411PUBLISH: 2012

Friday, December 28, 2012

Arizona court denies attempt to temporarily block ruling upholding medical-marijuana law

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery lost another round in court Thursday when the Arizona Court of Appeals denied his effort to temporarily block a ruling upholding the state’s medical-marijuana law.

A three-judge panel heard oral arguments in the morning, then quickly rejected the motion to delay a Maricopa County Superior Court judge’s Dec. 4 ruling that the law is constitutional and the county must make a zoning decision about a potential dispensary. The appellate judges didn’t explain their ruling.

Bid to halt medical-pot ruling due in court

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon will hear arguments at 11 a.m. today on a request to stay or suspend his recent ruling on the legality of the state’s medical-marijuana law.

Last week, Gordon ruled Arizona’s controversial medical-marijuana law does not conflict with federal drug laws and rejected arguments made by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Attorney General Tom Horne that state employees would be facilitating federal crimes if they issued licenses to medical-marijuana dispensaries.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Medical-marijuana era under way in Arizona

The state’s first medical-marijuana dispensary opened Thursday in downtown Glendale to dozens of waiting patients, two years after voters approved an initiative to legalize the drug for certain ill patients.

Situated on a tree-lined street near an antique store and a motorcycle shop, Arizona Organix does not look like the kind of place where patients can walk in and buy marijuana, except for a tall sign outside that sports a green cross, the symbol of the medical-marijuana industry.

The business has a part-bank, part-doctor’s office feel.

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Medical-marijuana era under way in Arizona

Judge rules Arizona’s medical-marijuana law is constitutional

A court ruling that Arizona’s controversial medical-marijuana law does not conflict with federal drug laws cleared the way Tuesday for dispensaries to open and allows patients to legally obtain marijuana from the facilities.

The long-awaited decision by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Michael Gordon rejected arguments made by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne that the voter-approved law should be shut down because marijuana is illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act and that state employees would be facilitating federal crimes if they issued licenses to medical-marijuana dispensaries.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

With pot legal, police worry about road safety | Fox News

DENVER – It's settled. Pot, at least certain amounts of it, will soon be legal under state laws in Washington and Colorado. Now, officials in both states are trying to figure out how to keep stoned drivers off the road.

Colorado's measure doesn't make any changes to the state's driving-under-the-influence laws, leaving lawmakers and police to worry about its effect on road safety. "We're going to have more impaired drivers," warned John Jackson, police chief in the Denver suburb of Greenwood Village.

Washington's law does change DUI provisions by setting a new blood-test limit for marijuana — a limit police are training to enforce, and which some lawyers are already gearing up to challenge.

New fear: Medical pot, pregnancy

Arizona pediatricians are concerned that the state's medical-marijuana law is being used to treat the ailments of pregnant women, potentially harming fetuses.

Members of the Arizona chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics want to stop the practice and point to one incident in which a mother in labor told hospital officials that she had received a medical-marijuana card during pregnancy and had been using the drug.

The mother later told her baby's pediatrician, Kara Tiffany, that a physician who was aware of her pregnancy recommended the marijuana. The mother showed the pediatrician her medical-marijuana-certification documents, which indicated that a naturopath made the marijuana recommendation.

Medical-marijuana report offers insight into users, doctors

Arizona health officials want to strengthen the controversial medical-marijuana program to crack down on physicians who improperly recommend marijuana, train physicians who write most certifications and make it easier to revoke patient cards if health officials suspect wrongdoing.

Health officials also want to study how effective marijuana is in treating debilitating conditions, such as cancer, and examine whether marijuana affects opiate dependency, impacts vehicle-traffic injuries and impacts pregnancy outcomes and breastfeeding. Such studies would require changes to the law, which restricts the scope of information state health officials can obtain from physicians and patients.

The recommendations are contained in the state’s inaugural report of the medical-marijuana program, approved by voters in 2010 to allow people with certain debilitating medical conditions, to use marijuana. They must obtain a recommendation from a physician and register with the state, which issues identification cards to qualified patients and caregivers.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Colorado, Washington first states to legalize recreational pot - chicagotribune.com

DENVER/SEATTLE (Reuters) - Colorado and Washington became the first U.S. states to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana for recreational use on Tuesday in defiance of federal law, setting the stage for a possible showdown with the Obama administration.

But another ballot measure to remove criminal penalties for personal possession and cultivation of recreational cannabis was defeated in Oregon, where significantly less money and campaign organization was devoted to the cause.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Latino votes key to Obama's victory

Despite failing to deliver immigration reform as promised in his first term and deporting a record number of immigrants, President Barack Obama received 75 percent of the Latino vote in Tuesday's national election, exceeding the 67 percent he received in 2008.

The support likely played a major role in Obama's re-election -- and, conversely, in Republican nominee Mitt Romney's defeat, analysts say.

It could also serve as a catalyst to jump-start bipartisan talks on comprehensive immigration reform, which have stalled in Congress for more than a decade, analysts say.

For Obama and Democrats, the push makes sense: Their successes at the ballot box in recent years have been buoyed by Latino voters, and they have campaigned on the promise of immigration reform. For Republicans, many of whom have taken a hard-line anti-immigration stance in recent years that many Hispanic voters perceive to be anti-Latino, a push for reform could be politically advantageous.

"The Republican Party, the new guard, is going to be coming after those Latino voters because they know they need them to win an election," said Joe Garcia, director of the Latino Center at Arizona State University's Morrison Institute for Public Policy. "I still think this is going to be the decade of the Latino because both parties are going to be courting the Latino vote."

Statistics show how critical the Latino vote was in Tuesday's presidential election. For the first time in history, the Latino vote can plausibly be credited with playing the decisive role in a presidential election, said Gary Segura, a political-science professor at Stanford University and a principal at the polling firm Latino Decisions.

If the estimated 11.8 million Latinos who voted nationally on Tuesday had split their votes evenly between the two parties, Obama would not have won, Segura said Wednesday in a computer conference call.

Latinos played a pivotal roll in several battleground states, including Colorado, Nevada, Virginia and Ohio, that went for Obama, helping him gain the electoral votes needed to defeat Romney, Segura said.

Garcia said Latinos' overwhelming support for Obama showed they were willing to "forgive him" for failing to pass immigration reform and for deporting a record number of illegal immigrants. What helped, Garcia said, was Obama's announcement in June that he would allow young undocumented immigrants to receive work permits and remain in the country temporarily without the fear of deportation under a program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

"I think they gave him a little bit of a benefit of the doubt and said, 'OK, we are going to forgive you for not keeping your promise on that first term but fully we expect something happening early in this second term,' and I think Obama will push for immigration reform in this term," Garcia said.

A Latino Decisions/America's Voice poll of 5,600 voters in 11 states, including Arizona, found that Obama's stance on immigration helped him win support among Latino voters who were turned off by Romney's stance.

Romney opposed allowing illegal immigrants to gain legal status and opposed the Dream Act, a bill that would allow young undocumented immigrants to earn citizenship by attending college or serving in the military. Romney also supported Arizona's employer-sanctions law, which requires all employers to use a federal database to check whether new hires are authorized to work in the U.S.

In Arizona, Obama's support among Latino voters skyrocketed from 56 percent in 2008, when Arizona Sen. John McCain was the Republican nominee, to 79 percent this year, according to the Latino Decisions/America's Voice poll.

But he still lost Arizona to Romney by 11 percentage points, unofficial results show. That margin could narrow when all 602,000 uncounted provisional and early ballots in the state are tabulated in the coming days.

Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, an immigrant-advocacy group in Washington, D.C., that pushes comprehensive immigration reform, said he believed some Republicans in the Democrat-controlled Senate would likely be willing to work with Obama and Senate Democrats to pass bipartisan immigration reform.

"They know their chances of wining the White House in 2016 will be lower without the support of Latino voters," Sharry said.

In 2006, McCain helped lead a bipartisan attempt to pass immigration reform, followed by an attempt in 2007 led by Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl. Both failed.

Rep. Jeff Flake, a six-term GOP congressman who on Tuesday was elected to replace the retiring Kyl, once was a strong advocate for comprehensive immigration reform. In 2012, he pivoted to a position that would require border-security upgrades to the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector.

While he still wants any solution to include enhanced border-security measures, Flake told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday that an effort "to effectively deal with the Dream Act issue" likely could pass easily with strong bipartisan support.

"I remain convinced that as Republicans we've got to do more on this issue, not just because it's good policy, but because it's obviously necessary politics as well," he said. "When you look at demographics, we cannot continue as Republicans to alienate such a significant portion of the electorate."

Kareem Crayton, a political scientist and associate professor of law at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said Democrats and Republicans both have something to gain from revisiting immigration reform.

"If the Democrats intend to extend their level of support from the Latino community, they're going to have to make good on this," Crayton said. "They can't fail at this."

For their part, Republicans need to come to terms with demographic challenges, he said.

