Gilbert's Green Cross Patient Center Assists Applicants With Recommendations, Filing Although the status of medical marijuana remains a bit hazy in Arizona, facilities that help people apply for patient cards continue to spring up, including in Gilbert. The Green Cross Patient Center opened in town nearly two months ago in a small strip mall on the southern side of Baseline Road, between Gilbert and Lindsay roads. Owner and Director Charles "Chuck" Hall made it clear that the facility is not a dispensary and that there is no marijuana on site. [continues 574 words]
What began as an ordinary traffic stop in Tempe instead turned into a 15-month drug trafficking investigation and the arrest of 203 suspects linked to the notorious Sinaloa cartel. But after seizing $7.8 million in cash and $12 million worth of drugs, police said on Tuesday that they're not done. The suspects arrested have ties to cartel operations in several other states including Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Missouri and Kansas. The massive drug case began with a patrol officer in Tempe who pulled over a known drug user at McClintock Drive and Elliot Road. The officer quickly realized there was more than what would have otherwise been a $100 meth deal, Tempe police said. [continues 485 words]
Back in the day, there was a game called Tip It. It had this 4-inch-tall plastic man perched precariously on his nose, with his arms and legs extended, atop a foot-tall frame balanced on a tabletop base. Players took turns carefully placing little plastic discs on the teetering frame, tipping it back and forth, tilting the little man bit by bit until he fell. If you topple the man, you're out. Well, it seems Gov. Jan and her crew may have toppled their medical-marijuana man, and they might be out of the game. A federal judge seemingly ripped the state a new one on Dec. 12 in the first oral arguments in the governor's lawsuit that stalled Arizona's MMJ program. [continues 610 words]
Not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients in need, but adult recreational use should be regulated ("Off Schedule," Medical MJ, Dec. 8). Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug-trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity. The drug war doesn't fight crime; it fuels crime. [continues 54 words]
The following is from a recent paper published by the Institute for the Study of Labor: To date, 16 states have passed medical marijuana laws, yet very little is known about the law's effects. Using state-level data, we examine the relationship between medical marijuana laws and a variety of outcomes. Legalization of medical marijuana is associated with increased use of marijuana among adults, but not among minors. In addition, legalization is associated with a nearly 9 percent decrease in traffic fatalities, most likely because of its impact on alcohol consumption (emphasis mine). Alan Dean Foster Prescott [end]
There Are Indeed Local Businesses Where You Can Buy Presents for Your Medical-Marijuana-Using Loved Ones In the wake of my disgust at the ShopFuck Fest happening all around us--the annual bankmall orgy that leaves medical marijuana horny and alone at the bar at closing time, scanning the crowd for someone to take home--I realized I had make a mistake. (See "Ban on Business," Dec. 1.) Not being in the mood for casual shopsex and bitter over our culture's imposed financial Holiday Stress, I overlooked an important fact when I wrote about the jizz at the mall: Pot might not be in the bankmall party, but it turns out there's plenty of medical-marijuana shoplovin' out there if you know where to look. So I looked a little. [continues 499 words]
Gov. Jan Brewer is altering her position on the state's medical-marijuana legal case. She will now argue that the portion of the law that authorized pot dispensaries is superseded by federal drug law. Brewer's new tactic comes two days after U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton ripped apart the state's medical-marijuana lawsuit, saying that the state had to pick a side in the dispute and that it wasn't enough to merely acknowledge that state and federal laws conflict. [continues 302 words]
PHOENIX - Gov. Jan Brewer decided Wednesday to ask a federal judge to overturn a key portion of the state's voter-approved medical marijuana law. Press aide Matthew Benson said his boss is now taking the position that federal law preempts a provision in last year's initiative which requires the state to issue permits for about 125 dispensaries where medical marijuana users can legally purchase the drug. She wants U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton to rule that Arizona cannot process the applications from would-be dispensary owners. [continues 496 words]
Kirk Muse ("Getting an MMJ Card Should Be as Easy as Getting a Handicap-Parking Placard," Mailbag, Nov. 24) didn't pay $150 for a "privilege." Muse paid extortion money to the government for protection from police for using a plant that God already gave permission to use on the very first page of the Bible. Every citizen that supports and enables cannabis prohibition, persecution and extermination should be ashamed. Stan White [end]
