KTAR radio: “As Arizona’s medical marijuana program moves toward a launching point, the challenge is to keep it ‘medical.’ Dr. Will Humble, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said it would not take much to turn the legal program, approved by voters last November, into a recreational pot program.”
Arizona Republic: “A week after the Arizona Department of Health Services released its final rules for the voter-approved medical marijuana program, a Phoenix man is seeking city permission to build Chandler’s first marijuana-growing operation. William Myer and his Arizona Organix wants a permit to cultivate marijuana in an industrial park building at 6730 W. Chicago St.”
North County Times: “Two years ago, James Stacy operated a martial arts studio in Vista. Then he opened a medical marijuana dispensary in the same building. Within 10 weeks, he landed in federal jail. Stacy fought federal criminal charges, lost, and now, with a felony drug conviction, is without a full-time job or significant income. But along the way, he said, he found a new calling: activism.”
Eastern Arizona Courier: “Arizonans now know what steps they must take before legally growing, selling or using medical marijuana, according to Arizona state laws.”
Laura Nelson, M.D.. Chief Medical Officer, Arizona Department of Health Services, and Will Humble, Director, Arizona Department of Health Services posted an “Open Letter to Arizona Physicians on Medical Marijuana” on Mr. Humble’s blog. The text begins:
“Thank you for your interest in the effective implementation of the AZ Medical Marijuana Act. We realize that many Arizona physicians may not yet feel comfortable with or fully informed about medicinal marijuana. It is likely that some of your patients will have questions for you about medical marijuana or even request a certification from you. Given your established relationships with your patients, you are in the best position to determine if medical marijuana is likely to be beneficial for them. To assist you, we have reviewed numerous articles and sources of information about the medical use of marijuana.”
Associated Press: “Willis is not only packing a concealed handgun permit in her wallet, she also has a medical marijuana card. That combination has led the local sheriff to try to take her gun permit away. She is part of what is considered the first major court case in the country to consider whether guns and marijuana can legally mix.”
Recordnet.com: “Dispensaries run into difficulties dealing with financial institutions. Stockton and other local government agencies in California require medical marijuana dispensaries to promptly deposit cash into bank accounts. The federal government, meanwhile, is putting pressure on financial institutions to make that more difficult. Medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the state have been getting letters in recent months from their banks telling them their accounts are frozen or closed.”
The final Arizona Department of Health Services final Arizona medical marijuana rules are a big pain to read and review. We’ve made it much easier for people to find individual rules and read just that one rule. Each rule on our website also links to any rule or statute referenced within the rule. Do yourself a favor – when you want to read a specific DHS rule move your mouse over the menu heading at the top of the page that says “Rules Table of Contents” then move down to select Article 1, 2 or 3. When your mouse hovers over an Article the individual rules within each Article are displayed. Move your mouse to the right and down then click on the rule you want to read.
Today I got an email from [email protected]. The message said
“Seeking a cultivation and product solution to meet the needs of your dispensary? Then attend the Medical Marijuana Industry Forums this week, hosted by the Marijuana Policy Project and the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association, and sponsored by [deleted]. . . . attendees will have the opportunity to meet with AzMMA Partners who can help contribute to the business plan, DHS application, and actual operation of dispensaries. Partners providing insurance, employee benefits, product testing, banking and credit card payment services, security, and more.”
The message concluded with this statement,
“The Arizona Medical Marijuana Association is a non-profit, membership-based, professional association that seeks to advance interests of Arizona’s medical marijuana profession and the patients it serves.”
On Saturday I got another email message from the same sender that started “Need banking services for your dispensary?” and then proceeded to peddle its banking partner. I am confused. Is the AzMMA a “non-profit, membership-based, professional association that seeks to advance interests of Arizona’s medical marijuana profession,” a sales and marketing organization or is it even a legal entity recognized by the State of Arizona?
One thing is certain – the AzMMA is not is a legally created Arizona corporation or a nonprofit professional association. Although Joe Yuhas either reserved the name “Arizona Medical Marijuana Association” or filed Articles of Incorporation for an entity with that name on March 8, 2011, to date no corporation has been formed in Arizona with that name. Nor has an entity with that name formed outside Arizona registered to do business in Arizona. I just checked the Arizona Corporation Commission’s website and it shows that the Arizona Corporation Commission is working on Articles of Incorporation filed on March 22, 2011, and that it’s time to review documents filed on an expedited basis is five business days. Check the ACC’s corporate status website for yourself and see if you can find an entity formed in Arizona or registered to do business in Arizona under the name “Arizona Medical Marijuana Association.”
The AzMMA’s emails and its website claim it is a “professional association.” It’s website even claims that is was formed in 2010 shortly after the passage of Proposition 203. Technically, even if it were an ACC approved corporation the AzMMA could not be a professional association under Arizona law. The terms “professional association” and “professional corporation” under Arizona’s statutory law refer to a specific type of corporation formed pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes Section 10-2201 et seq. Section 10-2211, states:
“a corporation may elect professional corporation status under section 10-2210 solely for the purpose of rendering professional services, including services ancillary to them, and solely within a single profession.”
Arizona’s professional corporation statutes only allow certain professionals such as doctors, lawyers, Realtors, and accountants to form an Arizona professional association and the corporation’s activities are limited to practicing the profession through its licensed professionals. I have no idea why the AzMMA wants to be or claims to be a “professional association.”
Another thing I noticed is that the AzMMA is very stealthy. When it sent letters to the Arizona Department of Health Services commenting on the proposed rules, the AzMMA had a graphical logo and its name on the letterhead, but no address or phone number. The AzMMA’s website does not have an address or a phone number or even a name of anybody associated with the organization. Why the secrecy? Why can’t the public know where to find the AzMMA and who its leaders are?
For some baffling reason the AzMMA seems to be the media’s go-to quote-machine whenever something happens related to Arizona medical marijuana. For example, the Phoenix New Times, the Arizona Capitol Times and the Daily Courier all called Andrew Myers of the “Arizona Medical Marijuana Association” for comments when DHS released the final rules on March 28, 2011. Perhaps the story writers should do a little investigative journalism and find out more about the secretive and not quite able to incorporation AzMMA. You would think that a reporter would do a little fact checking before writing a story and quoting a person who claims to be part of a nonprofit association that in reality is not a validly existing Arizona entity.
Tomorrow and the next day the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association and the Marijuana Policy Project are sponsoring a four hour forum with six speakers who will talk about Arizona’s medical marijuana laws. Will Humble is one of the speakers. Why is Will Humble providing his name and the authority of Arizona Department of Health Services in assisting the AzMMA to make a buck? The price of admission is $300. Not bad for a self-proclaimed “nonprofit association.” The sign-up page for the forum is on the Marijuana Policy Project’s website. It says, “If your company wants to sponsor this pair of events for $5,000, please email MPP at [email protected].” Again, not too shabby for a “nonprofit association.”
Besides the AzMMA, there are four sponsors (4 x $5,000 – $20,000) for the event:
It appears that the forum may be a way for MPP to raise money for its own use. One of MPP’s stated purposes is to “Change state laws to reduce or eliminate penalties for the medical and non-medical use of marijuana.” Whether or not you agree with MPP’s purpose, it just doesn’t seem right for Will Humble and ADHS to assist MPP and AzMMA or any organization to raise money for their private purposes.
Question for Mr. Humble: If another fledgling Arizona medical marijuana industry association (there are a lot of these outfits vying to become the industry’s support organization) were to ask you to speak, would you speak for 30 – 60 minutes so it could charge sponsors $5,000 and attendees $300? If not, why do it for the secretive AzMMA?
Thanks to all who helped this website set a new monthly record for visitors in one month. Last month (March of 2011) was our third month on the net and we had 21,421 visitors.
Arizona Republic editorial: “The Arizona Republic opposed the medical-marijuana law because such measures in other states have led to widespread abuse. There may be a way to prevent that from happening here, and it’s a goal worth pursuing.”
Ray Stern, Phoenix New Times: “The final rules for medical marijuana are too tough on patients and may encourage a lawsuit, says one Valley doctor. Edgard Suter, an East Valley nuclear medicine physician who has been an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana, decried an addition to the draft rules that requires doctors to state the underlying condition causing “chronic or severe pain.” He already was unhappy that state officials plan to monitor the recommendations that physicians make and turn in prolific recommendation writers to medical boards for possible discipline.”
Ray Stern, Phoenix New Times: “If you ever smoke or use marijuana, it’s time to see the doctor. The Arizona Medical Marijuana Act is the law of the land, and now the state Department of Health Services has provided a map to legal immunity for anyone interested in possessing pot. The final rules from the DHS spell out exactly need to be done to obtain a recommendation from a doctor for a state medical-marijuana card.”
The American Independent: “Last November, medical marijuana advocates launched the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), a lobbying organization dedicated to representing the interests of the medical marijuana industry on the federal level. Today marks NCIA’s first official ‘congressional lobbying day,’ during which representatives of the organization are meeting with members of Congress to argue for the protection of medical marijuana interests. To kick off the day, NCIA held a press conference this morning that included presentations by medical marijuana dispensary owners, cannabis researchers and U.S. Representative Jared Polis (D-Colo.), an avowed supporter of medical marijuana rights.
