Maricopa Monitor: “A constitutional right to control your own health care is not a right to grow your own medical marijuana, according to an attorney for the state’s top health official. Gregory Falls is asking Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper to throw out claims by two men that they are constitutionally entitled to plant, grow and harvest the drug.”
Daily Journal: “A national marijuana-advocacy group’s support for asking Arizona voters in 2016 to legalize marijuana is drawing a wary reaction from the state’s budding industry of medical marijuana dispensaries.”
The Press Enterprise: “Murrieta officials decided Tuesday, Sept. 17, to keep intact an eight-year ban on medical marijuana dispensaries everywhere in the city, while moving the prohibition to a different section of city law that attorneys say can withstand a legal challenge.
East Valley Tribune: “A constitutional right to control your own health care is not a right to grow your own medical marijuana, according to an attorney for the state’s top health official. Gregory Falls is asking Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper to throw out claims by two men who say they are constitutionally entitled to plant, grow and harvest the drug.”
ROYT News: “Even though Illinois has signed a medical marijuana bill into law, the Department of Agriculture has much work to do in regards to regulations. Marijuana is still illegal according to federal law, which complicates matters. Still, potential growers are clamoring to get in on the ground floor in Illinois, which will limit cultivation centers to 22, and 60 dispensaries. Inspecting and regulating batches of medical marijuana may prove to be too costly and inefficient. Many are concerned that doctors recommending the drug do not understand it well enough.”
60 Minutes: “Twenty states have now legalized the medical use of marijuana for the treatment of things like glaucoma, the effects of chemotherapy, and chronic pain; defying federal laws that still consider marijuana more dangerous than cocaine and methamphetamine. In November, voters in two states, Washington and Colorado, went so far as to approve marijuana recreational use too. . . . if you want to know what legalized marijuana might look like, the place to go is Colorado, which has the most developed medical marijuana industry in the country.”
NPR: “the administration’s hands-off position in Colorado and Washington will reverberate well beyond those states. And it could actually end up imposing some semblance of order in what drug law expert Mark Kleiman describes as the ‘Wild West’ of medical marijuana. ‘And that would be a potentially very, very good result,’ says Kleiman, who previously worked in the Justice Department’s criminal division and is author of Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know. ‘Medical marijuana is a free-for-all in many states’,”
KomoNews: “Washington state is changing its plans for where marijuana businesses can be located, after the Justice Department said that enforcing federal drug laws near schools and playgrounds remains a priority ‘and will not be compromised for convenience’. . . . the DOJ told the board that it will continue enforcing the law as it has been, and any pot business within 1,000 feet of a school or playground – as measured by a straight line – is at risk of prosecution.”
Florence Reminder & Blade Tribune: “Town staff is proposing changes to the medical marijuana ordinance in response to some of the recurring issues and concerns with past applications to operate a dispensary in Florence.”
Phoenix New Times: “The national Marijuana Policy Project, bolstered by federal approval of state pot-freedom laws, plans to put a Colorado-style legalization initiative on Arizona’s ballot for 2016. It’s part of a master plan to pass similar legalization laws in 10 states by 2017.
Arizona Republic: “Zoning rules limiting the locations of Mesa medical-marijuana dispensaries could be eased after a potential dispensary operator’s struggle to find an appropriate site sparked a push among city officials to re-examine city guidelines.
Associated Press: “The Justice Department and federal banking regulators will help clear the way for financial institutions to transact business with the legitimate marijuana industry without fear of prosecution, Deputy Attorney General James Cole told Congress on Tuesday.”
See also “Justice working with banks on how to do business with pot sellers.”
Arizona Republic: “Scottsdale’s only medical-marijuana clinic has opened and is serving 15 to 20 patients a day there to purchase the drug to combat a variety of ailments. Monarch Wellness, near Via de Ventura and Pima Road, offers a variety of marijuana strains as well as edibles.
Huff Post: “Medical marijuana businesses worried that federal agents will close them down now have a roadmap to avoid prosecution, courtesy of the Justice Department’s decision to allow legal pot in Colorado and Washington state. The agency said last week that even though the drug remains illegal under federal law, it won’t intervene to block state pot laws or prosecute as long as states create strict and effective controls that follow eight conditions.”
azcentral.com: “I am a computer programmer and licensed medical marijuana patient. I only use it at night to help deaden the pain so I can sleep. My new job required me to take a drug test. Two weeks later, they told me I was being fired because I tested positive for marijuana. I showed my employer my prescription card, and later that day, they fired me for being incompetent. I had not received any complaints about my work, so I think they fired me because I use medical marijuana. What are my rights?“
Huff Post: “Drug abuse prevention groups asked the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday how it will know whether its acceptance of recreational marijuana laws in Washington and Colorado affects public health. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the groups said the DOJ’s position is a mistake and they want to know how it will measure the states’ success in meeting enforcement priorities required as part of the federal acceptance.”
