Phoenix New Times:  “On Thursday, April 14, the Arizona Department of Health Services will begin accepting applications for medical marijuana patient and caregiver cards. The ADHS will review and approve or deny each application within 10 business days.  So, in just a couple of weeks, some Arizonans will be able to legally possess and use pot, provided they stay within ADHS guidelines. The department won’t begin accepting dispensary applications until June, so all patients issued cards before a dispensary opens within 25 miles of their home can grow their own weed, if they indicate on their applications that they want to cultivate.”

Today is the day that Arizona’s medical marijuana law becomes effective.  As of today, doctors can issue certifications to patients and patients can apply for their patient cards.  Because there are no medical marijuana dispensaries at this time and will not be for until the fall, patients who receive a medical marijuana patient card from Arizona Department of Health Services will be able to legally grow up to twelve marijuana plants.  Although a patient with a DHS card may grow and use medical marijuana in Arizona legally under Arizona law, the growing and possession of marijuana remains a violation of federal criminal law.

• Arizona Republic:  “Arizona’s medical-marijuana law takes effect“

• Washington Examiner:  “Arizonans to begin applying for medical marijuana

“Since the application for a medical marijuana card is electronic, anyone hoping to apply in person or by phone with the Arizona Department of Health Services will be turned away. . . . Patients first will have to do about a half-hour of data entry with things like their age, address and medical condition. They’ll then have to attach documents to their applications that include a photograph of themselves, a photo ID, and a signed doctor’s ‘attestation’ that the patient needs medical marijuana and will not give or sell it to anyone else.”

• KVOA:  “Medical marijuana applications begin Thursday”

Toke of the Town:  “An overwhelming number of studies exist to firmly support cannabis as all-purpose medicine and very possibly a strong candidate as a cure for cancer as was originally reported by the National Cancer Institute.  There has never been a single documented primary human fatality from overdosing on cannabis in its natural form in any amount. How’s that for safety!”

Arizona Republic:  “Gayle Palms says she has a team of legal and medical experts, a business plan and the $150,000 Arizona requires to open a medical-marijuana dispensary.  She knew it would be a challenge to win one of about 125 certificates for a facility that the state is expected to issue this year. But what Palms didn’t expect were challenges from her own community – and the absence of a local landlord willing to rent to her.”

East Valley Tribune: “Arizona’s first medical marijuana will sprout from the ground this fall, but the industry around the drug is already yielding lots of something else green: Money.”

Eastern Arizona Courier:  “Arizonans now know what steps they must take before legally growing, selling or using medical marijuana, according to Arizona state laws.”

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.

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.”

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.”

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.

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.”

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.