"I thought they would have recognized this four years ago, but ginning up the White vote just won't do the trick," Crayton said. "They're not going to be a successful national party if they are simply going to try to compete between the lines of the Old Confederacy. It's just not going to work. ... The numbers just aren't there for them, and the largest and fastest-growing population among the non-White groups are Latinos."

Poll results

A Latino Decisions/America's voice poll of 5,600 voters in 11 states, including Arizona, found that 66 percent of Latino voters said they felt like President Barack Obama cared about the Latino community while 74 percent of Latinos thought Republican candidate Mitt Romney didn't care about the Latino community or considered him hostile to Latinos.

While the poll showed that Latinos overwhelming supported Obama over Romney in Arizona, efforts to dramatically increase the number of Latino voters in Arizona appear to have fallen short.

Before the election, the National Association of Latino Elected Officials projected that 359,000 Latinos would vote in Arizona's general election, up from 291,000 in 2008.

Early estimates based on exit polls show that about 300,000 Latinos voted in Arizona this year out of a total of about 1.6 million votes cast, said Evan Bacalao, senior director of civic engagement at NALEO.

Petra Falcon, director of Promise Arizona, an organization that worked to increase the number of Latino voters in Arizona, said it is too early to tell how many Latinos voted in Arizona because of the thousands of provisional ballots that haven't been counted.

Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., won election to the Senate with 17 percent of the Latino vote in Arizona, according to the Latino Decisions/America's Voice poll. His Democratic opponent, former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, who is a Latino of Puerto Rican descent, received 83 percent of the Latino vote in Arizona. Flake defeated Carmona by less than 5 percentage points, according to unofficial results.

by Daniel González, and Dan Nowicki - Nov. 7, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com Latino votes key to Obama's victory

Bipartisan Couple's Counseling

Perhaps both parties should consult a mediator in order to reach compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff.

Republicans review identity

WASHINGTON - Having lost the popular vote in five of the past six presidential elections, Republicans plunged Wednesday into an intense period of self-examination, blame-setting and testy debate over whether their party needs serious change or just some minor tweaks.

The fallout will help determine if the GOP might return to heights approximating the Ronald Reagan years or, as some fear, suffer even deeper losses as the nation's Democratic-leaning Hispanics increase in number.

"The party is clearly in some sort of identity crisis," said Rick Tyler, a past aide to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Hard-core conservatives, furious at President Barack Obama's re-election in the face of a weak economy, called for a wholesale shift to resolutely right positions on social and fiscal matters. Some demanded that party leaders resign.

Establishment Republicans largely shrugged off the tirades. But they split into two main camps themselves, portending potentially lengthy soul-searching, especially in Congress.

"The Republican Party is exactly right on the issues," said Terry Holt, a veteran GOP strategist with close ties to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. The party mainly needs to nominate candidates who can relate to average Americans better than multimillionaire Mitt Romney did, Holt said.

Some other Republicans, however, see bigger problems. The party must shed its "absolutism on issues like tax increases," which congressional lawmakers oppose at virtually every level, said John Ullyot, a former Republican Senate aide. "The only way the party is going to move more to the middle is when we get sick of losing," he said.

While Holt and others say the Republican Party is aligned with most Americans on big issues, Tuesday's exit polls raise doubts in some areas. Six in 10 voters said abortion should be legal in all or most cases, the highest share saying so since the mid-1990s. Two-thirds of voters said illegal immigrants working in the United States should be offered a chance to apply for legal status.

Nearly half of all voters supported Obama's plan to raise taxes on couples' incomes above $250,000. Thirteen percent said taxes should be increased on all Americans, and 35 percent said no one should pay higher taxes.

Republican insiders, meanwhile, nervously focused on an approaching problem that could produce even bigger presidential losses in the future. The GOP relies overwhelmingly on white voters. Hispanics, the nation's fastest-growing group, have bristled at Republican attacks on illegal immigration.

Republican campaign pros said the party must find a way to temper the talk about immigration without infuriating conservatives who oppose amnesty for those who entered the country illegally.

by Charles Babington - Nov. 8, 2012 Associated Press

Republicans review identity

Monday, November 5, 2012

59% of Americans Think Marijuana Should Be Legalized | Just Say Now

A new Huffington Post poll/YouGov poll has found one of the highest level of support for marijuana legalization of any national poll. Overall it found 59 percent of Americans think marijuana should be legalized, while just 26 percent think it should remain illegal. From Huffington Post:

YouGov (10/23)
Which of the following is closest to your opinion?
Marijuana should be legalized, taxed, and regulated like alcohol . . 51%
Marijuana should be legalized but NOT taxed and regulated like alcohol . . 8%
Marijuana should not be legalized . . 26%
Not sure . . 15%

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Medical marijuana faces key test in court

The top lawyers for the state and county, strong opponents of Arizona’s medical-marijuana laws, will argue in court today that federal drug laws pre-empt the voter-approved law.

Attorneys arguing on behalf of White Mountain Health Center of Sun City, meanwhile, charge that state law does not require anyone to violate federal laws by issuing permits for medical-marijuana activities since the state has decriminalized those acts. In their lawsuit, they also allege that Maricopa County illegally rejected the center’s registration certificate, which is among the state requirements to become a medical-marijuana dispensary applicant.

At stake is the future of medical marijuana in Arizona, one of 17 states to approve the drug to treat certain medical conditions. If government lawyers prevail, they would shut down the legal growing of marijuana and ensure that dispensaries do not open — making it impossible for patients to legally obtain pot.

Marijuana backers in the West courting conservative pols

DENVER - It's not all hippies backing November's marijuana legalization votes in Colorado, Oregon and Washington.

Appealing to Western individualism and a mistrust of federal government, activists have lined up some prominent conservatives, from one-time presidential hopefuls Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul to Republican-turned-Libertarian presidential candidate and former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson.

"This is truly a nonpartisan issue," said Mark Slaugh, a volunteer for the Colorado initiative who is based in Colorado Springs, which has more Republicans than anywhere else in the state.

Arizona sued in medical marijuana case

A woman is suing the state, claiming police violated Arizona's medical-marijuana laws when they seized a marijuana-infused oil during a raid of her home last spring.

Charise Voss Arfa, a medical-marijuana patient, claims police wrongfully considered the oil labeled "Soccer Moms Tincture" a narcotic instead of marijuana. A tincture is typically an alcoholic extract of plant or animal material or solution.

W. Michael Walz, the attorney representing Voss Arfa, said some law-enforcement officials consider mixing marijuana with any substance -- such as oil, brownie mix or dressing -- altering the marijuana into "cannabis."

Medical-pot dispensary site could be Scottsdale's first

The operator of what could be Scottsdale's first medical-marijuana dispensary has taken the first steps to open the facility northwest of Pima Road and Via de Ventura.

The Arizona Department of Health Services awarded a dispensary registration certificate last month to the Monarch Wellness Centers Inc., 8729 E. Manzanita Road. The vacant two-story building is just north of the U.S. Postal Service Hopi Station post office.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Prescription-drug abuse drops among young people – USATODAY.com

Prescription-drug abuse in the USA declined last year year to the lowest rate since 2002 amid federal and state crackdowns on drug-seeking patients and over-prescribing doctors.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Medical Marijuana Ad Ban Gets Final Approval In Denver

DENVER, CO - APRIL 20: Javier Martinez uses a sign to advertise for LoHi Cannabis Club dispensary as an estimated 10,000 people were expected to gather for a 4/20 marijuana rally in Civic Center Park April 20, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. Colorado goes to the polls November 6 to vote on a controversial ballot initiative that would permit possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for those 21 and older. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)

All outdoor medical marijuana ads are officially banned in the City of Denver.

On Monday night, the Denver City Council voted unanimously 12-0 to ban marijuana dispensaries from advertising on "billboards, posters, bus benches" or with "windshield leaflets and sign-twirlers," according to The Denver Post.

Marijuana businesses can still advertise in print, television, radio and online but will have to include a disclaimer that clearly indicates the products being advertised are for registered Colorado medical marijuana patients only, The Associated Press reports.

The council's Debbie Ortega and Christopher Herndon are behind the proposal which is an expansion of a May plan by Ortega that called for a ban on medical marijuana ads within 1,000 feet of schools, daycares and parks after she received complaints from constituents, Westword reports. This alternate plan of Ortega's was voted down Monday night as well.

The Denver medical marijuana community is divided on the issue. The Associated Press reports that Colorado attorney Lenny Frieling, an outspoken marijuana legalization advocate, didn't want marijuana singled out like this saying, "I don't think any medicines should be advertised, period, end of story. Whether it's medical marijuana or something that will give me an erection for eight hours, I find it all inappropriate," Frieling said. "Ban it all or don't ban any of it."

However most of Denver's city council members disagreed with Frieling and do want to give medical marijuana businesses the ability to advertise -- just not in the over-the-top way that some have been. "We are still allowing advertising," Councilman Herndon, one of the backers of the ad ban said. "We just don't want it in your face."