Law Brings Job and Education Concerns Amid ongoing legal battles over Arizona's new medical-marijuana law, school districts face several conundrums. Can school employees be medical-marijuana cardholders, as state law allows, even though school districts receive federal funding and federal law considers marijuana illegal? How do districts determine if an employee is under the influence of marijuana, which state law prohibits? And, should the new law affect how schools teach drug prevention to students? Dawn McKinley, a parent in the Deer Valley Unified School District, said it does not bother her that some teachers may have medical-marijuana cards. [continues 881 words]
PHOENIX -- A federal judge chided Attorney General Tom Horne Monday, saying he was asking her to do his job: advising state agencies on the law. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton said the state wants her to rule whether Arizona can issue licenses to dispensaries to sell marijuana to medical users without its workers being prosecuted for violating federal laws that make any use of the drug illegal. Gov. Jan Brewer has refused to process applications for dispensaries until she gets an answer. [continues 661 words]
The claim of a former nurse at a Cottonwood hospice could become the first case to test the limits on employers under the state's year-old medical marijuana law. Attorneys for Esther Shapiro contend she was fired from Verde Valley Community Hospice because she is a medical marijuana user. They want Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael McVey to award her damages. Repeated calls to the facility seeking comment were not returned. Arizona is one of several states where voters have approved laws allowing those with a doctor's recommendation to obtain and use marijuana for medical purposes. [continues 467 words]
Arizona has earned a well-deserved reputation as a nationwide hub for marijuana smuggling and distribution, with nearly 50 percent of the pot smuggled into the U.S. coming through the state, but authorities say smugglers are increasingly adding heroin to the mix. The results of that shift are starting to show up in hospitals and emergency rooms around the state. The trend was enough to catch the attention of federal authorities, who noted in the Justice Department's annual drug-market assessment that estimates of Mexican heroin production rank that country behind only Afghanistan as the top producers in the world, leading to an increase of Mexican heroin in U.S. markets where the drug had never before appeared. [continues 507 words]
I am not a huge fan of schedules, as my editors can attest. Schedules by their nature restrict and squeeze and coerce us, sometimes in uncomfortable ways that we didn't really think about when we penciled in the appointments. I avoid them when I can. So when two governors--Christine Gregoire of Washington, and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island--petitioned the Drug Enforcement Administration on Nov. 30 to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II under the Controlled Substances Act, I cringed a little. [continues 536 words]
Saturday is the anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. There was recently an outstanding Ken Burns documentary on PBS about the struggles before, during and after Prohibition that caused me to draw continual parallels to the way we treat marijuana today. The violent crime, the hypocrisy, the ruined lives, the corruption of our political system, the negative spillover effects on neighboring countries and many other parts of the documentary all remind me of what is being replayed today with respect to marijuana. I can't help recalling the lines of a familiar song: "When will they ever learn? When will they ... ever ... learn?" - -- Roy Miller, Phoenix [end]
PHOENIX - Border Patrol agents pursue smugglers one moment and sit around in boredom the next. It was during one of the lulls that Bryan Gonzalez, a young agent, made some comments to a colleague that cost him his career. Looking for signs of smugglers near Nogales, Ariz., alongside the fence that now marks part of the nation's border with Mexico. Stationed in Deming, N.M., Mr. Gonzalez was in his green-and-white Border Patrol vehicle just a few feet from the international boundary when he pulled up next to a fellow agent to chat about the frustrations of the job. If marijuana were legalized, Mr. Gonzalez acknowledges saying, the drug-related violence across the border in Mexico would cease. He then brought up an organization called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition that favors ending the war on drugs. [continues 1085 words]
KINGMAN - Another former county employee is suing the county. The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona released a statement Nov. 17 saying it was representing former County Probation officer Joe Miller who was allegedly fired for signing a letter in support of a California ballot measure to decriminalize marijuana. In June 2010, Miller was one of 32 current and retired law enforcement officers who signed their names to a letter from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition endorsing Proposition 19, an initiative that would have allowed adults over the age of 21 to legally possess and grow small amounts of marijuana for personal use. The letter was released to the press on Sept. 13, 2010. [continues 183 words]
Regarding J.M. Smith's "Examining the Exam" (Medical MJ, Nov. 10): Getting a medical-marijuana card should be no more difficult than obtaining a handicap-parking placard. I received my handicap-parking placard in about two minutes (after waiting about 20 minutes for my number to be called). I just handed the clerk the form filled out by my doctor, and two minutes later, I received my handicap-parking placard. No money was requested. My placard expires in five years. [continues 109 words]
A Surprising Thing Happens After the VA Takes Away a Veteran's Narcotics Because He Used Pot When the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive in January 1968, Tucsonan Dwight Graves was a Navy Seabee with the 1st Marine Division, building bunkers for the U.S. Army near the demilitarized zone. His compound 10 miles from the border between North and South Vietnam came under heavy attack, as did scores of other U.S. bases throughout South Vietnam. But the Seabees of the sea-to-ground I Marine Expeditionary Force weren't deterred. [continues 593 words]
PHOENIX - The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona today filed a lawsuit in federal district court on behalf of a former Mohave County probation officer who was fired after adding his name to a Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) letter in support of a California ballot measure to decriminalize marijuana. "More and more members of the law enforcement community are speaking out against failed drug policies and they don't give up their right to share their insight and engage in this important debate simply because they receive government paychecks," said ACLU of Arizona Legal Director Daniel Pochoda. "In this case, Mohave County Adult Probation officials decided to punish a public servant who works on the front lines with communities most affected by drugs, rather than respect his right to speak out on his own time about the need to reform marijuana laws." [continues 569 words]
The Arizona Cannabis Physicians Group Seems To Be Solely Concerned About Profit, Not Patients When I left you last week, I was driving home from the pot clinic, thinking that in a week or so, I would be shopping for 5-gallon buckets, grow lights and clones. My bad. It took longer than that. A lot longer, in fact. Because doctors are busy, and I didn't see the need for a huge rush, I waited a full 30 days before calling to check on the medical records the MMJ clinic was going to get from my physician. No one ever called to say there was a problem. [continues 577 words]
A Journey into One of Tucson's New Medical-Marijuana Clinics When Arizona voters passed the Medical Marijuana Act, I was a happy camper. Finally, after the better part of two decades here, I would be living in a state with some sense about something. Finally, the nation's eyes were on us for something good, not for our wacky Legislature or goofy governor. I decided to wait for the dust to settle before I got a card. Then, when the Tucson Weekly posted this writing gig, I decided to embark on the pot-clinic route to certification. I wanted to see what the street-corner-sign-waving was all about, to get a peek inside the circus tent for potential publication. [continues 612 words]
I am a local physician who provides medical-examiner services for the certification of medical marijuana, commercial driver's licenses and pilot-license physicals. I find no shame in the services I provide ("A Sticky Stigma," Medical MJ, Oct. 6). If a person qualifies under the state guidelines and has medical records to confirm their claim, then I do a physical and a record-review. There is shame for the clinics (mostly from out of state) that will certify patients for medical marijuana based upon undocumented medical history. These people are indeed shameful if they fail to do a comprehensive evaluation before they certify a patient for medical marijuana; the law is very specific in the medical-examiner duties for qualifying a patient for medical marijuana. I personally pre-qualify every patient before an appointment at Med Mar Plus. At the appointment, the emphasis is not on obtaining certification, but upon obtaining treatment for the patient's medical condition. I am proud, not shameful, that I utilize medical marijuana as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. The certification mills need to be shut down. Medical marijuana is a tool, not the answer. If certifying physicians would treat marijuana in this manner, then the shame associated with medical-marijuana certification would fade. Dr. Kevin Lewis [end]
The new federal crackdown on medical marijuana announced on October 7 by the four California U.S. Attorneys sent chills throughout the industry. It was a stunning reversal by the Obama administration. Only two years ago, Deputy U.S. Attorney General David Ogden wrote his infamous "Ogden Memo," announcing the feds wouldn't bother businesses in compliance with their own state laws. It proved a dose of Miracle-Gro to California, where pot-selling stores multiplied since voters approved the state's 1996 medical marijuana law. By late last year, California reportedly had more dispensaries than Starbucks outlets. [continues 3152 words]
Police Raids of Medical-Marijuana Clubs Are a Deterrent--to Both Providers and Patients When the long arm of the law--clad in Phoenix Police black with a glove gripping an assault rifle--reached into the 2811 Club on Wednesday, Oct. 12, to "collect evidence," it did little to dissuade the cannabis club's operators. They are going ahead full-steam with plans for 16 more clubs around the state, including in Tucson. "We've been in contact with our partners, and all of them have decided to move forward," said Allan Sobol, the marketing manager and idea man behind the clubs where patients exchange marijuana after paying membership fees. [continues 604 words]
A medical-marijuana clinic owner and his girlfriend were arrested after the Drug Enforcement Administration raided the Tempe facility Thursday morning. James Chaney and Rachael Beeder were booked into Maricopa County jail, according to DEA spokeswoman Ramona Sanchez. Charges were pending. The two will most likely face charges of illegal distribution of marijuana, said Sanchez. Chaney is the owner of Arizona Go Green Compassion Club, near Rural and Southern avenues. The DEA was serving a search warrant for the location. "Essentially what we discovered is that they were illegally distributing marijuana for a fee," Sanchez said. "Which of course is a federal violation." The investigation is continuing, and further arrests were possible, Sanchez said. [end]
Yet Again, the Feds Just Say No to a Clinical Trial Involving Marijuana by J.M. Smith When the feds last week blocked a University of Arizona doctor's attempt to launch the nation's first clinical trial of marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder, they didn't end anything. They started it. "Hopefully, this is just the first round," said Dr. Sue Sisley, an assistant professor in telemedicine in Phoenix whose study was rejected by a federal panel despite Food and Drug Administration approval. [continues 655 words]
Scottsdale is updating its rules on medical marijuana despite a halt of the statewide regulatory process. As Arizona continues to grapple with the legality of its voter-approved law, Scottsdale has suggested changes to its ordinance governing marijuana dispensaries and other uses, including smaller "caregiver cultivation" operations. Arizona voters approved Proposition 203 in November permitting medical-marijuana use. The program is on hold pending clarification as to whether the public employees who implement Arizona's law risk federal prosecution. Arizona and other states have medical-marijuana laws that contradict federal drug laws, which prohibit the cultivation, sale or use of marijuana. The state has placed a hold on processing registration for dispensaries, including dispensary cultivation and processing. Patients and caregivers are still allowed to grow their own. [continues 518 words]
PHOENIX -- Exactly five months into the voter-approved program, more than 13,000 Arizonans now have the state's legal permission to get high. And at this rate, 32,000 of your friends and neighbors will be card-carrying medical marijuana users when the system hits the first anniversary. But state Health Director Will Humble said he cannot predict ultimately what percentage of Arizonans will become medical marijuana users. He said, though, there is no immediate indication that the figure will hit 200,000 any time soon, the number of people in Colorado -- a state of similar size -- who possess that's state's medical marijuana card. [continues 540 words]
As part of the application for this job, the Tucson Weekly asked me to lay out my vision for this column. With a few shifts and nudges here and there, this is what I came up with. Good question, that. This is a cutting-edge area of media you are getting into. Yes, I ended that sentence with a preposition. I do it because I talk that way, and so do most folks. So I guess the first point I come to (quite inadvertently) is that I will make this column conversational. I have always wanted to write the way I talk, but the pigfuckers always prevented me. [continues 645 words]
Kudos for your outstanding editorial, "When voters have their say - sort of" (Aug. 8). It seems to me the issue of the legalization of marijuana, medical and otherwise, is freedom. The freedom of adults to pursue their own happiness any way they want as long as they are not harming someone else. It seems to me that the freedom to self-medicate should be a fundamental right. Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
Not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients in need, but adult recreational use should be regulated. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences. So much for protecting the children. Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn't fight crime; it fuels crime. [continues 68 words]
As if medical marijuana wasn't being litigated enough in Arizona, yet another lawsuit takes aim at the rules governing dispensaries. The special action, among six suits involving the state's fledgling program, claims the rules give unfair advantage to local businesses in violation of federal law and the state and federal constitutions. Gerald Gaines, CEO of the for-profit Compassion First AZ, had hoped to oversee a string of dispensaries operated by "affiliate" managers who would apply for dispensary permits. Some of those managers, however, fail to meet the criteria because they haven't been Arizona residents for three years, haven't filed three years worth of state income taxes and, in one case, filed personal bankruptcy more than 25 years ago. [continues 514 words]
It's well past time the American public receive clear answers on Operation Fast and Furious. At this juncture, after months of a congressional investigation, it appears Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice are committed to hoping an extended silence will allow the entire scandal to simply go away. Each time law enforcement officials recover another of the thousands of guns that were allowed to be transported to members of Mexican drug cartels, the failure of this operation is again brought to light. [continues 228 words]
As state attorneys prepare to go to federal court to seek clarification of a law that voters passed last year making medical marijuana legal in Arizona, some cities like Tempe are paving the way to tax the drug. Last week, the Tempe City Council had its first hearing on the possibility of amending the city's tax code so that those purchasing the drug in Tempe could be charged a 2-percent municipal sales tax. The final hearing is scheduled for Sept. 8. [continues 523 words]
Those who want Arizona's medical-marijuana law to serve only people who have a genuine medical need should regard Will Humble as a hero. As director of the state Department of Health Services, he has taken the job of implementing the law very seriously. In other states, such laws have descended into supply lines for recreational users. If Arizona avoids that fate, DHS will deserve a great deal of the credit. The latest evidence of Humble's diligence can be found in complaints filed against eight doctors. [continues 414 words]
Herb would prefer that I not tell you his last name since he smokes a little weed every day and doesn't want to talk about where he gets it. "It's a ridiculous situation when you think about it because I've paid my $150 to the state to receive my medical marijuana card but I've got no place where I can go and buy it -- legally," he says. "Not since the politicians have decided to try and shut down everything." [continues 592 words]
PHOENIX -- The state's top health official wants an investigation of eight Arizona doctors who together have written nearly half the nearly 10,000 recommendations for medical marijuana since the program started. Will Humble said the voter-approved law making medical marijuana legal denies him the legal authority to discipline or even question the doctors. But the state health director said that does not preclude him from turning their names over to the regulatory boards that do have that power. At this point, he said, it is up to those boards to decide if the doctors have violated professional standards. [continues 909 words]
KINGMAN - The most feared law enforcement officer isn't the one carrying a badge and a gun, according to Sgt. Raja Karim with the Mohave County Sheriff's Office. It's the one who chews on raw hide and likes to fetch a rubber stick. "When (a suspect) knows the dog is there, 99 percent of them give up," Karim said. Karim is one of five deputies with the Sheriff's Office who also serve as handlers for the department's K-9 unit. The program is funded entirely through donations, and given the situation, the four-legged detectives can sometimes yield better results than their two-legged counterparts. [continues 1317 words]
PRESCOTT - Despite concerns that the move might be premature, the Prescott City Council approved a measure this week clarifying that medical marijuana is a taxable item. During council discussions Tuesday about adoption of the 2011 amendments to the Model City Tax Code, much of the focus was on medical marijuana. While Arizona voters approved a medical marijuana initiative in November 2010, the results of the initiative have since become mired in litigation at the state level. That uncertain status caused some debate among the council members about whether the city should take action on the taxing issue at this point. [continues 292 words]
White-collar crime has been eradicated in Arizona. There are zero violations of civil rights. Not a single consumer in the entire state is being ripped off. There is no public corruption. No environmental laws are being broken. And, oh yes, the border with Mexico is totally and completely secure. All of this must be so. Otherwise, Attorney General Tom Horne (and Gov. Jan Brewer) couldn't spend so much time and energy trying to delay, disrupt and demolish Arizona's medical-marijuana law. [continues 614 words]
Complete confusion. That accurately describes the current state of the Arizona medical marijuana law. What was billed as the most stringent medical marijuana regulation in the nation has become a morass of legal opinions and a political football. Monday the situation became more clouded when Attorney General Tom Horne filed a lawsuit to stop medical marijuana "clubs," the most notable of which is located in the Phoenix area. Horne says it's illegal under Arizona's medical marijuana law to exchange pot for money, even if it is between approved patients. [continues 141 words]
PHOENIX -- Calling them illegal drug dealers, Attorney General Tom Horne asked a judge on Monday to shut down the "marijuana clubs' that are opening up around the state. In legal papers filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, Horne said the medical marijuana law that voters approved last November has no provision for the kind of clubs where members, after paying a fee, can get access to free drugs. More to the point, he said the exceptions in the law that club owners say permit what they do does not exist. [continues 584 words]
Edward Gogek has reached a conclusion based on his surmise from favorable data ("Medical pot just a smokescreen," My Turn, Friday). He is wrong all round. He went out to support his belief that marijuana is not medicine. There may be recreational users in the state's medical-marijuana program. However, there are certainly patients with qualifying illnesses and injuries. As a non-medicating patient myself, I know them. First, please remember these are human beings who are finding relief from sometimes catastrophic illness and/or injury. Gogek replays the ancient shibboleth that men and women are to be considered and treated differently. Having made up his mind, he does not even bother to look for or at other information and data. And it is out there. Medical marijuana is legal and working for patients in Arizona, across the U.S. and around the world, and has been for centuries. Gogek is wrong. Durrie Parks Mesa [end]
Sometimes voters can really screw things up for ideological politicians. But elected officials get the last laugh. They can - and do - derail the voters by throwing passed legislation into gridlock. Take Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne's efforts, with support from Gov. Jan Brewer, at shutting down Prop. 203, the legalization of marijuana for medical use. Arizona voters had passed medical marijuana initiatives twice, in 1996 and 1998, and this past November passed a measure for tightly regulated medicinal provisions for patients with debilitating diseases. We endorsed the measure in this space. [continues 316 words]
Arizona's medical-marijuana law has been in effect for three months and registered more than 7,500 patients, and the numbers suggest they're almost all recreational users. Proposition 203 was sold to Arizona with ads about cancer victims, but most medical-marijuana patients don't have major diseases. Only 18 percent of cardholders got marijuana for cancer, glaucoma, hepatitis, Crohn's disease or HIV. Instead, 85 percent got their pot for chronic pain. (There's some overlap.) Pain is a common medical problem that requires treatment, but as every practicing physician knows, it's also the favorite complaint of drug addicts. [continues 422 words]
Federal attorneys asked a judge on Monday to throw out a lawsuit filed by Gov. Jan Brewer seeking a ruling about the legality of the state's medical marijuana law. Deputy U.S. Attorney Scott Risner said there is no legal basis for the lawsuit. Risner told U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton in legal papers filed in her court that, absent some actual threat of prosecution under federal drug laws by his office, the question is purely academic and therefore not a proper subject for litigation. [continues 416 words]
It's a disturbing situation when a newspaper columnist, E.J. Montini, shows a greater knowledge of legal issues than the county attorney, Bill Montgomery ("Politicians blow smoke on medical marijuana," Valley & State, July 21). In the matter of medical marijuana, Montgomery pulls an argument out of thin air that state employees might someday in the future be prosecuted for something that is entirely legal today because someday in the future it might not be legal and that someday in the future a federal administration might decide to disregard states' rights and that someday in the future some county attorney might be too weak-kneed to defend states' rights. [continues 87 words]
SPRINGERVILLE - The planning and zoning department approved a conditional use permit for a medical marijuana dispensary at 24 W. Main Street. The business will be built on leased property. Even though the permit was issued, it's not clear at this time when or if a dispensary will open at that location. Governor Brewer asked the Attorney General to file a suit asking for a judgment from a federal court regarding the legality of Arizona's Medical Marijuana Act. Because of this action by the Governor and the "overall uncertainty about the legality of the Act itself," the Department of Health Services won't be accepting applications or processing applications. [continues 331 words]
Voter approved laws legalizing drugs rely on emotion rather than sound logic or reasoning. Those advocating the legal use of marijuana in Arizona ignored the factual reality of the potential safety hazards to co-workers or drivers on the highway. Instead of including reasonable enforcement restrictions on when and where individuals would be allowed to supposedly utilize the medical benefits of the drug, it is left up to the individual. The legalization of marijuana in California has now exposed the inherent danger to the general public by those I would call potheads. The California officials have recorded a significant increase in traffic accidents and deaths since its legalization. There have been over 1,000 vehicular deaths annually due to drivers being high on marijuana use. Of course the media tend to ignore this fact because they actively supported passage of bills legalizing the drug in their present form. [continues 87 words]
Inside Arizona
