Modern Times Magazine:  “Arizona would become the first state in the U.S. to approve marijuana use for depression and anxiety if petitions requesting the addition of the conditions are approved later this summer, according to Will Humble, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. . . . Humble posted Friday afternoon that a public hearing would be begin at 1 p.m., May 25, in the State Lab,  250 N. 17th Avenue, Phoenix. The public hearing is the next stage for the four petitions requesting that four conditions be added the list of debilitating conditions that were passed by voters by way of Prop. 203 in Nov. 2010.”

Here are the important dates for people who want to submit an application to the Arizona Department of Health Services to obtain an Arizona medical marijuana Dispensary Registration Certificate (the first hurdle to get a dispensary license)

May 14, 2012 – First day to submit applications for a Dispensary Registration Certificate. ADHS will refuse any applications submitted before this date.

May 25, 2012, 5:00 pm – No applications for a Dispensary Registration Certificate will be accepted after this date and time.

June 25, 2012 – ADHS finishes reviewing all applications.

July 16, 2012 – Last day for applicants who submitted defective applications to correct all defects.

August 7, 2012 – ADHS announces winners applicants awarded Dispensary Registration Certificates.

The good news is that the application is very short and simple.  If your would be dispensary has done all of its homework (per my instructions in “Checklist for Opening an Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensary“) and is ready to actually prepare and file the application for a DRC, you will find it to be a piece of cake.

Here are the DRC application documents that every prospective Arizona medical marijuana dispensary must use:

1.  Dispensary Registration Certificate Application Checklist:  Make sure that your applicant has satisfied all of the items set forth in this document.

2.  Dispensary Registration Certificate Application Instructions:  Follow these instructions when completing the DRC Application.

3.  Dispensary Registration Certificate Application:  The actual application.  Make sure to take a duplicate to the Arizona Department of Health Services when you file the original and ask ADHS to stamp its received stamp on the duplicate.  Keep the stamped duplicate in the applicant’s file.

See the ADHS Dispensary Registration Certificate Process flow chart.

Two items to note:

1.  When you submit your DRC Application, you must include a copy of the applicant’s Bylaws drafted to comply with the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act and the final ADHS rules.  To learn more about this important document read “Bylaws – We Don’t Need No Stinking Bylaws or Do We?” and “Bylaws for Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.”

2.  The Application must contain the name of the applicant’s Medical Director.  Before you submit the name of a Medical Director you should have a signed contract between the Medical Director and applicant.  The application could be put at risk if the Medical Director were to notify ADHS that he/she ceased to be the Medical Director.  Do not rely on an oral commitment to be a Medical Director.  Read “Clauses to Include in a Contract between a Medical Director & a Dispensary” and ““Why Every Arizona Medical Marijuana Dispensary Must Hire a Primary & an Alternate Medical Director.”

The following is the text of an April 6, 2012, press release from Ingrid Joiya of Elements Caregiver Collective:

“The Arizona Department of Health Services has confirmed that the petition to add Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a debilitating illness has met the state’s requirements. Elements Caregiver Collective in concert with Compassion First Collective and Southwest Arizona Patient Alliance (SWAPA) presented the petition in January.

Most often associated with veterans who have been in active combat, PTSD can affect anyone who has suffered through a traumatic event. One in five veterans returning from Iran and Afghanistan are affected by PTSD.

Upon hearing the announcement, disability advocate and PTSD patient, Butch Williams said: “This is a great victory for those of us who suffer from this debilitating disorder. Now we can sleep, without fear of a terrifying nightmare, or constantly having to re-live the tragic event that had occurred in our life. This medicine will allow us to reset our thoughts, and understand how to get past what has happened to us. For those that suffer from PTSD, they know that controlling the anxiety and the thoughts that are constantly running through our head is exhausting to say the least; and medical marijuana allows for the anxiety to go away so we can take control of our thoughts.”

“Hopefully Arizona can become a national model for other states to consider adding this diagnosis to their medical Marijuana programs just as New Mexico has also successfully done.” Says Dr. Sue Sisley, Asst. Professor, Arizona Telemedicine Program, U of A College of Medicine. Dr. Sisley awaits DEA approval of her FDA-approved clinical study on the effects of medical marijuana on Veterans suffering from PTSD. In the meantime, the co-sponsors of the petition will work with Dr. Sisley as she conducts observational studies to collect data on these PTSD patients.

There will be a public hearing where DHS will accept public comment

May 25, 2012 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
State Laboratory Conference Room
250 N. 17th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85007

Elements Caregiver Collective will be hosting a Patient Appreciation Fair on April 15th, celebrating the first anniversary since the Department of Health Services began accepting applications. The fair will be held from 12-4:15 p.m. at Elements, 12620 N. Cave Creek Rd., Suite 1, Phoenix, AZ 85022. All patients and caregivers are welcome to share in the festivities. Free food, educational seminars and free meds will be distributed. Free registration at www.elementsaz.org“

 

13 WNET:  “What stands between terminally ill patients and the medical marijuana that could ease their pain in New Jersey is not the law, but Not-in-My-Backyard (NIMBY) backlash against dispensaries.  NIMBY battles have stalled New Jersey’s medical marijuana program ever since Gov. Chris Christie tried to move forward with plans to implement dispensaries last summer. Last week, a CEO of one of the dispensary companies said that bureaucratic sluggishness in response to the battles has cost him too much money, and he’s threatening to pull out of the business.”

Yuma Sun:  “A public policy advocate in Yuma is warning Arizonans about the rising threat of unregulated home-grown marijuana cultivation and the potential problems awaiting marijuana dispensaries if the state Legislature fails to change its licensing requirements.”

Associated Press:  “The federal government reiterated to Arizona that it will prosecute state workers for implementing the medical-marijuana program. . . . The governor will not change course and will allow the state’s medical marijuana program to move forward, Brewer spokesman Matt Benson told The Arizona Republic.”

Arizona Daily Star:  “Three gunmen burst into Tucson home where marijuana is legally grown Sunday, making off with several thousand dollars and pot, officials said.”

Huff Post:  “Medical marijuana advocates faced another setback Tuesday, when a federal judge in Sacramento dismissed a lawsuit claiming that the Obama administration broke its promise to leave the pot industry alone when it began an aggressive crackdown against California dispensaries last fall. . . . In the four months since the reinstated crackdown, a number of medical cannabis clubs across the state have been forced to shut down, including five in San Francisco and the legendary Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Marin County, California’s oldest. The District Attorney’s office has begun investigating 12 more stores in San Francisco this year.