April 2011 - Page 3 of 3 - Arizona Medical Marijuana Law

Final DHS Rules Now Available on an Individual Rule Basis

The final Arizona Department of Health Services final Arizona medical marijuana rules are a big pain to read and review. We’ve made it much easier for people to find individual rules and read just that one rule. Each rule on our website also links to any rule or statute referenced within the rule. Do yourself a favor – when you want to read a specific DHS rule move your mouse over the menu heading at the top of the page that says “Rules Table of Contents” then move down to select Article 1, 2 or 3. When your mouse hovers over an Article the individual rules within each Article are displayed. Move your mouse to the right and down then click on the rule you want to read.

By On the Net|2011-04-04T20:45:59-07:00April 4th, 2011|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

What is the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association and Why Is Will Humble Helping It Raise Money?

Today I got an email from info@azmma.org. The message said

“Seeking a cultivation and product solution to meet the needs of your dispensary? Then attend the Medical Marijuana Industry Forums this week, hosted by the Marijuana Policy Project and the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association, and sponsored by [deleted]. . . . attendees will have the opportunity to meet with AzMMA Partners who can help contribute to the business plan, DHS application, and actual operation of dispensaries. Partners providing insurance, employee benefits, product testing, banking and credit card payment services, security, and more.”

The message concluded with this statement,

“The Arizona Medical Marijuana Association is a non-profit, membership-based, professional association that seeks to advance interests of Arizona’s medical marijuana profession and the patients it serves.”

On Saturday I got another email message from the same sender that started “Need banking services for your dispensary?” and then proceeded to peddle its banking partner. I am confused. Is the AzMMA a “non-profit, membership-based, professional association that seeks to advance interests of Arizona’s medical marijuana profession,” a sales and marketing organization or is it even a legal entity recognized by the State of Arizona?

One thing is certain – the AzMMA is not is a legally created Arizona corporation or a nonprofit professional association. Although Joe Yuhas either reserved the name “Arizona Medical Marijuana Association” or filed Articles of Incorporation for an entity with that name on March 8, 2011, to date no corporation has been formed in Arizona with that name. Nor has an entity with that name formed outside Arizona registered to do business in Arizona. I just checked the Arizona Corporation Commission’s website and it shows that the Arizona Corporation Commission is working on Articles of Incorporation filed on March 22, 2011, and that it’s time to review documents filed on an expedited basis is five business days. Check the ACC’s corporate status website for yourself and see if you can find an entity formed in Arizona or registered to do business in Arizona under the name “Arizona Medical Marijuana Association.”

The AzMMA’s emails and its website claim it is a “professional association.” It’s website even claims that is was formed in 2010 shortly after the passage of Proposition 203. Technically, even if it were an ACC approved corporation the AzMMA could not be a professional association under Arizona law. The terms “professional association” and “professional corporation” under Arizona’s statutory law refer to a specific type of corporation formed pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes Section 10-2201 et seq. Section 10-2211, states:

“a corporation may elect professional corporation status under section 10-2210 solely for the purpose of rendering professional services, including services ancillary to them, and solely within a single profession.”

Arizona’s professional corporation statutes only allow certain professionals such as doctors, lawyers, Realtors, and accountants to form an Arizona professional association and the corporation’s activities are limited to practicing the profession through its licensed professionals. I have no idea why the AzMMA wants to be or claims to be a “professional association.”

Another thing I noticed is that the AzMMA is very stealthy. When it sent letters to the Arizona Department of Health Services commenting on the proposed rules, the AzMMA had a graphical logo and its name on the letterhead, but no address or phone number. The AzMMA’s website does not have an address or a phone number or even a name of anybody associated with the organization. Why the secrecy? Why can’t the public know where to find the AzMMA and who its leaders are?

For some baffling reason the AzMMA seems to be the media’s go-to quote-machine whenever something happens related to Arizona medical marijuana. For example, the Phoenix New Times, the Arizona Capitol Times and the Daily Courier all called Andrew Myers of the “Arizona Medical Marijuana Association” for comments when DHS released the final rules on March 28, 2011. Perhaps the story writers should do a little investigative journalism and find out more about the secretive and not quite able to incorporation AzMMA. You would think that a reporter would do a little fact checking before writing a story and quoting a person who claims to be part of a nonprofit association that in reality is not a validly existing Arizona entity.

Tomorrow and the next day the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association and the Marijuana Policy Project are sponsoring a four hour forum with six speakers who will talk about Arizona’s medical marijuana laws. Will Humble is one of the speakers. Why is Will Humble providing his name and the authority of Arizona Department of Health Services in assisting the AzMMA to make a buck? The price of admission is $300. Not bad for a self-proclaimed “nonprofit association.” The sign-up page for the forum is on the Marijuana Policy Project’s website. It says, “If your company wants to sponsor this pair of events for $5,000, please email MPP at RobKampia@mpp.org.” Again, not too shabby for a “nonprofit association.”

Besides the AzMMA, there are four sponsors (4 x $5,000 – $20,000) for the event:

Gammage & Burnham law firm – It’s providing an election law attorney (?) and two zoning attorneys (?) as forum speakers.
TAG Employer Services was founded by Ron Bleich and Jack Biltis in 2003
National Cannabis Industry Association whose board of directors includes Joe Yuhas (of Riester and the AzMMA), Rob Kampia (of the Marijuana Policy Project) and Ken Kulow (of Chameleon Glass and the Arizona Medical Marijuana Industry Association). Kampia and Yuhas are speakers at the forum.
Medicine Dispensing Systems – distributor of the marijuana vending machine.