Mike Elliot, the executive director of the Medical Marijuana Industry Group (MMIG) -- a group that actively pushed for the ad ban and was pleased that the plan passed -- told The Denver Post last week that the citywide ad ban addresses one of the top complaints about dispensaries -- namely, their gaudy, overblown advertising. "Because we want to be good community members we can make reasonable concessions that satisfy community concerns." Elliot said.

Elliot told Westword in June that, "Such advertisements unite opposition to medical marijuana, undermine our support, and are largely responsible for the banning of MMJ businesses in Fort Collins and other jurisdictions."

However, another medical marijuana advocacy group, the Cannabis Business Alliance, was fighting against the full ad ban and was disappointed that ban passed Monday night. The CBA, once a supporter of Ortega's original proposal to ban ads within 1,000 feet of schools and parks, now says that the terms of this full ban are not clear enough with regard to outside marketing that falls outside of bus-benches, billboards and twirlers like festivals and street fairs or even merchandise. Kush Magazine goes further that that saying that a ban of this nature is a violation of the First Amendment.

"While we're not pleased with the outcome, we're confident the rules have been clearly established," CBA spokesperson Kristen Thomson said to The Denver Post about the city council vote.

Kush Magazine reported in June that the often loud, over-the-top advertising by medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver has to do with trying to stand out in an overcrowded marketplace -- there are approximately 200 dispensaries in Denver alone competing for more than 50,000 valid patients. Pot industry magazine The Medical Marijuana Business Daily says that the ban could force dispensaries to market themselves in more traditional ways making it harder to stand out and much harder to attract local passersby with a showy billboard or sign twirler. But perhaps that's not all bad when the signage the the proposed ban addresses has created some backlash.

"Some people are very offended by the sign spinners," Councilwoman Ortega said to 7News. "The signs and banners appear to target the general public instead of patients. Kids see them."

In June, Councilman Herndon agreed with MMIG saying, "I want to further legitimize this industry and to do that I think it's important for people to understand that this is for medical purposes -- and when you see signage or the spinners, it gives the impression that it's more than medical," according to Westword.

by Huffington Post Aug 21, 2012

Medical Marijuana Ad Ban Gets Final Approval In Denver

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Arizona poised to pull medical-marijuana cards of violators

The Arizona Department of Health Services could revoke more than a dozen medical-marijuana cards, saying patients and caregivers have either violated the state's new medical-marijuana law since receiving a card or lied about their histories when applying for one.

Health officials on Tuesday said they have revoked the cards of two patients, but because of a confidentiality clause in the law, they could not say specifically why the cards were taken away.

Typically, they said, cards are revoked if a law-enforcement agency notifies health officials of an arrest tied to buying or selling medical marijuana, which is illegal. The law does not allow the sale of marijuana to patients outside of dispensaries, which have not yet opened in Arizona. Instead, patients can only give marijuana to each other, receiving nothing of value in return. Or, health officials said, cards can be revoked if patients fail to properly secure plants in a locked facility.

Health officials have revoked the medical-marijuana cards of two caregivers and are reviewing the histories of 10 others. Caregivers typically grow marijuana for themselves and other patients, too.

Tom Salow, a rules administrator for ADHS, said all those caregivers could soon lose their marijuana cards, too, because they either did not disclose a violent-crime history on their applications or they have violated certain drug laws.

He said the agency has fallen behind in revoking the cards because officials must research applicants' backgrounds and issue the cards in a short time.

"(The law) doesn't give us enough time to get background checks from the Department of Public Safety and make a decision on the application in enough time," Salow said. "We approve the applications, give them a card, and if it comes back with a hit after research ... and a decision to revoke is made, then we revoke. It takes us a little while -- it isn't as easy as we thought it would be."

ADHS Director Will Humble said the agency expects to catch up soon on the backlog and process future cases more quickly with the imminent hiring of outside attorneys.

Those lawyers, paid for with fees generated from the medical-marijuana program, will help health officials more quickly decide whether revocations meet legal standards, he said.

Voters in 2010 passed a measure to allow people with certain debilitating medical conditions, including chronic pain, cancer and muscle spasms, to use medical marijuana.

They must receive a recommendation from a licensed physician and register with the state, which issues ID cards.

by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez - Sept. 11, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com

Arizona poised to pull medical-marijuana cards of violators

Medical-marijuana fees to aid Arizona program

Arizona health officials will dip into a pot of money generated by medical-marijuana fees with the goal to improve the state's controversial new program.

The Arizona Department of Health Services will soon spend more than $1.2 million to weed out physicians who improperly recommend marijuana to patients, help train marijuana-dispensary staff, hire private accountants or auditors to examine dispensary financial statements, and hire private attorneys to assist the department with legal issues arising from the program.

The ADHS will also continue to fund a $200,000 contract with the University of Arizona College of Public Health to, in part, review published research about the effectiveness of marijuana in treating medical conditions.

ADHS Director Will Humble said the new partnerships will help health officials keep the program as "medical" as possible.

"I'm trying to hit this from the financial angle, the medical angle, the certification angle to try to close as many gaps as I can that could result in bad outcomes for patients," he said. "That means bringing in expertise that we don't have in-house."

Voters in 2010 passed a measure to allow people with certain debilitating medical conditions, including chronic pain, cancer and muscle spasms, to use medical marijuana.

They must receive a recommendation from a licensed physician and register with the state, which issues identification cards to qualified patients and caregivers. The state has granted about 31,000 people permission to use medical marijuana.

The state has collected about $9.3 million in fees from cardholders and dispensary applicants since last year, when the program began. Officials have spent about $2.5 million on staff, its contract with the University of Arizona and technology. About $6 million remains in the medical-marijuana fund.

One national medical-marijuana expert said she is unaware of any other state spending medical-marijuana program fees in such a manner. Karen O'Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., criticized how Arizona is paying for the training and other programs.

She said patients -- many of whom are poor -- should not have to subsidize state programs to pay for their drugs.

"They're already in a financial hardship, they're already suffering from some kind of ailment," she said.

Within the next few weeks and months, Humble said the ADHS will sign contracts or agreements with:

The Arizona Board of Pharmacy, to fund a position so that staff can more quickly review how many times physicians have accessed the board's controlled-substances database, which tracks prescription-drug use. State rules require physicians to check the database before recommending pot.

In an effort to prevent doctors from encouraging recreational marijuana use, health officials each quarter review how many times physicians who have written more than 200 recommendations accessed the database. Under this new agreement, Humble hopes officials can review that information in real time and more quickly pass information on to the regulatory boards that license and discipline physicians.

As part of that agreement, health officials will also upgrade technology for the pharmacy database so physicians can obtain access to the site almost immediately instead of applying through the mail.

The ADHS will spend up to $200,000 on this agreement the first year, Humble said, and about $150,000 the second year.

Banner Good Samaritan Poison and Drug Information Center and the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy, to train the medical directors at future marijuana dispensaries and be available round-the-clock to offer advice.

Medical directors must train dispensary agents; develop guidelines to inform patients about the risks, benefits and side effects of medical marijuana; and know how to recognize signs of substance abuse.

"I want there to be a hub resource so the medical directors have some consistency with the way they operate," Humble said.

Humble hopes the $700,000 partnership will also help ensure patients are properly tracking the amount of marijuana they are ingesting and will ensure they are not combining marijuana with alcohol or narcotics.

A yet-to-be-determined auditing or accounting firm, to ensure future dispensaries are not profiting off medical-marijuana sales.

The dispensaries must be run as non-profits. State rules offer some guidance but provide plenty of wiggle room. Dispensaries must have bylaws that include "provisions for the disposition of revenues" and provide receipts and a business plan showing the facility is operating as a non-profit. There are no limits on compensation for dispensary personnel other than that it be "reasonable."

Humble said the behavior of some dispensary applicants suggests maintaining true non-profit status "may not be their primary motive." Outside auditors will comb through financial statements to ensure dispensaries aren't engaging in a "shell game," where they are grossly overpaying staff, board members and lessors and kicking back money to dispensary operators.

The state will spend an estimated $100,000 each year on this contract.

Private law firm Sherman and Howard, to represent the state Department of Health Services on legal issues. Legal counsel from the Attorney General's Office typically represents the ADHS. But as more legal issues arise with the medical-marijuana program, Humble wanted to hire private attorneys to pick up the extra work so staff attorneys can concentrate on traditional public-health issues.

Rates will range between $450 an hour for partners and $140 an hour for legal assistants, according to public records.

by Yvonne Wingett-Sanchez - Sept. 9, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com

Medical-marijuana fees to aid Arizona program

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Teen pot use linked to later declines in IQ | Fox News

NEW YORK – Teens who routinely smoke marijuana risk a long-term drop in their IQ, a new study suggests.

The researchers didn't find the same IQ dip for people who became frequent users of pot after 18. Although experts said the new findings are not definitive, they do fit in with earlier signs that the drug is especially harmful to the developing brain.

