Phoenix New Times:  “Hundreds of applications for medical-marijuana dispensaries — along with their $5,000 application fees — poured into the state Department of Health Services last week.  The latest update on the Arizona DHS Web site shows 484 applications received in 99 of the 126 districts (a.k.a., “CHAAs,”) around Arizona that are allowed to have the facilities, which under state law can cultivate and sell marijuana to qualified patients.  Permits are expected to be granted on August 7.”

Yuma Sun:  “Nearly 500 applications have been submitted by those hoping to operate one or more of the 126 legal marijuana dispensaries that will be allowed to open later this year. . . . The Estrella area southwest of Phoenix garnered the most applications with 16. But 11 other areas had double-digit requests, including Catalina north of Tucson.”

I have enjoyed creating this website since it went public in early January of 2011.  As of the moment I am writing this my Arizona Medical Marijuana Law website has had 139,893 viewers.  The best month was March of 2011 when the site had 21,421.  The best day was March 28, 2011, when 1,572 people viewed the site. (more…)

Modern Times:  “Several Community Health Analysis Areas did not receive an application. Those CHAAs are: Kaibab Paiute, Hualapai, Navajo Nation, Hopi Nation, Havasupai, White Moiuntain Apache, Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe, San Carlos Apache, Colorado Indian Tribes, Yavapai-Fort McDowell, Maricopa County West, Paradise Valley, Salt River, Gila River, Chandler Northwest, Tohono O’Odham, Yuma Northwest, Cocopah, Somerton, San Luis, Ak-Chin, Tucson West, San Xavier District, Pascua Yaqui, Green Valley, Tombstone/Elfrida and Nogales.  Several CHAAs received only one application, which means that as long as those who did apply have their applications in order, they will be awarded the dispensary certificate. The CHAAs with only one application are: Littlefield, Fort Mohave, St. Johns, Globe/Hayden, Maricopa County North, Desert View/North Gateway, Glendale North, Sun City, Avondale, Mesa Central, Ahwatukee Foothills, Chandler Southeast, Duncan/Morenci, Graham County South, Yuma East, Yuma South, San Manuel, Florence, Ajo, Marana, Tucson Northwest, Arivaca, Bisbee, and Douglas.”

Rasmussen Reports:  “A new national telephone survey of Likely Voters shows that 56% favor legalizing and regulating marijuana in a similar manner to the way alcohol and tobacco cigarettes are regulated.”

New York Times:  “THREE and a half years ago, on my 62nd birthday, doctors discovered a mass on my pancreas. It turned out to be Stage 3 pancreatic cancer. I was told I would be dead in four to six months. Today I am in that rare coterie of people who have survived this long with the disease. But I did not foresee that after having dedicated myself for 40 years to a life of the law, including more than two decades as a New York State judge, my quest for ameliorative and palliative care would lead me to marijuana. . . . Because criminalizing an effective medical technique affects the fair administration of justice, I feel obliged to speak out as both a judge and a cancer patient suffering with a fatal disease. I implore the governor and the Legislature of New York, always considered a leader among states, to join the forward and humane thinking of 16 other states and pass the medical marijuana bill this year. Medical science has not yet found a cure, but it is barbaric to deny us access to one substance that has proved to ameliorate our suffering.”

Today at 5:00 pm Arizona time the Arizona Department of Health Services will cease to accept applications for Arizona medical marijuana dispensary registration certificates, which is required to obtain a license to operate a dispensary.  As of the end of the day yesterday 250 would-be dispensaries had submitted applications and paid the $5,000 application fee.  As of yesterday there were 42 CHAAs that had not yet received a dispensary application and 20 CHAAs had only one applicatant.

If you intend to become involved with an Arizona medical marijuana dispensary I urge you to read my article called “Warning to Everybody Considering Becoming Involved with an Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensary.”

Phoenix New Times:  “The state opened the door for medical-marijuana dispensary applications yesterday, receiving 15 by the end of the day. . . . The first thing you probably noticed is what’s not on the list yet. A dispensary in Ajo before Tempe? Really? . . . That was just one unwelcome sign that spurred local lawyer and blogger Richard Keyt to write a “warning” for people considering investing in or running a dispensary.

Washington Post:  “During the 2008 campaign, Barack Obama raised hopes among those who support medical marijuana by pledging to respect state laws on the issue. But his administration has reversed course and massively escalated the federal government’s attacks on medical marijuana businesses, most of which are legal under their states’ laws.  This is perplexing because medical marijuana is far more popular than Obama is. A Washington Post-ABC News poll from January 2010 found that 81 percent of Americans supported legalizing medical marijuana. . . . Simply put, Obama has become more hostile to medical marijuana patients than any president in U.S. history.”

In Dreams from His Father the self-admitted former pot head who is now the President of the United States at war with medical marijuana said this about his drug use in his youth:

“I had learned not to care. I blew a few smoke rings, remembering those years. Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it.”

In a 2007 speech to students then Senator Obama :

“You know, I made some bad decisions …. You know, got into drinking and experimenting with drugs. There was a whole stretch of time where I didn’t apply myself.”

Brietbart.com says:

“The Chicago Tribune reported back in 2007 that Obama thanked the ‘Choom Gang’ in his high school yearbook; ‘chooming’ was Hawaiian slang for smoking pot. The Honolulu Advertiser reported that Obama’s senior portrait ‘prominently displayed . . .  A package of ‘Zig-Zag’ rolling papers and a matchbook’.”