It appears that the forum may be a way for MPP to raise money for its own use. One of MPP’s stated purposes is to “Change state laws to reduce or eliminate penalties for the medical and non-medical use of marijuana.” Whether or not you agree with MPP’s purpose, it just doesn’t seem right for Will Humble and ADHS to assist MPP and AzMMA or any organization to raise money for their private purposes.

Question for Mr. Humble: If another fledgling Arizona medical marijuana industry association (there are a lot of these outfits vying to become the industry’s support organization) were to ask you to speak, would you speak for 30 – 60 minutes so it could charge sponsors $5,000 and attendees $300? If not, why do it for the secretive AzMMA?

By On the Net|2019-06-14T08:24:57-07:00April 3rd, 2011|Stories & Articles|5 Comments

AMML Sets New Monthly Visitor Record for March 2011

Thanks to all who helped this website set a new monthly record for visitors in one month. Last month (March of 2011) was our third month on the net and we had 21,421 visitors.

By On the Net|2011-04-03T21:20:18-07:00April 3rd, 2011|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Arizona can be Model for Legal Use of Medical Marijuana

Arizona Republic editorial: “The Arizona Republic opposed the medical-marijuana law because such measures in other states have led to widespread abuse. There may be a way to prevent that from happening here, and it’s a goal worth pursuing.”

By On the Net|2011-04-02T14:59:19-07:00April 2nd, 2011|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Can a the Medical Director of an Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensary also Write Certifications for Qualifying Patients? Good Question

As an experienced MD clinician who is a strong believer in the right of patients to obtain medical marijuana if it may provide relief for their specific medical condition, I was interested in serving as a medical director for a non-profit that will be successful in obtaining a license to operate a dispensary from DHS later this year. In addition, I was also looking forward to be able to write certifications for qualifying patients. However, the language set forth in R9-17-312.E in the second (1/31) draft rules explicitly prohibited a medical director from providing certifications to any qualifying patients:

“A medical director shall not establish a physician-patient relationship or provide a written certification for medical marijuana for a qualifying patient.”

I suppose DHS felt there might be a conflict of interest if a medical director also provided certifications to patients. Perhaps the agency was concerned that a director might be tempted to act unprofessionally and provide a certification to an unqualified patient in order to drum up business for the dispensary for which he or she was associated – a very unlikely scenario.

So, you can imagine my delight when I read the final rules that seemed to do away with this unnecessary prohibition. The corresponding rule, R9-17-313.E, no longer states that a medical director cannot have a physician-patient relationship nor provide certifications for any patients qualifying for marijuana as in the prior draft. The current rule appears to just prohibit the medical director from writing certifications for qualifying patients who would obtain marijuana from “the dispensary” for which he or she serves as director:

“A medical director for a dispensary shall not provide a written certification for medical marijuana for a qualifying patient obtaining medical marijuana from the dispensary”

But my delight soon turned to confusion when I read this specific answer to one of the FAQ’s on the DHS website:

“What will a dispensary’s medical director do? The duties of a dispensary’s medical director include developing information and training for dispensary agents and customers. A medical director is not permitted by the rules to provide written certifications for medical marijuana.”

Any reasonable interpretation of R-9-17-313.E would conclude that the phrase “the dispensary” means the dispensary for which the medical director works. For the FAQ to be accurate, the phrase “the dispensary” in the rule would have to mean any dispensary in Arizona. If, indeed, this were the intention of DHS, then why would it change the language in the second draft rule which was so clear about such a prohibition and left no room for interpretation?

Clearly, this is a matter that needs to be clarified for those physicians, like myself, who would like to serve as a dispensary medical director and also provide written certifications for qualifying patients.

Jason E. Gittman, MD
http://www.medlawconsults.com/
jgittman@medlawconsults.com

By Jason Gittman MD|2011-04-01T18:17:56-07:00April 1st, 2011|Medical Directors|Comments Off

Final Rules on Medical Pot Too Tough on Patients, One Doctor Says; Other Pot Advocates Satisfied With Rules

Ray Stern, Phoenix New Times: “The final rules for medical marijuana are too tough on patients and may encourage a lawsuit, says one Valley doctor. Edgard Suter, an East Valley nuclear medicine physician who has been an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana, decried an addition to the draft rules that requires doctors to state the underlying condition causing “chronic or severe pain.” He already was unhappy that state officials plan to monitor the recommendations that physicians make and turn in prolific recommendation writers to medical boards for possible discipline.”

By On the Net|2011-04-01T02:32:09-07:00April 1st, 2011|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Pot Users Who Still Have Two Brain Cells to Rub Together Should Try to Obtain Medical Marijuana Card

Ray Stern, Phoenix New Times: “If you ever smoke or use marijuana, it’s time to see the doctor. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act is the law of the land, and now the state Department of Health Services has provided a map to legal immunity for anyone interested in possessing pot. The final rules from the DHS spell out exactly need to be done to obtain a recommendation from a doctor for a state medical-marijuana card.”

By On the Net|2011-04-01T02:26:45-07:00April 1st, 2011|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

Next Step in Federal Medical Marijuana Recognition is Congressional Action

The American Independent: “Last November, medical marijuana advocates launched the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), a lobbying organization dedicated to representing the interests of the medical marijuana industry on the federal level. Today marks NCIA’s first official ‘congressional lobbying day,’ during which representatives of the organization are meeting with members of Congress to argue for the protection of medical marijuana interests. To kick off the day, NCIA held a press conference this morning that included presentations by medical marijuana dispensary owners, cannabis researchers and U.S. Representative Jared Polis (D-Colo.), an avowed supporter of medical marijuana rights.

See “Congressman Calls For an End to the War on Weed.”

By On the Net|2015-04-06T18:50:22-07:00April 1st, 2011|Stories & Articles|Comments Off

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