"Parents should understand that their adolescents are particularly vulnerable,'" said lead researcher Madeline Meier of Duke University.

Study participants from New Zealand were tested for IQ at age 13, likely before any significant marijuana use, and again at age 38. The mental decline between those two ages was seen only in those who started regularly smoking pot before age 18.

Richie Poulton, a study co-author and professor at the University of Otago in New Zealand, said the message of the research is to stay away from marijuana until adulthood if possible. "For some it's a legal issue," he said, "but for me it's a health issue."

Pot is the most popular illegal drug in the world, with somewhere between 119 million and 224 million users between the ages of 15 and 64 as of 2010, the United Nations reported. Within the United States, 23 percent of high school students said they'd recently smoked marijuana, making it more popular than cigarettes, the federal government reported in June.

Young people "don't think it's risky," said Staci Gruber, a researcher at the Harvard-affiliated MacLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass. Gruber, who didn't participate in the new work, said the idea that marijuana harms the adolescent brain is "something we believe is very likely," and the new finding of IQ declines warrants further investigation.

Experts said the new research is an advance because its methods avoid criticisms of some earlier work, which generally did not measure mental performance before marijuana use began.

"I think this is the cleanest study I've ever read" that looks for long-term harm from marijuana use, said Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which helped fund the research.

Ken Winters, a psychiatry professor at the University of Minnesota and senior scientist at the Treatment Research Institute in Philadelphia, said the new findings aren't definitive, but they underscore the importance of studying how marijuana may harm young people. He had no role in the work.

Meier and colleagues reported their work online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It was funded with governmental grants from the United States and Britain, and a foundation in Zurich.

The study drew on survey data from more than 1,000 people in New Zealand, everybody born in the town of Dunedin during a year-long span ending in 1973. In addition to IQ tests, they were interviewed five times between ages 18 and 38, including questions related to their marijuana use.

At age 18, 52 participants indicated they had become dependent on marijuana, meaning that they continued to use it despite its causing significant health, social or legal problems. Ninety-two others reported dependence starting at a later age.

Researchers compared their IQ scores at age 13 to the score at age 38 and found a drop only in those who had become dependent by 18.

Those deemed dependent in three or more surveys had a drop averaging 8 points. For a person of average intelligence, an 8-point drop would mean ranking higher than only 29 percent of the population rather than 50 percent, the researchers said.

Among participants who'd been dependent at 18 and in at least one later survey, quitting didn't remove the problem. IQ declines showed up even if they'd largely or entirely quit using pot at age 38, analysis showed.

The researchers got similar overall results for IQ decline when they compared participants who reported having used marijuana at least once a week on average for the past year. The researchers had no data on how much was used on each occasion or how potent it was.

Dr. Duncan Clark, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, said he's not convinced that mental decline is only in those who become dependent by age 18. He said the main lesson he sees in the overall study results is that to preserve one's IQ, it's best to avoid marijuana entirely, no matter what your age.

The researchers also surveyed people who knew the study participants well at age 38. They found that the more often participants were rated as marijuana-dependent in the surveys over their lifetimes, the more memory and attention problems were noticed by their acquaintances over the previous year.

by Associated Press Aug 27, 2012

Teen pot use linked to later declines in IQ | Fox News

Medical pot tests boss-worker relations

Just days into her new job at a hospice in Cottonwood, Esther Shapiro claims she was fired because she uses medical marijuana to relieve chronic pain caused by fibromyalgia. | User database

The Arizona Department of Health Services allows employers and law enforcement to check medical-marijuana cardholders. Find a complete list of employers who have accessed the state database at azcentral.com by going to azdatapages.com/marijuana/.

The hospice sent her for a drug test, and she warned them it would come back positive. Shapiro said the next day, a nurse manager told her the hospice's insurance company thought she was too much of a liability.

"It was, basically, in my opinion, crap," Shapiro told The Arizona Republic. "I was fired unlawfully."

Across Arizona, employers and workers are settling into an uneasy relationship with medical marijuana. While a 2010 voter-approved law forbids employers from discriminating against medical-marijuana patients, the law provides no protection for employees who are impaired at work.

And a 2011 law gave some businesses additional authority to penalize workers if they are believed to be impaired at work.

Still, employers across Arizona are grappling with how to handle workers who are now legally permitted to use marijuana.

After Shapiro was told she was too much of a liability, she looked up the state's medical-marijuana law, which contains an anti-discrimination provision that prohibits an employer from hiring, firing or disciplining individuals just because of their participation in the state's medical-marijuana program.

She filed a lawsuit against the hospice, claiming she was discriminated against. The lawsuit was resolved with an out-of-court settlement.

Trent Adams, president of Verde Valley Community Hospice, disputes Shapiro's account. He says she quit after staff began to research the potential licensing risks of hiring someone who ingests medical marijuana. He declined to talk about the legal dispute but said generally the hospice is struggling to reconcile the medical-marijuana law's requirements with potential liabilities if a worker is impaired on the job, as well as the impact on federal funding for the facility.

"I don't have a strong opinion about medical marijuana one way or another," Adams said. "But what's a small business supposed to do so they don't put their licenses at risk if something happened? Our nurses are driving, handling patients, going to patients' homes, and there's a lot of medications in their homes."

The 17 states that permit medical-marijuana use differ in their approach to protections for employees who use the drug, making it difficult to compare the response of Arizona's employers with those in other states.

Arizona has some of the strongest protections for patients, said Karen O'Keefe, director of state policies at the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. Maine and Rhode Island provide similar employment protections for patients, she said.

But while the medical-marijuana law protects employees, a later law created a work-around for some employers. In 2011, the Legislature, with strong backing from the business community, passed a measure intended to strengthen employers' rights related to medical marijuana. The law amended the state's drug-testing statutes and could help shield businesses from lawsuits if they fire workers who are under the influence of medical marijuana or other prescription drugs while on the job.

Attorney David Selden, who wrote the law, said it was intended to give employers more tools to take action against someone they believe is impaired based on conduct. The law allows employers with a qualifying drug-testing policy to reassign or lay off workers who take such medications if they have a job with possible safety risks. It also defines symptoms of impairment.

Officer Carrick Cook, a state Department of Public Safety spokesman, is trained in recognizing signs of drug-related impairment. With marijuana, he said, employers should look for bloodshot or watery eyes, shakiness, burn marks around the mouth from smoking and poor coordination.

In Arizona, employment attorneys report that corporate clients and mom-and-pop shops are updating employment manuals and drug-testing policies to address expectations for workers in safety-sensitive jobs. Businesses are also seeking direction from attorneys, insurance companies and regulatory agencies to figure out if they can insure and employ workers who use medical marijuana.

Human-resources managers are learning how to spot fake medical-marijuana cards. The state-issued cards look similar to driver's licenses. And businesses that receive federal funding -- such as Medicare in the case of the Cottonwood hospice -- are trying to determine if they can hire workers who use medical marijuana and continue to receive federal funding since marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

John J. Balitis Jr., an employment attorney at Fennemore Craig, said employers are most concerned about safety risks posed by impaired workers.

"You have employers now poised for seeing an increase very soon in active medical-marijuana users in the workplace," said Balitis. "Even though these cards have been floating around out there ... now that marijuana is going to be available for them to buy, we just naturally conclude that you're going to have more people in the workplace using this drug."

The state has granted more than 31,000 people permission to ingest medical marijuana to treat conditions such as chronic pain, glaucoma and cancer. Most are allowed to grow their own marijuana until dispensaries open, which could happen within the next few months -- or never, depending on the outcome of a high-profile court battle pending in Maricopa County Superior Court.

In the meantime, more than 200 businesses and government agencies have registered to check on their workers' status as possible medical-marijuana patients through a state Department of Health Services database. That database allows employers and law enforcement to verify whether individuals are legally participating in the medical-marijuana program.

In order to protect cardholders' rights, the database only allows employers to verify a medical-marijuana card identification number, said DHS Director Will Humble. Employers cannot search the database by employee names.

Employers must rely on workers to report their use of medical marijuana and provide the identification number for them to check. Or, employers can wait for drug tests to come back positive and then ask employees about their marijuana use, attorneys said, so they don't violate privacy-protected health provisions.

Arizona's medical-marijuana law required state health officials to create the database for law-enforcement officials. The Legislature later granted employers access. California has a similar system. In Colorado, only law enforcement can obtain verification.

The Arizona Republic, through a public-records request, obtained a list of companies and agencies that have accessed the database and attempted to contact dozens of the employers. Many did not want to talk.

Businesses that have accessed the database include health-care-related institutions such as Scottsdale Healthcare and Life Line Ambulance Service Inc., hotels such as the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown and the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa and corporations like Freeport-McMoran and GoDaddy.com. The Arizona Republic is also on the list.

Nick Smith is president of the Phoenix-based HR Betty, which performs human-resources functions and handles payroll for more than 100 businesses. He said HR Betty uses the database to ensure potential hires or longtime employees who have medical-marijuana cards "are not working in a safety-sensitive area that could cause harm for others."

Among the examples he cited were employees "working with knives in a restaurant" and those "working with machinery or working on a crane or a lift or anything like that."

But the system isn't perfect. Smith said he still relies on employees to disclose their medical-marijuana use.

Daniel Cassidy is owner of Sunnyside Window Tinting in north Phoenix and a medical-marijuana patient. He isn't concerned about hiring other patients, he said, and is only interested in knowing whether an employee is using marijuana "to cover our own butts."

"I would not hold it against someone if they were a patient," Cassidy said. "It wouldn't benefit them, and it wouldn't hurt them."

Some business owners like real-estate agent J.P Librera signed up for the database to ensure that an employee was actually a patient.

"I don't have any concerns at all, especially in my line of work, as long as it's being used responsibly," the Marana businessman said.

by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez - Aug. 26, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com

Medical pot tests boss-worker relations

Thursday, September 13, 2012

2 Scottsdale firms awarded first medical-pot licenses

The state played "pick the dispensary" Tuesday, awarding licenses to 97 medical-marijuana non-profit businesses statewide, including two in Scottsdale and one in Fountain Hills.

The Arizona Department of Health Services lottery picked operators for about three-quarters of 126 areas where one operator will be allowed to sell medical marijuana. Other areas had no applicants or were not considered because of legal challenges.

ADHS did not release a list of the winning operators in a bingo-style drawing, but the applicants were notified following the lottery picks. None of the potential Scottsdale dispensary operators with city-zoning approval returned calls on whether they had been selected.

Lance Norick, previously an applicant for the Kush Clinic dispensary in Scottsdale, said he withdrew from the application process about six months ago because there was too much red tape.

"We put a lot of work and money into it," Norick said. "It was just one thing after another."

The medical-marijuana issue has been clouded by legal wrangling between state and federal officials and confusion over dispensary zoning requirements since voters approved the measure in November 2010. The lottery drawing Tuesday did little to clear the air as dispensary operators face potential legal action from county, state and federal prosecutors.

Ryan Hurley, an attorney with the Rose Law Group, representing about 20 applicants statewide, said the state law does not allow ADHS to disclose the list of winning applicants, and his clients declined to comment.

The state health department selected Scottsdale resident Mark Steinmetz to receive the one state license for a medical-marijuana dispensary in Fountain Hills, said Bob Rodgers, Fountain Hills senior planner.

Steinmetz is affiliated with Compassion First AZ, a for-profit company, but his dispensary, as required by law, will be a non-profit entity.

Steinmetz submitted a zoning-verification application to Fountain Hills for a dispensary location at 17005 E. Colony Drive, Suite 103. Steinmetz could not be reached for comment.

Greg Bloemberg, a Scottsdale planner, said only five operators met city zoning requirements for a dispensary in the two Scottsdale areas designated for dispensaries.

The Monarch Wellness Center, 8729 E. Manzanita Drive, was the sole operator to meet city requirements for the south Scottsdale area, south of Doubletree Ranch Road.

The north Scottsdale area included four qualified applicants within the city, he said. That included:

Virtue Center, 7301 E. Evans Road.

M.M.R.X., 15475 N. Greenway-Hayden Loop, Suite C-22.

Giving Tree Wellness Center, 7655 E. Evans Road.

Valley Wellness Center, 7825 E. Redfield Road.

It is unclear those operators were selected in the lottery drawing. All are north of Doubletree Ranch Road.

The state drawing for the north Scottsdale dispensary included 12 applicants, however.

Carefree and Cave Creek town officials said they had no applications submitted for dispensaries.

Rodgers said he granted zoning verifications to eight applicants in the town. That did not match the seven that were in Tuesday's drawing because some decided not to pursue a license in Fountain Hills, however. A lawsuit aimed at nullifying Rodgers' zoning verifications was dismissed last week by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper.

by Peter Corbett - Aug. 8, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com

2 Scottsdale firms awarded first medical-pot licenses

Ariz. picks dispensaries in medical-pot program - USATODAY.com

Arizona stepped deeper into the national legal quandary surrounding medical marijuana Tuesday with the selection of nearly 100 dispensaries throughout the state, some of which could begin selling the drug in a matter of weeks.
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The tedious, four-hour bingo-style drawing in a state Department of Health Services auditorium came a day after Attorney General Tom Horne declared that the dispensaries violate federal drug laws and as Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery vowed to prosecute any that opened.

Arizona Department of Health Services Director Will Humble said the voter-approved medical-marijuana law has been fraught with legal issues since before it became law in 2010. All he can do, he said, is implement the rules accurately and fairly.

"No one disputes that there's a conflict between state and federal law when it comes to dispensaries, or the entire program for that matter," Humble said. "But we're going to do the very best job we can to put together as responsible a medical … marijuana program as we can."

The state issued special identification cards to nearly 30,000 Arizonans since last summer, permitting them to use medical marijuana to treat certain debilitating conditions. More than four out of five users also have permission to grow the drug. That permission will be gradually withdrawn as dispensaries open.

Gov. Jan Brewer and Horne stalled implementation of the dispensary process last year with a federal lawsuit, then dropped their challenge in January after the judge threw out their lawsuit and a lower-court judge ordered the process to go forward.

On Tuesday, the state health department issued 97 dispensary registration certificates from among 433 applicants, giving them the opportunity to sell marijuana and operate cultivation sites to grow it. The law does not limit how much marijuana dispensary operators can grow. Users are limited to 2½ ounces every two weeks.

Successful applicants first had to show they had a viable non-profit business plan, $150,000 in capital and met zoning requirements, among other things. Those who won Tuesday's drawing now have less than a year to prepare for and pass a state inspection before they can open their doors.

Officials divided the state into 126 areas, nearly 30 in Maricopa County. Two of those regions, in Sun City and Glendale, are the subject of legal challenges by would-be dispensary owners so the state did not draw winners there. In 27 areas, there were no applicants.

One of those lawsuits, brought in June by White Mountain Health Center, charges that Maricopa County illegally rejected its registration certificate, which is among the state requirements to become a dispensary applicant.

The facility is in an unincorporated area and requires county zoning approval. Montgomery had advised county officials not to participate in the medical-marijuana program because he believes employees could risk prosecution under federal drug laws.

Montgomery said Tuesday that he will ask the judge in that case for a quick ruling on whether the state's medical-marijuana program is legal under the federal Controlled Substances Act, which makes possession, sale or use of marijuana a crime. Judges who issued the earlier court rulings weren't asked and didn't answer that question, he said.

In the meantime, he said, Horne's legal opinion gives him the authority to prosecute dispensary operators. State health department employees also are at risk under federal law, he said.

"Any action that was taken by a state employee, if in fact any dispensaries open, was a federal crime," he said. "If they wind up not opening, no harm, no foul."

Horne issued the non-binding opinion late Monday, saying federal drug laws trump the state's voter-approved medical-marijuana law when it comes to "cultivating, selling and dispensing" marijuana. He cautioned potential dispensary owners against moving forward with their operations until the issue had been settled in court.

Both attorneys mentioned recent court rulings and crackdowns by federal prosecutors to bolster their arguments.

But attorney Ryan Hurley, who represented about 20 dispensary applicants -- four of whom won drawings Tuesday -- said other courts have ruled that state medical-marijuana laws don't prevent federal officials from enforcing their own laws. Arizona is one of 17 states to allow medical marijuana.

And, Hurley said, federal prosecutors, including Arizona's U.S. attorney, have sent a consistent, if vague, message that they intend to focus on large-scale drug traffickers, not those complying with state laws.

Other lawsuits are likely from applicants who weren't selected and have concerns about those who were, he said. Humble agreed, saying he set up Tuesday's drawing -- complete with white gloves, auditors and sealed plastic bags -- in part to defend against legal action.

"I recognize that there are people who disagree with some of the decisions that we've made," Humble said.

At least one local entrepreneur claimed two coveted Maricopa County locations.

Gerald Gaines of Compassion First AZ, whose affiliates filed 24 applications in eight regions, earned permission to launch dispensaries in Fountain Hills and west Phoenix.

Gaines, who already uses the Phoenix location for caregivers to grow and provide marijuana, said he could open a dispensary within weeks, depending on how quickly the state can move to inspect it.

But he said the biggest obstacle may be the Governor's Office and Horne, whom he accused of using "scare tactics" to intimidate patients, caregivers and dispensary operators.

By Mary K. Reinhart, The Republic|azcentral.com Aug 8, 2012

Ariz. picks dispensaries in medical-pot program - USATODAY.com

Big day for medical pot - USATODAY.com

You can't really tell what's going on in the nondescript, tan stucco home in a booming Maricopa neighborhood until you walk inside, down the carpeted hallway, to the room with the warm yellow light glowing under the door.

