving patients any anal proceedings.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom