Arizona Republic: “Arizona could see as much as $113 million in new tax revenue if it legalized marijuana for recreational use and imposed a 15 percent levy on the drug, a new study found. The study by the non-partisan Tax Foundation comes as cannabis supporters in Arizona prepare to turn in hundreds of thousands of signatures to try to put their legalization effort before voters in November.”
Nogales International: “With five applications pending from people who want to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Nogales, and the possibility that state voters will legalize recreational pot in November, the city is finally moving to establish rules for where and when marijuana-selling businesses could operate. The Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday unanimously approved recommending that the Nogales City Council adopt regulations regarding marijuana dispensaries, more than five years after the voter-approved Arizona Medical Marijuana Program went into effect in April 2011.”
Arizona’s medical marijuana law says that Arizona doctors who certify a patient as eligible to obtain a medical marijuana card have immunity as a result of the certification. Dr. Robert Gear examined a police informant, but did not review the patient’s records for the prior year as required by Arizona’s medical marijuana law. The doctor signed a medical marijuana certification for the police informant in which he certified he had reviewed the records.
The doctor was charged and defended the charge on the basis that Arizona’s medical marijuana law gave him immunity from prosecution. On May 6, 2016, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the law does not give the doctor immunity.
Phoenix New Times: “The Phoenix City Council voted 8-0, with Sal DiCiccio not voting, to thwart patients and future, potential customers of adult-use marijuana stores with new restrictions that limit where medical-marijuana dispensaries could be located. Some on the council would have made the rules stricter, if they could have, the Arizona Republic‘s Brenna Goth reported.
CBS News: “Fifty-six percent of Americans say the use of marijuana should be legal – a new high, and a slight increase from a year ago. Now just 36 percent think it should not be legal, down seven points from last year.”