"You don't really smell it until the door is opened," said Scott, 30, unlocking the door with a set of keys he always keeps with him. "And then, it hits you."

The bedroom shelters a full-scale legal medical-marijuana farm, with 5-foot-tall plants sprouting crystallized buds, and other plants at varying degrees of growth. A custom ventilation system cools the room. A humidifier keeps it moist; a hydroponic system pumps nutrients into plant roots; and professionally wired high-powered grow lamps are rigged to a timer.

Scott is one of more than 25,000 patients and caregivers who were allowed to grow medical marijuana beginning in 2010 while state officials fought the law and then figured out how to implement a plan for statewide dispensaries.

Today, however, will be the beginning of the end for many as the state Department of Health Services grants permission for 99 medical-marijuana dispensaries to open around the state.

Authors of the state's medical-marijuana law intended to limit urban growing by forcing people to buy at dispensaries, so after today, legal growers within 25miles of a dispensary must begin shutting down their operations except under limited circumstances.

The state will allow current cardholders to grow marijuana until they apply for their annual renewal. Over time, the law is expected to virtually eliminate all growers in the state's urban areas who are not associated with dispensaries.

Growers such as Scott and his girlfriend, Jody, 44, who declined to give their last names for safety reasons, believe the rule unfairly -- and illegally -- forces them to buy medical marijuana at a limited number of dispensaries.

"It will really be devastating to the community, to patients and caregivers," Scott said.

And, Scott believes, it will be financially devastating for him and Jody, who smoke marijuana throughout the day to ease chronic pain caused by vehicle and other accidents. He and Jody socked away his earnings as an iron worker, a Christmas bonus and tax returns to build their own grow room at a cost of about $5,000. Even though the room has doubled their utility bill to about $450 a month, they say it's still cheaper than buying marijuana at a dispensary.

They also worry that dispensary-grown marijuana could contain pesticides that could harm them.

"It's like groceries -- it's in the same genre," Jody said. "If you're able to grow your own tomatoes … and green beans, do it. With this 25-mile rule, they're basically saying don't grow your tomatoes, you have to go to the store. In this economy, it's going to make it impossible for many people to get their medication."

Law's requirements

Voters in 2010 passed the measure to allow people with certain debilitating medical conditions, including chronic pain, cancer and muscle spasms, to use medical marijuana.

They must register with the state, which issues identification cards to qualified patients and caregivers. Caregivers can grow 12 plants for up to five patients.

Some caregivers can continue growing once the 25-mile rule takes effect, but only if their designated patients live 25miles or more from a dispensary.

The state has given about 29,500 people permission to use medical marijuana; it has given about 85percent of those patients permission to grow their own until the 25-mile rule takes effect.

Under the law, state health officials can license up to 126 dispensaries throughout designated areas statewide. Health officials received 486 dispensary applications from individuals or businesses that want to set up shop in 99 of the 126 areas.

The state will select the winning applicants today by lottery.

There is no limit to how much marijuana a dispensary can grow. Patients can obtain up to 2½ ounces of medical marijuana every two weeks.

ADHS Director Will Humble expects some dispensaries could be operating as early as September.

Medical-marijuana advocates are criticizing Humble's decision to interpret the 25-mile rule "as the crow flies" rather than measuring mileage on a grid.

Lisa Hauser, an attorney who helped draft the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, and Andrew Meyers, campaign manager for the organization that got the program on the ballot, said Humble is accurately interpreting the intent of the 25-mile rule.

Hauser and Meyers said the law was designed to limit urban marijuana cultivation as a way to address law enforcement's concerns of home invasions and fire risks caused by dangerous wiring for lamps and other growing equipment.

Both expected the dispensaries to be operating shortly after the voters passed the law. Instead, the dispensaries were delayed after Gov. Jan Brewer in May 2011 asked a federal judge to determine whether the state law conflicted with federal drug statutes.

Eight months later, a judge dismissed the state's lawsuit.

The decision cleared the way for state health officials to begin the process of licensing medical-marijuana dispensaries.

Meyers pointed out that the campaign urged people to work through caregivers rather than investing thousands of dollars on outfitting grow spaces in spare bedrooms and garages that would have to be shut down when the dispensaries opened.

"Having individuals grow their own or set up their own little unsecured farming operations is a tad risky," Hauser said. "But also, it was not to be the default method of obtaining medicine -- it was to be grow-your-own only in these limited circumstances."

A spokesman for Phoenix Police Department said it will investigate and enforce the law if home growers illegally grow marijuana once dispensaries are running.

Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, who has urged Brewer to halt licensing of dispensaries because marijuana is illegal under federal law, also said her agency will prosecute those who don't comply with the 25-mile rule.

"They would be committing a felony," she said. "And it will be treated like any other drug investigation."

Polk and 12 of the state's 15 county attorneys are fighting the marijuana law and sought a legal opinion from Attorney General Tom Horne as to whether the state law is pre-empted by federal law.

Horne on Monday issued an opinion that the law's provisions "authorizing any cultivating, selling and dispensing of marijuana" are pre-empted but that issuing registry cards to patients and caregivers is not. He advised the ADHS that it could go forward with the lottery, saying that a dispensary-registration certificate does not give authorization and that applicants still must go through additional processes.

But he suggested dispensary-lottery winners consider delaying work or investment in a dispensary until the courts weigh in.

Requirement impacts

Caterer Ellen Bridgewater, 52, began growing marijuana at Compassion First Caregivers Circle Inc., a warehouse-size cultivation center in north Phoenix.

The Scottsdale resident and her husband grow for five patients who have cancer, arthritis and Crohn's disease.

Bridgewater obtained patient and grow cards several months ago to help treat Crohn's disease, a form of inflammatory bowl disease. She tends to the plants, plays jazz to help them grow and regularly meets with patients to give them their medicine.

Bridgewater applied to run a dispensary, saying she wants to continue to provide medical marijuana at a low cost.

"I'm very apprehensive about the rule," she said. "You want people to have easy access to their medicine, and 25miles is a long way for some people to go."

In anticipation of dispensaries opening, businesses that cater to medical- marijuana growers like weGrow in west Phoenix are shifting their business models away from home growers to focus on dispensaries.

The hydroponics superstore targeted much of its outreach to individuals, store owner Sunny Singh said.

The store sells lamps, nutrients, growing advice and other marijuana-related products.

Singh said many of his customers are asking questions about the 25-mile rule and are concerned dispensary-grown marijuana will be too expensive.

"They don't want to spend top money for medicine if they don't know what the quality is," he said. "If they're growing at home, they don't have a quality issue."

By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez The Republic|azcentral.com Aug 7, 2012

Big day for medical pot - USATODAY.com

Arizona medical marijuana shops awaiting lottery

The Arizona Department of Health Services will hold a much-anticipated -- and highly controversial -- lottery on Tuesday to select medical-marijuana dispensaries.

State officials have decided to move forward with licensing the dispensaries, even as 13 county attorneys have urged Gov. Jan Brewer to halt the process and federal prosecutors have moved to shut down the nation's largest medical-marijuana dispensary in California. The Los Angeles City Council, meanwhile, ordered each of the city's 762 dispensaries to shut down.

Arizona health officials received 486 medical-marijuana dispensary applications from individuals or businesses that want to set up shop in 99 of the state's 126 designated dispensary areas.

The state received more than one application for 75 of the 99 areas, so health officials will randomly select those dispensary winners using a lottery-like device that blows numbered pingpong balls inside a clear cage. Most of the competitive districts are located throughout the state's urban areas.

Under state law, health officials cannot publicly identify the applicants by name or business name. Prior to the lottery, health officials will assign a number to each dispensary applicant's corresponding lottery ball.

Officials will provide a registration certificate as soon as an applicant's dispensary-agent cards are issued.

Winning applicants will have a little less than a year to build out their dispensaries and obtain proper licensing from the state and their cities or towns.

The Department of Health Services will air the lottery live via a webcast at www.livestream.com/azdhs.

Under Arizona's law, there is no limit to the amount of marijuana a dispensary can grow. Patients can obtain up to 21/2 ounces of medical marijuana every two weeks.

About 29,500 people have permission from the state health department to smoke, eat or otherwise ingest medical marijuana to ease their ailments.

Those patients had to submit medical records, authorization from a physician and other information to prove they had a history of medical conditions that could be treated with marijuana.

by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez - Aug. 4, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com

Arizona medical marijuana shops awaiting lottery

Number of pot plants eradicated drops nationwide | Local News | The Seattle Times

SEATTLE — Federal data shows the number of live marijuana plants eradicated in outdoor and indoor grow operations has dropped in most states over the past three years, while the amount of bulk processed marijuana seized has doubled in that time.

And authorities can't pinpoint exact reasons.

One thing is known: California, which provides the lion's share of the millions of plants eradicated every year in the United States, saw a 46.5 percent drop in plants eradicated between 2010 and 2011, bringing down the nation's overall numbers.

