The Redlands Daily Facts: “A Riverside County multi-agency task force has arrested the owner of a medical marijuana dispensary who authorities say weathered a ban for more than two years by paying a $1,000-a-day fine. . . . Oak Tree Alternative Care was skirting Proposition 215 and was selling marijuana for profit”
Espresso Pundit: “I get this comment all the time… Republicans pick and choose which issues the federal government should control. You guys think Arizona should have its own immigration policy, but you defer to the federal government on medical marijuana. Isn’t your whole ‘states rights’ argument just a convenient tool? It’s actually a really good question“
Phoenix New Times: “Four U.S. Congressmen want Attorney General Eric Holder to clarify the Obama Adminstration’s position on medical marijuana, and what they’re asking for cuts down party lines. Ironically, it’s two Democrats who are pushing for states’ rights, while two Republicans are demanding that the federal government keep its stranglehold on the marijuana industry.”
Huffington Post: “Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) will introduce legislation on Thursday to end the federal ban on marijuana and let the states decide whether to legalize it.”
Wall St. Journal: “Cities Crack Down on Proliferation, Say Medical Marijuana Not So Medical – In a furious backlash against the booming medical-marijuana industry, scores of cities and counties across Colorado have banned new pot shops and cannabis greenhouses or moved to oust established businesses. . . .But the public backlash may soon begin to crimp access, patient advocates say. At least 34 of Colorado’s 64 counties have enacted bans, as have cities large and small, urban, suburban and rural. Some of the jurisdictions that still permit pot shops have imposed tight restrictions, on top of the nearly 200 pages of regulations imposed by the state.”
HuffPost Denver: “Marijuana dispensaries in states that have legalized medical pot are struggling to obtain service from banks and credit-card companies, pressured by federal authorities who consider illegal the business estimated at $1.7 billion annually. Operators and supporters of marijuana dispensaries say banks are turning away their business because they risk falling afoul of anti-money-laundering and drug-trafficking laws. The largest U.S. bank, Bank of America Corp, said it started withdrawing services from dispensaries after receiving a warning from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in late 2007 or early 2008.”
One of the plaintiffs in the O.F. & C., Inc. vs. Humble lawsuit filed in the Arizona Court of Appeals is an organization called Protect Arizona Patients, Inc. This nonprofit corporation is leading the fight to force Arizona to comply with and fully implement Proposition 203. If you agree with this position, you should consider making a contribution to the O.F. & C., Inc. vs. Humble legal fund. Litigation is not cheap and every dollar counts. For more about this Protect Arizona Patients and its fight to force DHS to implement the medical marijuana dispensaries, go to its website.
PRWeb: “Will Humble, the Executive Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) was served last Tuesday with a copy of a Special Action filed in the Arizona Court of Appeals (No. 1 CA-SA 11-016). The lawsuit was the first of two actions filed against ADHS seeking judicial relief. The second action (LC2011-000410) was filed in Maricopa County Superior Court. Both lawsuits are seeking a court order directing Will Humble and the ADHS to fully implement the licensing of the Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.”
Read the Complaint.
Sacramento Bee: “Authorities raided a south Sacramento marijuana dispensary Thursday and arrested its operator and his father, alleging the pot shop has been operating illegally as a for-profit organization. Elk Grove police, along with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, served a search warrant at the R&R Wellness Center on Quinta Court”
The Daily News: “Earlier this month, sheriff’s deputies were called to a West Longview apartment where people were smoking marijuana. A woman presented a deputy with a medical marijuana card, according to a report, and the deputy left. No citations. No arrests. The deputy later explained to the person who called in the complaint that ‘there was nothing to be done.’ Marijuana, once reviled as a dangerous narcotic, lumped with heroin and cocaine, has become more widely accepted in recent years than many thought possible.”
Phoenix New Times: “Gilbert police made another medical-marijuana raid last week — this one at the office of a Tempe advocacy group where patients sold pot to other patients. About 4 p.m. last Thursday, cops — some in masks — entered the small office of the Medical Marijuana Advocacy Group, in an industrial complex at 2011 East Fifth Street. They placed the founder, an employee, and several customers in handcuffs for more than an hour and searched the place. Several ounces of weed, including live plants, were seized.”
Here are some stories from the Arizona Republic about recent developments with use permits for medical marijuana dispensaries.
Memo to Arizona Medical Marijuana Patients Who Grow Their Own Pot – Don’t ever let a Direct TV installer near your plants! East Valley Tribune: “A couple hours after a DirecTV worker saw marijuana and hashish inside a bedroom closet of Ross Taylor’s Gilbert home during the installation process of a satellite dish, 12 Gilbert police officers wearing masks and toting guns busted into his house and took his pot. Taylor, 35, is a card-carrying medical marijuana patient under Arizona’s new voter-approved law”
For more on this story that is outrageous in several ways, read Ray Stern’s story in the Phoenix New Times called “Gilbert Police Storm Home, Seize Two Ounces of Marijuana From Card-Holding Medical Pot Patient. Really,” which states:
“Sergeant Bill Balafas, Gilbert PD spokesman, tells New Times that because Taylor bought the pot from another person, as opposed to growing it himself, the possession wasn’t legal despite his status as a patient.”
If Sargeant Balafas is correct, then every person in Arizona who obtains a medical marijuana patient or caregiver card and who acquires marijuana from a source not authorized by Arizona’s medical marijuana law such as from a licensed Arizona medical marijuana dispensary (of which there are none) can be charged with a crime. Arizona’s medical marijuana law is written in such a way that the only way for an Arizona medical marijuana dispensary to get any marijuana to grow when the industry begins is from patients and caregivers who give the plants or seeds to the dispensary for free.
Inside Tucson Business: “A group of would-be medical marijuana dispensary operators have filed a lawsuit against the state of Arizona in an effort to force the state to issue dispensary licenses. Scottsdale-based Rose Law Group filed the complaint for special action in Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday (June 14) on behalf of Serenity Arizona, Inc. and Medzona Group, Inc., both non-profit organizations intent on entering the state’s nascent medical marijuana industry.”
The Press Enterprise: “Seven people were arrested Wednesday and an eighth is being sought after San Bernardino County sheriff’s investigators raided a medical marijuana dispensary in Bloomington that authorities said operated illegally. The arrests followed a three-month investigation into the Cognoscente Patients Collective . . . which investigators say was selling marijuana for profit in violation of the state’s medical marijuana law.”
Sacramento Bee: “Authorities raided a south Sacramento marijuana dispensary Thursday and arrested its operator and his father, alleging the pot shop has been operating illegally as a for-profit organization. . . . Police believe the dispensary has not been adhering to provisions of the state’s Compassionate Use Act, Trim said, instead operating as a for-profit organization and ‘essentially acting as illegal marijuana dealers.’ Under state law, dispensaries must operate as nonprofit patient organizations.”
NJ.com: “Gov. Chris Christie last night said he won’t allow medical marijuana for chronically ill patients until the federal government assures him they won’t prosecute anyone for working in the program. It is a new stipulation by the governor, who has been accused of intentionally trying to delay the law. “The federal government is saying medical marijuana is against the law,” Christie said in an appearance on the “On the Line” call-in show, which was televised tonight on New Jersey Network and streamed live on NJ.com. “Until I get that assurance, I cannot ask people to do things that they might get prosecuted by federal prosecutors.”
The Daily Astorian: “When Nature’s Choice Alternative Medicine opened in Astoria in April and provided patients, care givers and growers with Oregon Medical Marijuana Program cards access to marijuana and supplies, law enforcement called it a potentially illegal operation. They said that Nature’s Choice – as well as dozens of similar locations across Oregon – was taking advantage of a loophole in Oregon’s unclear law. Wednesday, Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin served Nature’s Choice owner Nick Clark a notice stating that the sale of marijuana for any purpose, including medicine, would not be tolerated.”
Yesterday attorney David Dow filed an Emergency Petition for Special Action re: Writ of Mandamus in the Arizona Court of Appeals. The lawsuit ask the Court to issue an Order:
“A. In the form of an emergency Writ of Mandamus commanding Respondent [Will Humble as ADHS Director] to fully implement the AMMA by accepting dispensary applications within thirty (30) days of the execution of this Writ, and to process those applications and issue licenses within the timeframes outlined in the AMMA;
B. To find that Respondents’ action in refusing to accept and process such dispensary applications, and to issue dispensary licenses is arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of discretion;”
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are: (1) O.F. & C., INC., an Arizona Non-Profit Corporation, d/b/a THE VIRTUE CENTER; (2) ELEMENTS THERAPEUTIC DISPENSARY, an Arizona Non-Profit Corporation; (3) ARIZONA DISPENSARY SOLUTIONS, L.L.C., an Arizona Limited Liability Company; (4) ARIZONA ALTERNATIVE RELIEF CENTERS, INC., an Arizona Non Profit Corporation d/b/a MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES; (5) PROTECT ARIZONA PATIENTS, INC., an Arizona Non-Profit Corporation; (6) CULTIVATION MANAGEMENT SERVICES, an Arizona Limited Liability Company; (7) HEATHER TORGERSON; and (8) STEPHEN JOHNSON.
Arizona Republic: “Two prospective medical marijuana dispensary owners sued the Arizona Department of Health Services and its director Tuesday in hopes of forcing the state to launch the stalled permit application process. Serenity Arizona and Medzona Group had the property leases, zoning permits and capital to open up to six dispensaries across the state and planned to apply for permits this month.”
See “Marijuana-Dispensary Hopefuls Sue State Over Governor Brewer’s Attack on Voter-Approved Law.”
Two different lawsuits were filed today. The Rose Law Group filed one and attorney David Dow filed the other with the Arizona Court of Appeals.
The following is from Will Humble’s blog:
Today I was served with a lawsuit that challenges the State (and the Department) for not implementing the dispensary portion of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act. The case, filed in the AZ Court of Appeals, asks a judge to order us to follow the rules that we published on April 14 and begin accepting dispensary applications.
We worked very hard to implement the law until we received a letter from the U.S. Attorney in Arizona. That letter, dated May 2, states the Department of Justice will: “…continue to vigorously prosecute individuals and organizations that participate in activity…involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law.” “Individuals and organizations…that knowingly facilitate the actions of traffickers should also know that compliance with AMMA will not protect them from federal prosecution….”
With that information, the Governor and I (with the advice of attorneys) decided not to continue with full implementation of the Act until we receive clarification about whether it’s legal from the federal court. We’ve suspended the implementation of dispensary portions of the law and aren’t currently accepting any applications. As of today, we’ve had three groups try to apply for a dispensary certificate and we’ve turned them away.
We began accepting and processing applications for Qualifying Patients and Designated Caregivers several weeks ago and we’re still accepting and processing these applications. As of June 9th, we’ve approved more than 5,000 Patient and 126 Caregiver cards.”
Note that Mr. Humble failed to explain why he and Governor Brewer shut down only the dispensary component of Arizona’s medical marijuana law while allowing state employees to continue to risk federal prosecution by facilitating the growing and use of marijuana by thousands of patients and caregivers under Arizona’s medicl marijuana laws.
Arizona Republic Opinion by Dr. Elaine M. Burns: “Confusion over the conflicts, both imagined and real, between Arizona’s voter-approved medical-marijuana law and federal law has been running rampant in recent weeks. On one hand, the federal government has warned growers and sellers of the potential for prosecution while stating a hands-off policy toward those who have been certified for use. On the other hand, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Attorney General Tom Horne have replied to U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke’s warnings with yet another lawsuit, incurring more needless legal fees for Arizona taxpayers and seriously delaying full implementation of the new law.”
Arizona Republic: “Gilbert Town Council has sided with opponents of two proposed medical marijuana dispensaries and rejected a Planning Commission recommendation the two facilities be approved and sent to the state for further action. The council on Thursday granted the appeals of several nearby residents and business owners who contended the two proposed dispensaries in the town’s northwestern part of town violated the town’s requirement that they be located a minimum 1,000 feet away from a community park.”
The Fresno Bee: “Attorneys for medical marijuana collectives on Thursday disputed Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims’ claim that the collectives are “money-making drug operations” and are illegal. ‘The Board of Supervisors made it clear in December that instead of regulating [the collectives] they wanted to ban them all,’ said attorney Brenda Linder of Fresno, a spokesman for EarthSource, one of five collectives raided Wednesday. ‘I assume they set about doing it any way they could’.”
See “Fresno Co. Deputies Bust Medical Marijuana Dispensaries.”
Arizona Republic: “Attorney Steve White says if his clients open a medical-marijuana dispensary at 46th Street and Chandler Boulevard in Ahwatukee Foothills, it would be ‘the most boring business in the neighborhood.’ . . . So even though under Phoenix law the planned dispensary is too close to St. John Bosco Catholic School and Summit School of Ahwatukee, White has asked for a zoning variance so Nowak can run a dispensary at 4611 E. Chandler Blvd. anyway.”
Verde Independent: “‘It is mostly attorneys and realtors who are scouting Cottonwood area sites for medical marijuana dispensaries,’ says Cottonwood long-range planner Charlie Scully, ‘rather than potential operators.’ Until Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne filed a suit on behalf of the state to test the voter’s Medical Marijuana initiative, Scully’s office had received a small flurry of requests for an appropriate zoning review.”
Arizona Republic: “Medical-marijuana patients can be fired from their jobs in Washington state even if they use the drug only outside the workplace, the Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday.”
Phoenix New Times: “Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne discussed a plan to launch legal action against the state’s medical marijuana law during a January sit-down meeting with the law’s biggest opponent. Carolyn Short, who led last year’s unsuccessful campaign to defeat Proposition 203, refers to the meeting in a February 16 letter to state Department of Health Services Director Will Humble . . . . Instead, the governor and AG appear to be working in concert with Proposition 203’s opponents to defeat the law by any means necessary.”
College Times: “GreenHorizons University (1410 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale) opened its doors May 15, teaching class-goers how to grow and cultivate medicinal marijuana. However, students won’t be handling the plant itself. Instead, students of Green Horizons University will grow tomatoes, thanks to their similar growing process and cycle. In addition to hosting the grow school, Green Horizons is also a hydro store.”
Verde Independent: “State Health Director Will Humble turned away a request by doctors Wednesday to operate a marijuana dispensary, paving the way for a lawsuit. Humble acknowledged that his refusal to even accept an application comes despite a voter-approved law requiring his agency to license about 125 dispensaries around the state. And it is directly contrary to the department’s own rules that say the first requests would be considered Wednesday.”