USA Today: “Nearly 24 million Americans, about 9.2% of the population, use illicit drugs, and marijuana use is steadily increasing. As the nation takes a softer stance on marijuana, more Americans are using the drug, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health found. The nationwide survey made public Wednesday found that 7.3% of Americans 12 or older regularly used marijuana in 2012, up from 7% in 2011.”
An Arizona limited liability company named Wildwood Flowers, LLC, owned by Eddy Stamey is the owner of a new website called “Canna Connect.biz. The site is “where Persons Authorized to Cultivate can connect confidentially with Licensed Resellers who want access to quality cannabis at wholesale pricing for resale to their patients or customers.” The site’s business is a very “touchy” area and one that will undoubtedly cause the drug cops to join undercover.
Huffington Post: “In spite of what you may think, legal pot doesn’t just sell itself, marijuana’s marketers are finding. . . . The marketers said they’re finding much of the media industry remains hostile to pot businesses. Online search giant Google wants nothing to do with them, as do many newspaper publishers. Billboard operators are reluctant to offer them space. Even some pro-marijuana activists said they worry that an out-and-proud embrace of marijuana advertising could spark a reactionary backlash.
CBS Denver: “Health officials are continuing to see people being hospitalized with a bad reaction after taking ‘Spice.’ Police believe a bad batch of Spice is making its way around the Denver metro area and was responsible for sending dozens to the hospital last week. . . . Synthetic marijuana has been banned in Colorado.”
The ProCon.org website compiled a list of the 20 states that have legalized medical marijuana. The list contains a lot of specific information about the laws of each of the 20 states plus the District of Columbia.
The following states have legalized medical marijuana: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington.
Huffington Post: “Attorney General Eric Holder announced on Thursday that two states will be allowed to go forward with legalizing recreational marijuana use, a major move that could reshape the federal government’s policy on pot. Colorado and Washington state forced Holder’s hand when they made all marijuana use legal in November referendums — while 20 other states have some sort of medical marijuana laws on the books — but every single joint is still illegal under federal law. Many marijuana reform advocates are hopeful, but they’ve had their hopes dashed before. . . . All along the way, every year since Obama was inaugurated in 2009, the casualties of the war on weed have kept piling up: Growers, patients and you, the American taxpayer.”
Breitbart.com: “An Arizona couple was given the green light to use medical marijuana to treat their 5-year-old son who suffers from seizures caused by cortical dysplasia, a genetic brain defect. Jennifer and Jacob Welton recently contacted a naturopathic doctor and started the process to administer legal pot. Tuesday they learned their application had been approved.”
Phoenix New Times: “Dozens of medical-pot dispensaries dot the state from nearly every corner since the first one, Arizona Organix of Glendale, opened in November. A recent newsletter to patients released by the state Department of Health and obtained by New Times shows the addresses of 48 of these pioneering businesses, which teeter on the edge of a popular state law and a whimsically applied federal prohibition against cannabis.”
Here’s the ADHS list of licensed Arizona medical marijuana dispensaries. Click on the link to get more information about the dispensary and the people or organizations involved with the entity. Curious Note: Three of the dispensaries (MMJ Apothecary, Overgaard Compassion Care and Superior Organix) have names that are not the names of an entity formed in Arizona or of an entity formed outside Arizona that is registered to do business in Arizona.
203 Organix LLC
123 Merritt St.
Prescott, AZ 86301
AAA Medical Marijuana Dispensary LLC
11200 W. Michigan Ave. Ste 5
Youngtown, AZ 85363
All Greens Inc.
13431 W. Westgate Dr. Suite #103
Surprise, AZ 85378
Arizona Cannabis Society LLC
8376 N. El Mirage Rd. Bldg. 2, Ste. 2
El Mirage, AZ 85338
Arizona Natures Wellness
DBA: Bloom Sky Train
14 S. 41st Place
Phoenix, AZ 85034
Arizona Organix
5301 W. Glendale Ave.
Glendale, AZ 85301
Cannabis Research Group Inc.
DBA: Route 66 Wellness Center
341 E. Route 66
Williams, AZ 86046
Catalina Hills Botanical Care, Inc.
12152 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd. C-140
Oro Valley, AZ 85737
Globe Farmacy Inc.
200 N. Broad St.
Globe, AZ 85501
CJK Inc.
(apparently this is not C.J.&K., Inc., another corporation that has the same name)
2095 Northern Avenue
Kingman, AZ 86409
Earth’s Healing Inc.