See “Congressman Calls For an End to the War on Weed.”
This site has an excellent patient and caregiver Frequently Asked Questions. Check it out.
Arizona Republic: “There have been rumors surrounding Arizona’s medical-marijuana law since voters passed it in November. But now that the state health department has finalized its rules, Arizonans can weed out the truth. . . . Here are basics to know about Arizona’s medical-pot program.:
East Valley Tribune: “Arizonans who act quickly can be among the first to qualify to buy, possess and use marijuana, which voters legalized for medical use last November. State health officials on Monday made the forms available on the agency’s website that a doctor has to fill out to get a patient a medical marijuana card. State Health Director Will Humble said while applications won’t be accepted until April 14, those who think they qualify can jump-start the process right now.”
Ray Stern, Phoenix New Times: “Proposition 203 has sparked dismissal of pot-possession charges in Mohave County against at least 10 people who had out-of-state medical-weed cards. Though the charges shouldn’t have been brought against such marijuana card-holders in the first place, what’s been happening in northwestern Arizona is a definite sign that ‘the times they are a changin’.”
inMaricopa.com: “The city of Maricopa will hold a last public comment session Tuesday night before the city council either approves or rejects a medical marijuana zoning ordinance proposed by city staff.”
Yesterday, March 28, 2011, this website set a new record for the most visitors in a single day – 1,572. I anticipate that we will also set a new record for monthly visitors for our third full month around 20,000 visitors.
From Will Humble’s blog:
“One of our objectives as we developed the final set of Rules for Medical Marijuana was to ensure reliable access to medication in rural Arizona. . . . we added a provision in the final rules that allow rural dispensary owners to move their dispensaries anywhere in the State after 3 years . . . . By applying in a rural CHAA, they can increase their chances of successfully being awarded a Registration Certificate and keep their options open for moving to a part of the state with a high density of qualified patients after a few years. Likewise, if a prospective applicant has had a previous bankruptcy or lacks access to $150K in capital (which are part of our competitive screening criteria), they’ll be in a better position to compete for Registration Certificates in rural AZ.”
From Will Humble’s blog:
“The final rules outline a 2-step process whereby applicants enter into a competitive screening in each Community Health Analysis Area (CHAA) for a dispensary Registration Certificate, followed by a build out and inspection before receiving an Operating License from ADHS. Each dispensary applicant will be required to sign an attestation that the address that they are applying under is in accordance with local zoning (note that this doesn’t mean that they need to establish whether they have a special or conditional use permit). . . .
Once an applicant has been awarded a Registration Certificate, they’re allowed to move their dispensary inside their CHAA (subject to local zoning approval, Department approval, and paying our $2,500 fee). The Registration Certificate holder is also allowed to move their dispensary location (inside the CHAA) after they receive their Operating License.”
Arizona Capital Times: “Almost five months after voters passed Proposition 203, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, the Health Department has released the final version of the rules that will guide how the system will actually go into effect.”
Today’;s News Herald: “The latest medical marijuana rules shouldn’t have an impact on Lake Havasu City laws. The Arizona Department of Health Services released the final set of rules Monday for medical marijuana use and distribution. But city officials agree that no changes will be necessary to an ordinance adopted earlier this year.”
The Daily Courier: “Potential medical marijuana users are just a few weeks away from being able to legally grow their own pot in Arizona. And it’s likely that people who receive medical marijuana user cards before October will be able to continue growing their own legal pot for a year.”
The Arizona Department of Health Services published a Frequently Asked Questions for prospective Arizona medical marijuana dispensaries. This is a very enlightening document. Here are some gems I discovered in the FAQ.
Thanks for everybody who visited this website last week. We had a new record high of 5,096 visitors for the week ending at midnight March 27, 2011. Not bad for a website that is not quite three months old.
myFOXphoenix.com: “Many business owners are hoping to get a license to sell — and make a lot of money legally selling pot. Those hoping to open dispensaries in Arizona seem to be satisfied with the finalized set of rules — but its clear owners will have to jump through a lot of hoops if they want to get into the pot business.”
Sierra Vista Herald: “After being unable to find a suitable location that meets Sierra Vista’s recently passed zoning restrictions, a group of area businessmen are seeking to establish a medical marijuana dispensary adjacent to a retirement community nestled just outside of the city limits off of Highway 90. “