"You can't attribute it to one factor," said Casey Rettig, spokeswoman for Drug Enforcement Administration in San Francisco.

Shifts in tactics from growers, weather patterns and budget cuts to local and state enforcement agencies have played roles in the significant decrease in eradication, DEA and local officials said.

In 2010, authorities seized 10.32 million marijuana plants from outdoor and indoor growing operations, according to DEA data. By 2011, that number had dropped to 6.7 million plants - a 35 percent decrease.

Those numbers are amplified by California, where 7.3 million plants were eradicated in 2010. The number dropped to 3.9 million plants in 2011, a 46 percent decline.

In that same time span, 37 states saw their eradication results drop. Data for 2012 is not yet available.

One of the most dramatic shifts came from Idaho, which saw its eradication results shrink by more than 98 percent between 2009 and 2011 - from 77,748 plants to just 786. Although, the Caribou County sheriff's office reported raiding a farm in southeast Idaho with 40,000 plants this week.

In order for a marijuana plant to be counted, it has to have a root structure, even if the plant is just inches tall, and be mature enough to yield the buds that contain the drug, said Doug James, DEA spokesman for the Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska region.

But while the number of plants eradicated has dropped, the number of pounds of bulked processed marijuana confiscated has increased from 53,843 pounds in 2009 to 113,167 pounds in 2011, the data collected by the DEA shows.

Some of this was seized along with eradications at growing locations. But DEA officials said the data also includes marijuana seized during traffic stops and other operations, and it's hard to pinpoint where marijuana comes from.

"You can't necessarily measure what's out there," Rettig said.

Teams of local, state and federal authorities have focused for years on finding clandestine marijuana growing operations in forests and wild lands around the country, using helicopters to search for plants hidden beneath the natural canopy.

These marijuana grow operations, authorities have said, feature irrigation systems from nearby creeks and fertilizers that damage the local habitat. Authorities believe some of the growing operations are operated by branches of Mexican drug organizations using the forced labor of immigrants to tend the plants. Others are tended by locals.

"On a professional level, I like to believe that we're pushing them out of the area," said Washington state Patrol Lt. Mark Brogan, who is in charge of narcotics investigations. Washington state saw its number of plants eradicated dip from over 600,000 to just over 325,000 between 2009 and 2011.

But Brogan said lingering cool spring weather has also affected the crop over the past couple of years.

"They're growing in areas where they need very good conditions to cultivate a lot of plants," he said.

In California, Rettig said growers are switching from large scale forest farms with many plants to smaller, less visible plots where they can grow fewer, but bigger and higher yielding plants.

There has been a change in where these plots are grown, too, with many operations moving to the agricultural region of the Central Valley, Rettig added.

"Most of the smart people moved down ... and a lot of them decentralized their gardens where it's less likely to be seen and eradicated," said Dale Gieringer of the California chapter of National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which advocates for legalization of marijuana.

Gieringer said street prices for marijuana have dipped recently, which suggests that there is plenty of it to go around, despite the DEA's efforts.

"I would argue that, in large part, many of these formerly outdoor grows have moved indoors," said Paul Armentano, deputy director of NORML. That marijuana "commands a higher price in the market. There seems to be greater preference for indoor grown versus outdoor grown. It could be simple market forces at work."

Budget cuts to California's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting are also a factor, Rettig said.

Recently, articles in the magazine GQ and the online magazine Daily Beast suggested that the Obama Administration is changing its priorities on marijuana enforcement. The Daily Beast pointed to cuts to the National Guard program that provides helicopters for marijuana searches.

Rettig said the DEA's priorities have not changed, and that they do not expect budget cuts.

by Manuel Valdez Associated Press Aug 3, 2012

Number of pot plants eradicated drops nationwide | Local News | The Seattle Times

Medical-marijuana OK for sleeping disorders, skin conditions sought

The Arizona Department of Health Services has received petitions to expand the state's medical-marijuana program to include treatment of sleeping disorders and skin conditions.

The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, approved by voters in 2010, requires the state health department to periodically accept and evaluate petitions to see whether to allow new medical conditions into the program.

In July, state health Director Will Humble refused to expand the program to include depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and migraines. He and a panel of medical experts, working from a University of Arizona study, determined there is insufficient scientific evidence to show the risks or benefits of using marijuana with those conditions.

Humble has said he will expand the program only if there is scientific evidence to support permanently adding conditions to the list.

He is expected to decide about the sleeping disorders and skin conditions within the next few months.

by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez - Jul. 31, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com

Medical-marijuana OK for sleeping disorders, skin conditions sought

Brewer urged to halt medical-marijuana program

Thirteen Arizona county attorneys are urging Gov. Jan Brewer to halt the state's medical-marijuana program, saying state employees will be facilitating federal crimes when they issue licenses to pot dispensaries.http://www.blogger.comhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif/img/blank.gif

The lawyers signed onto a three-page July 24 letter authored by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, who requests that the governor prevent the state's issuance of licenses for medical-marijuana dispensaries because the state program is pre-empted by the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Yavapai County Attorney Polk's letter to Brewer | Brewer's response

The latest round of correspondence over the controversial program comes as the state Department of Health Services prepares for an Aug. 7 lottery to select 99 out of 486 applicants to run medical-marijuana dispensaries throughout the state.

Under Arizona's law, there is no limit to the amount of marijuana a dispensary can grow. Patients can obtain up to 21/2 ounces of medical pot every two weeks.

About 29,500 people have permission to smoke, eat or otherwise ingest medical marijuana to ease their ailments.

The overwhelming majority of medical-marijuana users reported chronic pain as their medical condition; other ailments include muscle spasms, hepatitis C, cancer and seizures.

State health officials declined to comment on Polk's letter, which underscores their longtime concerns about the program.

In the past, state health officials have expressed concern they could be federally prosecuted for implementing the law.

In her letter, Polk pointed out that the federal government is seizing and closing medical-marijuana dispensaries in other states under the Controlled Substances Act.

Earlier this month, for example, Melinda Haag, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, moved to shut down two locations of a dispensary with more than 100,000 medical-marijuana patients.

Polk wrote that she has been told Arizona's newly appointed U.S. Attorney John Leonardo "fully intends to prevent any dispensaries from operating in Arizona by seizing each and every one as it opens and commits violations" of the federal act.

"We believe it is bad public policy for one arm of the government to facilitate marijuana cultivation and use while another arm of the government is moving to close it down," wrote Polk. She added it is bad policy for the state to take steps to license a dispensary and require individuals to pay thousands for fees and obtain permits from local governments, "knowing full well that these business ventures will result in significant financial repercussions when the U.S. attorney shuts them down."

U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Bill Solomon told The Arizona Republic late Monday that Polk's representation of the U.S. attorney's position on medical marijuana is inaccurate.

He said the agency's position has not changed since February, when then-Acting U.S. Attorney Ann Scheel told Brewer the agency would follow Department of Justice policy on the issue and would focus efforts on significant drug traffickers, not people who use marijuana as treatment.

"Specifically, the Department of Justice is focusing its limited resources on significant drug traffickers, not seriously ill individuals and their caregivers who are in compliance with applicable state medical-marijuana statutes," Solomon wrote in a statement.

Brewer responded to the county attorneys Thursday, saying she understands -- and shares -- their concerns. While she remains "deeply concerned about potential abuses of the law," the conflicts between federal and state laws, and the risk of federal prosecution of state employees, she is bound to implement the program because voters approved it.

Brewer also maintains that while the Department of Justice has prosecuted a number of medical-marijuana operations in California and elsewhere, "the federal government's position remains unclear" regarding Arizona's program and state workers' participation in the law.

Brewer wrote that a federal court dismissed a state lawsuit on procedural grounds seeking to clarify the conflict between the state program and federal law.

She pointed out that Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Richard Gama in January, meanwhile, ordered the state to implement the lawful provisions of the medical-marijuana program.

Polk told The Republic she appreciated Brewer's "thoughtful response." However, she said, she disagrees with her regarding the interpretation of the Gama ruling.

Polk pointed out that the legal quandary put before Gama was not the issue of pre-emption, but whether state health officials exceeded the scope of their authority in expanding rules regarding dispensaries.

Halting the dispensary process would force a lawsuit that would require a court to consider the pre-emption argument, Polk said, and whether state employees are subject to criminal prosecution for facilitating violations of the federal law by implementing the medical-marijuana program.

She said all 17 states that have medical-marijuana laws are grappling with how to reconcile state and federal laws: "Every single program has had complications and glitches, and in two or three states the governors have refused to go forward because of the issues I'm raising."

Greenlee County Attorney Derek Rapier told The Republic he signed onto Polk's letter based on the pre-emption argument.

"Everyone agrees the feds' primary target will be the dispensaries themselves, but I cannot, in good conscience, tell my clients, which in this case are county employees, to violate laws," he said, referring to zoning officials who may be asked to permit dispensaries. "I just can't do it."

by Yvonne Wingett Sanchez - Jul. 30, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com

Brewer urged to halt medical-marijuana program

Monday, September 3, 2012

Further medical pot use rejected - USATODAY.com

As director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, Will Humble is the man working behind the scenes to run Arizona's fledgling medical-marijuana program.

