Medical Marijuana Wheels Turning
Last week the federal courts dismissed our case that had asked for clarification about how the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act interfaces with the federal Controlled Substances Act. After the federal court’s dismissal of the case & after careful consideration, the Governor asked us to implement the dispensary portion of the AZ Medical Marijuana Act (despite the fact that we don’t really have clarification on important matters from the court or the US Attorney in AZ). So in last week’s update I mentioned that our first step will be to review the rules for accepting dispensary applications- but that the process had been complicated by the Compassion v. Arizona lawsuit, which challenged the scope and constitutionality of our medical marijuana rules.
Last week, the judge in the Compassion case ruled that we didn’t have the statutory authority for some of our dispensary selection criteria (like Arizona residency). With the recent ruling, we’re busy analyzing the best way to responsibly begin accepting applications for medical marijuana dispensaries. I don’t have any firm answers about what the best course to chart is yet… but we’re reviewing our options with an eye toward how to best (and most responsibly) implement the remaining portions of the Act (i.e. the dispensary portion). More to come on this.
AZ Dept. of Health Services Director’s Blog » medical marijuana
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