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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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