Over the past several months, Humble has been weighing whether to expand the program to allow legal use of the drug by those who have post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression or migraines. He's heard from patients, their families and physicians who said the drug helps manage pain at public hearings. He's listened to opponents who say the drug leads to dangerous situations in the home and on the road. He's read new University of Arizona studies that concluded there is simply not enough evidence to prove whether marijuana is medically effective. And back in college, he even tested the drug himself.

The state's program already permits medical marijuana use for conditions such as chronic pain, cancer and hepatitis C. As of late June, about 30,000 people participated in the state's program, which in certain instances, allows them to grow marijuana.

Arizona is one of 17 states nationally that allows medical marijuana. It would become the only one in the nation to allow medical marijuana for anxiety and depression if those options were approved.

In a Thursday interview with The Arizona Republic, Humble shed light on his long-awaited decision, which can be appealed.

Question: Will you put post-traumatic stress disorder on the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana? Why or why not?

Answer: No. There's just not the scientific evidence out there yet to support permanently adding any of the conditions to the qualified list, at least right now. I recognize there's a real shortage of studies and data that's out there. You base your policy decisions on science and research, and not ideology or a predetermined political point of view.

Q: You have drawn criticism from some veterans and their advocates who accuse you of being unsympathetic to their stories of how pot has changed their lives. How do you respond to that?

A: All I can say is, from the bottom of my heart, I'm not unsympathetic. The stories that the veterans told when we had our hearing were compelling. But the bottom line is: The science isn't there yet. And maybe someday there will be additional research -- and there's some research that's … at least being proposed right now.

Q: Will you put depression on the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana? Why or why not?

A: No. Same thing for depression. Depression is sort of in the category where there is very good treatment these days for depression -- very effective medications that have been through rigorous clinical trials.

Q: Will you put anxiety on the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana? Why or why not?

A: No. Anxiety was probably the one that had the least amount of research.

Q: Will you put migraines on the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana? Why or why not?

A: No. On migraines, there were almost no studies out there. Migraines is probably already on the list if it causes severe and chronic pain, which it does in a lot of patients. Migraine headaches are, by their definition, severe. The question is, at what point does a clinician think they're chronic as well? A typical clinical presentation could easily qualify a patient for a card if a clinician really thought that was the best or appropriate treatment.

Q: You have asked for scientific evidence that marijuana is medically effective. Some physicians have said that request is unreasonable because of restrictions by some agencies on testing the efficacy of marijuana. What is your response?

A: I'll concede that the clinical-trial type of research is controlled by NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) and they are pretty strict when it comes to clinical trials, when it comes to the use of testing medical marijuana. But there are all kinds of studies that can be conducted that don't need NIDA approval. The barriers that exist are really around those clinical types of studies. I've never said … that I would have to have a clinical-trial type of design in order to convince me something should be added to the list. Observational studies that are not under the control of NIDA can be very powerful if they're designed properly and eliminate … things that would confuse the results. The challenge is getting it funded. The typical federal funding sources like National Institutes of Health and NIDA aren't jumping all over this to fund it. There are challenges, but I disagree with people that research can't be done.

Q: You've heard hundreds of personal stories from people attesting marijuana has helped them manage pain and stop taking prescription pills. Do you believe them?

A: I believe that the folks -- especially the folks that came to the hearing --were very sincere in what it's done for them. And a lot of the testimony was moving. But this decision is one that I need to stay true to the principals of public health with. Using scientific literature and research to inform these kinds of policy decisions is just the bread and butter of everything we do in public health and medicine. I can't make that leap to make decisions based on individual testimony -- that's just something I can't do professionally, but I am very sympathetic and I do believe the testimony the folks had at the hearing.

Q: Has Gov. Jan Brewer, who has opposed medical marijuana, influenced your decision?

A: No.

Q: How is the program working overall in Arizona?

A: I honestly believe we have a model program … We set up the regulations, especially regarding the dispensaries and the issuance of the cards that give, I think, the best medical character in the country. Our regulations, I think, are the best in the country at trying to keep this a medical program. Part of the commitment to keeping it a medical program means … making sure we're using scientific principals to guide our way. You can see that in the decisions to not approve these petitions.

Q: Do you believe people are taking advantage of any particular diagnoses to participate in the program?

A: Are there recreational users that have accessed the system for the legal protections that it provides? Of course. But I think those folks are in the minority, in just looking at the demographics of our card users -- the ages, the types of chronic medical conditions … the vast majority are legitimately accessing the system.

Q: Have you ever tried pot either recreationally or medically?

A: Yes. Recreationally. When I was in college at NAU (Northern Arizona University). But I didn't particularly like it.

Q: Did you inhale?

A: Yes, I inhaled.

By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Republic|azcentral.com Jul 20, 2012

Further medical pot use rejected - USATODAY.com

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Medical benefits of pot in dispute - USATODAY.com

A new University of Arizona study shows little or no evidence that medical marijuana is an effective treatment for anxiety, migraines, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, a finding that could hinder efforts to expand the allowable uses for the drug in Arizona.

The researchers, working on behalf of the state Department of Health Services, which oversees the state's medical-marijuana program, reviewed dozens of scientific studies related to marijuana use for the four medical conditions and determined that most of the research was of little value in weighing the medicinal risks and benefits.

State health officials and medical-marijuana advocates agree the lack of scientific research is in large part because of restrictions on research of some controlled substances.

The UA study could affect efforts by medical-marijuana supporters to expand the state's program to include the treatment of anxiety, migraines, depression and PTSD.
State health officials have heard dozens of anecdotes about how those conditions impair daily life and how medical marijuana helps, but officials have said they will base the decision to expand the program only on scientific evidence.

"The key question for us is: Do the benefits outweigh the risks?" said Will Humble, state health director. "And there's just not that much research in this area to help form our policy decisions."

Humble will decide this month whether to expand the list of conditions eligible for medical-marijuana therapy. He has also listened to personal testimony and reviewed documents submitted by people who want to expand the medical-marijuana program.

The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, approved by voters in 2010, requires the state health department to periodically accept and evaluate petitions to allow new medical conditions into the program.

The requests now under consideration are from the first round of petitions. On July 23, state officials will open a weeklong comment period for a second round.

Health officials received numerous petitions from people who suffer from PTSD, anxiety, migraines and depression, as well as their caretakers. Some of them offered studies, medical records and personal stories about how marijuana helps them and loved ones.

More than 31,000 Arizonans currently participate in the medical-marijuana program, citing conditions ranging from chronic pain to cancer and hepatitis C. Humble said the program would expand by as many as 15,000 if post-traumatic stress alone was added as a qualifying condition.

Medical-marijuana advocates such as Dr. Sue Sisley, a Scottsdale internist in private practice and assistant professor of psychiatry and internal medicine at UA, believe marijuana soothes psychological battle wounds. She said she sees many veterans who turn to marijuana only after conventional medicine doesn't help.

Sisley said Humble's request for scientific evidence is "an unattainable standard" because it is very difficult to perform peer-reviewed studies on drugs that the federal government has determined have no medical uses.

"He knows we'll never be able to do that," said Sisley, who has been waiting since last year for the National Institute of Drug Abuse to approve a study on the efficacy of marijuana on combat veterans. "And that's a great way for him and the governor to reach their goal: to make sure this program is not expanded."

Humble and Gov. Jan Brewer have opposed medical marijuana. However, the program has moved forward, and Humble said he is trying to make his decision based on science, not politics.

"My goal is not to add things or not add things," he said. "It's to look at evidence and make a responsible decision."

Humble agreed that it is nearly impossible to conduct the kinds of testing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration generally uses to license drugs.

However, he pointed out there are other kinds of studies, called observational studies, that he would seriously weigh if performed properly.

The UA research was part of a $200,000-a-year contract the state has with the university to, in part, review studies of medical marijuana.

In their review of articles related to PTSD, the university researchers could find no study that focused on the long- and short-term treatment effects of marijuana, but listed 18 articles that came close.

Many of those articles recommended further research into PTSD and marijuana use, and the most relevant studies were generally "of low or very low quality."

Researchers found two systemic reviews that directly attempted to explore the association between depression and marijuana use. Both reviews were of low quality, the report said.

Researchers said there may be an association between marijuana use and depression, but it is unknown if one causes the other or if both are linked to a third factor.
On anxiety, researchers found conflicting evidence as to whether marijuana use and various forms of anxiety are related. The study determined most other research to be low to moderate quality -- or worse.

Researchers could find no studies assessing the risks and benefits of marijuana and migraines, saying the most relevant literature was of very low quality.

By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Republic|azcentral.comPosted Jul 17, 2012

Medical benefits of pot in dispute - USATODAY.com

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