(not in good standing with the Arizona Corporation Commission due to delinquent annual report as of 8/19/13)
2075 E. Benson Highway
Tucson, AZ 85714
Encanto Green Cross Dispensary, LLC
(not in good standing with the Arizona Corporation Commission as of 9/1/13 because of no statutory agent)
2620 W Encanto Blvd.
Phoenix, AZ 85009
Greenmed, Inc.
1115 Circulo Mercado Rd.
Rio Rico, AZ 85648
Green Medicine
DBA: Southern Arizona Integrated Therapies
112 S. Kolb Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85710
High Mountain Health LLC
1250 S. Plaza Way Ste A
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Medmar Tanque Verde LLC
8060 E. 22nd St.
Tucson, AZ 85710
MMJ Apothecary
(no entity exists in Arizona with this name, but there was a name reservation)
1175 W. Wickenburg Way Ste 4
Wickenburg, AZ 85390
Natural Herbal Remedies Inc.
752 Navajo Blvd.
Holbrook, AZ 86025
Natural Relief Clinic Inc.
DBA: Green Farmacy
1191 S. Naco Hwy
Bisbee, AZ 85603
Nature Med Inc.
(not in good standing with the Arizona Corporation Commission due to delinquent annual report as of 6/8/13)
5390 W. Ina Rd.
Marana, AZ 85743
Nature’s AZ Medicines Inc.
16913 E. Enterprise Dr.
Fountain Hills, AZ 85258
Nature’s AZ Medicines Inc.
2439 W McDowell Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85009
Herbal Assist Inc.
DBA: Mohave Green
6870 S HWY 95 Ste 251
Mohave Valley, AZ 86440
Natural Relief Clinic Inc.
DBA: Green Farmacy
24 W. Main Street
Springerville, AZ 85938
Organica Patient Group Inc.
856 S. AZ Route 89
Chino Valley, AZ 86323
Overgaard Compassion Care
(no entity exists in Arizona with this name)
3838 State Route 277
Overgaard, AZ 85933
Phoenix Relief Center Inc.
6330 S. 35th Ave. Ste 104
Phoenix, AZ 85041
Phytotherapeutics of Tucson
1633 S. Highway 92, Suite 7
Sierra Vista, AZ 85635
Ponderosa Botanical Care Inc.
DBA Ponderosa Releaf
49237 W. Papago Rd. Ste. 3
Maricopa, AZ 85139
PP Wellness Center
DBA: The Greenhouse
8160 W. Union Hills Dr. Ste A 106
Glendale, AZ 85308
PurpleMed Inc.
1010 S. Freeway Suite 130
Tucson, AZ 85745
Rainbow Collective Inc.
(not in good standing with the Arizona Corporation Commission due to delinquent annual report as of 8/21/13)
4695 N Oracle Rd. Ste #117
Tucson, AZ 85705
Rainbow Collective Inc.
(not in good standing with the Arizona Corporation Commission due to delinquent annual report as of 8/21/13)
4120 E. Speedway Blvd.
Tucson, AZ 85712
RCH Wellness Center LLC
DBA: Greenhouse of Flagstaff
460 N. Switzer Canyon Dr, Suite 100
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
Salubrious Wellness Clinic Inc.
2009 E. 5th St. Ste. 11
Tempe, AZ 85281
Superior Organix
(no entity exists in Arizona with this name)
750 S. Belmont
Superior, AZ 85173
The Desert Valley Pharmacy Inc.
1302 W. Industrial Dr. Bldg #7
Coolidge, AZ 85128
The Health Center of Cochise, Inc.
DBA Cathy’s Compassion Center
1825 W. Dragoon Road
Cochise, AZ 85606
The Health Center of Cochise, Inc.
DBA Cathy’s Compassion Center
1825 W. Dragoon Road
Cochise, AZ 85606
The Giving Tree Wellness Center of North Phoenix Inc.
21617 N. 9th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85027
The Giving Tree Wellness Center of Mesa Inc.
938 E. Juanita Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85204
The Green Halo LLC
7710 S. Wilmot Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85756
The Kind Relief Inc.
1500 Coppermine Rd.
Page, AZ 86040
Valley Healing Group Inc.
2840 Highway 95, Ste. 422
Bullhead City, AZ 86442
Valley of the Sun Medical Dispensary Inc.
16200 W. Eddie Albert Way
Goodyear, AZ 85338
Verde Dispensary, Inc.
DBA: Harvest of Tempe
710 W. Elliot Rd. Ste 102
Tempe, AZ 85284
Wickenburg Alternative Medicine LLC
511 E. Main St.
Quartzsite, AZ 85346
Zonacare
DBA: Bloom Sedona
465 Jordan Rd.
Sedona, AZ 86336